How to Improve Your Underwater Photos to Look Like a Pro
You may have taken up underwater photography either as a hobby or maybe you have plans to turn it into a career. It can be a challenge to get the best shots possible and you may wonder how the professionals get those amazing shots. It takes some skill and imagination but you too can have shots like those.
Here are some tips on how to improve your underwater diving photography skills so your pictures look like the professionals.
1. Natural Lighting or Artificial Lighting
You have a choice on whether or not to use natural lighting in underwater photography or if you should use artificial lighting like strobes. This will really depend on what your subject is and what the lighting conditions are where you are shooting. It can also depend on how deep you are underwater.
If you are in shallow waters and using a standard lens or even on a sunny day and you are using a wide-angle lens, you could choose to use the natural light. You have the option of using a faster shutter speed with natural light and this can capture fish while they swim by without causing blurring. Natural light can also give you great colors with the sunlight shining on coral or on the colors of fish. Artificial lighting is best in deeper water or cloudy days. If you are shooting close-ups of coral or fish or shooting in macro, artificial lighting like strobes is your best bet.
2. Be Comfortable in the Water and Research Your Subject Matter
One of the most important aspects of underwater photography is you should be very comfortable in the water. You should have plenty of experience diving and understanding how to keep your bearings when you are in deeper water. You should know and feel comfortable with your surroundings. This is true with scuba diving or snorkeling.
You should also have a good understanding of your subject matter too. Do your research into the types of fish and marine life that you could encounter where you are diving. If you are diving with sharks, research the species of sharks you are likely to encounter and learn their behavior. This way you can learn to predict their behavior and can get great images from them.
3. Experiment With Orientation of the Camera
You will find that the majority of camera housings made for underwater photography have two handles on each side. This means you are mainly shooting landscape style photographs. While this is great, you might want to change it up and do portrait photos to have a different viewpoint.
Experiment with the orientation of your camera during underwater photography. You can get some fantastic shots, for example, you could get a beautiful coral reef with both the seafloor and the water surface in the same shot.