I absolutely love seeing people’s beautiful underwater pics from when they snorkel and scuba in Curaçao. I’ve taken many myself, but I’ve never had good gear, so I always thought that’s why my pics were not very good. The good folks at Turtle&Ray Productions have been gracious to enough provide us with some great pointers on how to improve our underwater pictures using whatever gear you may have…even your smart phone, or, like me, a $40 cam purchased online. Big thanks to Hannah (another wonderful Canadian, living in Curaçao), and the other awesome folks at Turtle&Ray Productions for this great article!!

How to Take Great Underwater Pictures with Basic Gear

Trying your hand at underwater photography can be daunting. Professionals have sophisticated equipment like expensive cameras, strobe attachments and macro lenses — is it really possible to take amazing underwater photos and videos with a simple digital underwater camera? In a word — yes!  Read on for some tips on how to make your next dive or snorkel trip your most memorable one yet.

First, some examples of “bad” pics…

Use the underwater settings on your camera: Digital cameras have so many additional features these days that it can be temping to play with the settings on your camera. However, colour is complicated underwater — it is not the same as on land. Keeping your camera on the underwater setting is your best bet for accurately capturing colors. (note: not all smart phones have an underwater setting)

Get close to the subject: You’ve spotted a beautiful fish and you’re ready to take a photo. Don’t reach for the zoom button. Instead, close the distance by swimming closer to your subject — this will reduce the water volume between your subject and the camera and make your photo clearer and more colourful. 

Shoot upwards: Your photo will nearly always turn out best if you shoot from a slightly upward angle because it allows more light to enter the frame and creates a more visually appealing perspective.

Use of ambient light: Lighting is everything when it comes to underwater photography. A rule of thumb is to keep the sun behind your back when you shoot, particularly if you don’t have strobes or a flashlight. This will make your photos bright and vibrant.

Anticipate the subject: You’re close to a beautiful fish, the sun is at your back and you’re shooting slightly upwards. You wait for the perfect moment, snap the photo and … all you manage to capture is the tailfin as the fish swims away. You need to leave ‘lead room’ for your subject. Point the camera slightly ahead of where the fish is swimming, snap the photo as soon as it enters the screen, and you’ll get that beautiful fish face in there too.

Using the techniques described above, your pics, taken on your gear, can look like these…

Call a professional: Maybe you don’t have a camera or time to learn, or maybe you just want some professional quality photos alongside the ones you take. A professional underwater photographer will take care of everything for you. You can focus on enjoying your dive, and they’ll make sure you come out with amazing photos of you and your dive buddies, as well as the beautiful ocean sights.

Ready to take it a step further? You can even sign up for a personalized course that will teach you all the fundamentals along with gaining real experience in the water.

Finally, be a responsible diver: No photo or video is worth damaging the reef or harming its inhabitants. If you don’t feel that you can safely snap your shot, skip it. You will have the memories of your wonderful dive whether you take a million photos or none at all. 

Here are a couple of other great info pieces that Turtle&Ray have created for us:
Eels vs. Sea Snakes: A Tale of Two Slithering Sea-Dwellers
C4C Fish-tionary: A Quick Guide to some of Curaçao’s Most Commonly Seen Sea Life

Turtle & Ray Productions is Curaçao’s leading underwater media production company. Contact them to book your underwater photography course, photoshoot and more!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/turtleandray

Website: https://www.turtleandray.com/

Phone: +599 9 510 2701