It doesn’t seem so long ago that I rolled into Key Largo, Florida, with a Nikonos II camera and a darkroom sink in the back of my Chevy van to figure out how to make a living as an underwater photographer. Things have changed since 1978, and underwater photography is not the novelty it was when I started.
LED lighting can be used successfully for underwater still photography thanks to advancements in technology. Learn how to harness the power of LED lighting for great images.
A slow shutter speed underwater can help light appear brighter, bring more light into the background and creates intentional blurs. Read more about using a slow shutter speed.
Wide-angle photography captures good color and resolution when underwater. But the optimal use of a wide-angle lens is dependent on placement. Read more about wide-angle underwater photography.
Turbid water can be a challenging environment for underwater photographers, particularly when shooting wide angle. Turbid water may not appear brown or green from the surface — in many cases the water looks entirely different once we drop in and begin the dive. All water is turbid to some degree. Understanding what causes turbidity and knowing how to work around it can make a world of difference when shooting in those conditions. One of the best skills a photographer can develop, particularly for shooting wide angle, is learning how to read water quality.
Discover Jennifer Hayes, the photographer whose partnership with David Doubilet captures stunning underwater worlds for National Geographic.
Think about the first time you picked up an underwater camera — what was the initial reason? Maybe you wanted a way to record your dives or a mechanism to show your nondiver friends and family the beauty of the underwater world.
Kurt Amsler has been shooting underwater for nearly 60 starts — first using a converted soccer ball to house a camera. Learn more about his inspiration for photos and how he got into scuba diving.
Alex Mustard, Ph.D., is among the first prominent underwater photographers to come of age during the digital era. He’s a marine scientist.
Photo competitions can be great tools to assess your photography skills. Read more about how to find and enter into photo competitions.
