Tips for underwater holiday photography
29 December 2005
When you want to view the life of creatures living under the water, you usually protect your eyes with a diving mask before dipping into the sea. When you want to take your camera with you into the water, you have to protect it with the right equipment as well. Being in water requires you to change some photography techniques, but we have a few tips to get you started with underwater photography.
You have three options when you want to go under the water with a digital camera: get a waterproof camera, find a waterproof case specifically designed for your existing camera, or use a one-size-fits-all waterproof case.
If you are about to invest in a new compact digital camera, you might consider getting a waterproof camera that can also be used for everyday photography, such as the Pentax Optio WP or the Optio WPi. You can take these cameras into the water for 30 minutes at a depth of 5 feet/1.5 meters.
A waterproof case specifically designed for your camera model is a fairly costly accessory, if you can find one at all. If you intend to frequently dive with the camera, the model-specific case can be a good investment, but if you just want to try out underwater photography, a universal case may be a better buy. The big advantage from the model-specific case is that you can use the camera controls even when it’s protected by the case.
A universal waterproof case, such as the Aquapac 410 is an affordable accessory. With a little money (20-40 USD/EUR), you get full water and dust protection and you can try out whether you like underwater photography. The catch is that it is very difficult to use the camera controls through the plastic case and the result probably is that you are happy just to be able to fire the shutter button at the right moment.
The biggest challenge in underwater photography is light, or rather, lack of light. Many underwater pictures fail because water doesn't let enough light through for taking photos the way you are used to doing on the ground. The following tips for underwater holiday photographers will help you to get started.
- Set everything ready in the camera before you dive, so that you only have to press the shutter button when you are under the water.
- Insert the highest capacity memory card you have into the camera, make sure it is empty and choose the image quality you want.
- If you can manually change the camera settings, the first thing you should do in the water is to set the white balance. Also, you can try a higher ISO value than normal, as this helps you to capture images, especially when you are diving in dark waters. Select the largest aperture to increase the amount of light that goes through the lens to the image sensor.
- Go as close to the subject as you can. In dark waters, you may have to be so close to the subject that you have to use macro mode in the camera.
- Sometimes, the auto-focus system of the camera can have difficulty deciding where to focus under the water, but we still recommend using auto-focus. It is simply too much hassle to manually focus a compact camera when diving, and a waterproof case may prevent using manual focus altogether.
- Camera flash brings light into the water, but test it first to see how images look. Built-in flashes don't always produce results that you'd want to save in your photo album.
- Take (something like five times) more pictures under the water than you would take on the ground. When you are sure you managed to take a beautiful snapshot of a plant slowly swaying in the current, take a few more pictures to improve your chances for getting a sharp snapshot.
- The deeper you dive, the less light you have for capturing sharp photos. If your camera or accessory manufacturer has specified the product to be waterproof to a depth of 5 meters/15 feet, believe them.
- Try to take pictures by pointing the camera upwards towards the surface for increasing image contrast.
- Don't leave the camera inside a waterproof case any longer than necessary. Excessive humidity won't do any good to the camera’s electronics.
- If you had a swim in salty water, wash the case or camera as soon as you can.
The magic of underwater photography is that you never know which moment of sea life you manage to freeze in a frame. A memory card might almost be full of blurry, unrecognizable images, but one or two pictures taken from situations you never expected anything, can pleasantly surprise a holiday photographer.
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