How to get started with Underwater Photography – Guest Article by Top Photographer George Kakas

Underwater photography is popular for several reasons, the most common of which is a desire to share the extraordinary sights and experiences that can only be had by scuba divers with the rest of the world. For those who want to begin photographing the ocean, here are a few pointers to get you going.

Hone in on your diving skills

Underwater photography is an art. In order to be able to capture the perfect shot of a sea turtle, you need to get in the water and learn to manoeuvre around without kicking up sand or disturbing any marine life.

Due to the weight of water on a camera, it is important that you practice your buoyancy control before diving with your camera. This will allow you to maintain your position in the water so that you don’t have to worry about being pushed around by the currents or other divers. Maintaining a good position allows you to stay stationary without disrupting the reef or intimidating animals.

Choosing the right camera system

Camera: The first step to getting started in underwater photography is choosing the right camera equipment.

Compact cameras have come a long way since their inception, and today’s models can produce beautiful images that rival those from some DSLRs. With their ease of travel and affordable prices, they’re ideal for people who want to get into underwater photography on any budget.

Take a look at this range of the best rated underwater cameras this year to kickstart your new and exciting adventure in underwater photography.

Housing: With most camera models, you won’t get deeper than 10m without using some kind of housing. The majority of well-known camera manufacturers create a line of underwater housings on their own that are typically rated to 30 metres (100 feet).

Specialized underwater gear producers like Nauticam, Ikelite, Seacam, and others sell stronger models with higher depth ratings, although they are typically more expensive.

Lighting: A strobe, lights, or the camera’s flash are all options – The camera’s built-in flash is excellent for photographing small subjects like nudibranchs. A recommendation would be to start with the built-in flash of the camera and add additional lights once you’ve found what you want.

A strobe light is a wise investment. You can take pictures of bigger, farther-off subjects without worrying too much about blurring. Strobe lights are significantly more potent than the flash on a camera.

Video lights can be turned on and off and generate a constant light rather than a flash or strobe. You can observe the scene through the camera’s viewfinder before to shooting the picture when there is constant light. While being brighter than camera flashes, video lights are less powerful than strobes and are rather pricey.

Getting your camera ready for a dive

A camera is useless if it doesn’t photograph well! Before diving, thoroughly test and set up your equipment so that you know it is working properly. It is also important to become familiar with your camera so that you know what settings work best for certain environments and conditions. Some tips:

—  If you have long hair, tie it back. If a hair gets stuck between the O-ring and the housing, it might cause a camera to flood.

—  When removing the O-ring from the housing, use a “O-ring remover” tool or a blunt instrument such as a credit card. Never use a knife or other sharp object.

—  Always inspect and clean the O-ring. Examine the area for hair, salt residue, dust, fibres, and any other matter. Additionally, ensure that the O-ring is smooth and free of cracks.

—  Before replacing the O-ring, lubricate it with silicone grease.

—  Make sure that any silica gel you place within your housing are precisely positioned to avoid interfering with the housing’s seal or any of the buttons’ functionality.

—  Take your system to the wash tank before diving, hold it underwater while you look for any bubbles that might indicate a poor seal.

Applying fundamental underwater photography principles

Underwater photography comes with rules and techniques that have to be learned if you want to do it well. The basic concepts are similar to what they are above water, but you’ll have to think about how they change when you’re working with water instead of air.

You’ll need to take into account the fact that water is much denser than air. Because of this, your camera will absorb more light trying to get through the water than it does in air. This means getting up close and personal especially as you get deeper.

You can use this fact to your advantage by shooting in shallow water – when you’re close to the surface, the water between you and your subject is less dense so it allows you to use natural light on a sunny day.

Learn to manually alter white balance. When you set your camera’s white balance, you essentially setting the photo’s colour temperature. If you’re using a strobe or internal flash to illuminate a close subject, you can set the white balance to Auto. It will adjust to the flash’s colour temperature. If you’re shooting in ambient light however, try adjusting your white balance manually.

You may wonder where to focus your shot when you’re up close to your subject. Think: “Eyes-only”. In wildlife photography, focus on the eye even if other portions of the animal are blurry. Sharp eyes build a relationship between subject and spectator, making the image more captivating.

Finally, post-processing. Most underwater images require editing to look their best, so it’s worth learning some good software. Post-processing lets you add filters, change colour, boost brightness/contrast, remove backscatter, and crop photographs. Such tweaks can improve your shot. Although with editing, you have to know when to quit or your photos will look strange.

Maintaining your camera after diving

Firstly, you must rinse off your camera rig with freshwater after every dive. This will dissolve any salt crystals inside the camera and force them out of any small openings in the housing. Salt crystals can cause corrosion on metal parts and make it harder for you to properly seal your housing, not to mention potential damage to the delicate mechanisms inside.

Try operating each of the control buttons and switches while in the freshwater. This will dissolve any salt crystals that might have formed inside any buttons or switches. If you have a camera with long exposure capabilities, this is especially important.

Never let your equipment dry in direct sunlight or in a public rinse bucket, as other cameras may knock it around and break the seal on your housing. Always dry it carefully with a clean, soft microfiber towel or cloth.

As part of this process, take some extra time to look over all of your equipment and make sure there are no little pieces of foreign matter stuck to anything that could damage your camera when you take it underwater again – for instance, those pesky grains of sand are a common culprit.

Finally, as always it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and guidelines regarding camera maintenance.

George Kakas

After finishing his military service and becoming a licensed PADI Divemaster in 2014, George Kakas joined a research team in the Indonesian and Indian Oceans carrying out field research on their coral reef ecosystems. In 2018, he received a BSc in Oceanography and Sustainability from the prestigious University of St Andrews, Scotland. He now lives near warmer Brighton waters where he swims on a daily basis and volunteers as a Lifeboat Crew Member with Brighton RNLI.