Guest Post: Getting Started with Underwater Photography

5 Mar 2012

How many times have you seen a picture in a magazine of a serene and beautiful underwater world, and wondered just how difficult it would be to capture an image like that for yourself? Once you catch that photography bug you will find that you will do whatever you can to get the shots you want, and if that means finding a camera that suits you so well its almost an extension of your body, well all hobbies need the correct equipment, right? With underwater photography it’s not just about the camera though, you need to find the right housing for it too.

Things to Bear in Mind

Underwater photography can be incredibly challenging and to ensure that you get the very best out of your new camera and housing you should yourself have a good grounding in photography basics that you can build on. So before you splash out on brand new equipment before going on a scuba trip, see what you can do with an old camera, see how it feels underwater, how it effects your movements and see if it has any issues that you need to address in your new equipment. It would serve no purpose to go out and buy a wonderful new camera only to get it in its housing and under the water to find that it is too heavy, too bulky or just limits your movements too much.

Choose from the Available Options

When it comes to cameras for use underwater there are three options to consider:

The nice and easy point and click digital camera
Digital SLR (single lens reflex) cameras
Top of the range compact digital cameras that offer the user full manual control

You as the user need to decide how much control of the shot that you want, the more control you demand, the higher the price you will pay. When it comes to matters of budget, what you want the camera for will determine the price you will pay.

If all you want to do is capture your underwater adventures whilst on holiday, then all you need is a point and click digital camera, something like a Sony Cybershot is all you will need. If you are after more than just a snapshot or two you will need a camera that offers manual control such as a Panasonic Lumix, which will allow you to play with shutter speeds and exposure times, so that you can work on your skills and build your photography confidence.

The last step on the photography ladder is the all singing, all dancing Digital SLR camera, especially if you are looking to have your images published. With this kind of camera you need to think about the number of megapixels you want, normal images are generally shot at 5 or six megapixels, but if you are wanting to see your images blown up onto posters or published anywhere you should look at something with at least 8 megapixels.

When taking pictures underwater you need to alter the image balance to ensure that the colours are truly represented, especially in shallow water. Plus if you are looking to capture images of the smaller types of marine life, macro photography requires the photographer to have a camera that has a very small distance of minimum focus and allows for manual changes to the focus, so ensure that images remain clean and sharp.

Think About the Housing

A lot of cameras bought for underwater photography come with a manufacturers housing. Though lightweight and fairly inexpensive they are not always reliable and have been known to flood. A good rule of thumb is that the more you pay for your camera the better specification the housing will be.

If you want to invest in a decent housing for your camera, especially an expensive SLR look to manufacturers like Sea & Sea or Ikelite which offer more reliability and strength than standard housings issued with the camera, and come with the ability to access the manual controls without compromising the seals of the casing.

As you get further into your photography and want to develop your skills further you will be looking at lenses and strobes and all of the attachments and accessories to make the images you capture even more stunning.

Make the Best Choice

With the camera and housing most suitable to your current needs you can work on your photography and take your skills to new levels no matter what your aims and ambitions.

This post was written by

Tal Mor – who has written 74 posts on Underwater Cameras Blog by Mozaik.
Tal Mor is the co-founder of Mozaik Underwater Cameras, an amatuer diver from the age of 15 and has been photographing underwater in the last 3 years.