5 Tips to Becoming an Epic Underwater Photographer

5 Tips from professional underwater photographer Ollie Clarke (Instagram @ollie_underwater)

First of all, to take good photos underwater, you need to be good underwater. I didn’t take my first camera underwater until I had 300 dives and didn’t take a professional system under until I had more than 1000. If you start underwater photography before you’re ready, you may find your dives aren’t so enjoyable and you’re dissatisfied with your images. So I think it goes without saying that you need to have really mastered the basics - like having excellent buoyancy control and proper air management. But it goes further than just being a good diver, the more time you spend underwater, the more you will understand the environment. You’ll be able to anticipate how the wildlife will behave, or be able to correctly position yourself in a strong current to get the shot as you drift by. Quite often I feel like this is one of the most important steps in underwater photography which is overlooked by beginners - get comfortable diving first.

When it comes to taking photos underwater, there's a few rules or guidelines which can really help when starting out. One of them is ‘Get Close’, for me this is one of the most important. The more water between you and your subject, the more it is going to affect your image. It will be harder for the camera to focus, you’re going to lose light, contrast and of course more colour. Therefore, in general you should try to get as close as you can to your subject, without damaging a delicate bottom or scaring your subject away. 

Personally, I don’t really like planning shots. Although it can be a really useful tool and help a lot as you are starting out. Rather than actually deciding on the image you want to create before you get in the water, I usually suggest having an idea of what you want to shoot. This goes further than just macro or wide, you can prepare for shooting fast moving subjects, or if you know there are likely to be frogfish (or anything for that matter) you can start to think about the settings you’ll need and the type of images you want to create. Some photographers will take this a step further, when they know the site and the subject, they’ll go down with an exact image in mind they want to capture. I’m not really a fan of this, as you can never really plan for what's going to happen underwater and you may end up frustrated, or worse, damaging the environment.

As divers, respecting the underwater world should be paramount, however far too often underwater photographers get a bad rep for the way they dive. Whether it be chasing animals, having poor control with heavy equipment and damaging the coral or using high powered strobes with sensitive wildlife, photographers often give other divers a reason to complain about them. It’s simple really, don’t be one of those divers! However it goes much further than that, having a good understanding of the environment will improve your images. You can position yourself correctly meaning a manta will pass right over allowing for the token belly shot. Looking after the marine environment is much more important than getting likes on instagram!

I think the question I get asked most frequently is ‘which camera should I buy?’ For starters, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to get some great images underwater, but having the right equipment will help a long way in achieving your goals in underwater photography.

So in general I have 3 recommendations, Firstly the Olympus TG-6 with Olympus PT-059 housing. This is the most budget friendly setup, and actually it can capture some amazing images, in fact it’s the camera we use for our photography courses. As the camera is quite user friendly and basic, it is easy to learn and quite quickly you can get some nice shots, especially macro. However, it’s controls are quite limited and you may find you reach your limit early on.

The next camera I usually recommend is the Canon G7X iii with a Fantasea housing. This is a great choice for people starting out in underwater photography, offering full manual controls and impressive specifications. With a set of strobes and wide/macro lens this camera is perfect for someone looking to progress in underwater photography without investing in a professional system. 

The final camera I recommend is the Sony RX100 vii with a nauticam housing. This is by far the most expensive setup and generally I’d suggest it to someone who is already a photographer out of the water, and doesn’t want to invest in a heavy housing for their camera or travel with a full frame setup. 

If you would like to learn more about underwater photography, get in touch to book a course with us!