How to take great photos underwater

Make yourself comfortable

The most important thing in underwater photography is to find a comfortable environment. canvas prints don't forget that the photographer with the camera is a floating platform. Good swimming skills are necessary, and sometimes you have to swim very fast to capture an object.

Compared to snorkel diving, canvas prints online the benefit of taking a scuba shot is that you can stay underwater longer, go deeper and get closer to the bottom of the sea. To take a successful underwater shot with your lungs, you must always control your position and not float. Still, most of my success was in the upper layers, where there was plenty of light and I was able to get pictures of big guys like whales and sharks.

Understanding underwater life

To take a good photo, you have to know your subject before you can get to the point. This is important in underwater photography. Which ones can you get close to? Is there a danger? Once you know the fish's action patterns, you can take great pictures and study their swimming patterns and other details. How to learn this, how to get close to them? Where are the shark's pectoral fins? Is it aggressive?

Choose the right camera

There are two really different options, the card camera in the water chamber and the SLR camera with an underwater external flash, as shown in the photo.

The first system is a bit of a convenience (no complicated Settings) and relatively inexpensive. Point-and-shoot cameras are also perfect for shooting on the upper level, where there's a lot of light. But the main drawback of the system is that the photographer cannot handle this direct light, which is caused by the flash integrated into the camera in most cases. And manual exposure is difficult to achieve.

Most professional photographers use SLR cameras because they are fully operational. You can set the aperture and shutter according to the scene and the desired effect, such as the effect of fast movement. It also lets the flash flash at different angles. Of course SLR cameras have their drawbacks, they are bulky, difficult to carry and expensive.

There are several basic Settings to help you take better underwater photos. Some point-and-shoot cameras can't do this setup effectively and quickly under water.

White balance: mostly white balance is set in daylight mode, especially with flash

ISO: keep your ISO between 100 and 200, with higher Settings in most cases leading to "noise"

Aperture: depending on how deep you work in the water, most can be set to F8 and F16, which will provide enough depth of field.

Shutter: some manual Settings require the correct combination of aperture and shutter speed to bring about the correct exposure. I tend to think of the shutter as a creative tool, and if I want my objects to be sharper and more static, I'll set the shutter higher: 1/125th of a second or 1/250th of a second.

Focus: I prefer to set autofocus and single-point focus, which can be automatically focused. In this mode, as long as you hold the shutter, you can keep the focus on the camera, even if you reselect the image.

Before going to the sea, you can practice in the pool, where there is a safe controlled environment where you can learn the setup and experiment with new techniques to make sure your machine is in good condition. Practice with family members, especially children, who often move like a swimming fish.

Use existing light sources

Dual lights don't solve all problems, and they produce great photos, but remember that's not the only option, and if you play well with your card camera, you can produce incredible pictures. Exposure is important if you want to show interesting contours, reduce exposure compensation, if you want to freeze the light in the water, use a 1/250-second shutter or higher.

Learn to use composition principles

Underwater photography is also photography, and the same rules apply, but because you're shooting in the water there's no guarantee that you're taking a good shot. Good photos aren't taken, they're created. Learn and then relate the principles of composition, acrylic prints including one-third, frame, visual direction, movement, etc., to make the most of them in the shooting.