1. Proper focus is the first step to a sharp image.

2. Try to hold the camera as steady as possible, exhaling steadily and gently as you squeeze the shutter button. Don’t hold your breath.

3. Generally with most cameras your picture will blur if you try to take snaps with low light using auto focus. For advice on taking picture in low light conditions underwater with no flash or strobe refer to your camera’s manufacturers’ instructions.

4. The best colour results can be achieved by not exceeding a depth of 10 meters/30 feet. If you do not have a proper underwater flash or strobe system then you should not be any further away from your subject than half a meter/5 feet.

5. The easiest way for you to make your subject stands out clearly in an underwater photograph is to be slightly lower than your subject so that your camera is shooting at an upward angle.

6. Straight after taking each picture take a look around and ensure you know where your buddy is and that they are ok. Remember that your buddy is your lifeline and you are theirs. So ensure that your photography dive is one to remember as a happy memory and not a tragedy that you could have easily prevented.

Note: Remember to take care of the environment around you and don’t bang into sensitive reefs or kick up clouds of silt. In some places underwater photographers have a bad reputation because they let photography get in the way of protecting the very world they’re photographing.

1. The use of natural light (the Sun).

Between 10am and 2pm the sun should be directly over head. The surface water condition is also important, if the water is calm less sunlight is reflected away but if the surface is rough especially after a storm a lot of sunlight will be reflected away and it will be darker under the water.

2. A Strobe.

This is one of the best overall solutions in low light. One of the great advantages of using a strobe with a digital camera compared to a flash system is that you get the chance to see in the view finder what the picture you are about to take will actually look like.

3. Use high speed film.

High speed film has more sensitivity and requires relatively less light than slower film.

4. Stay shallow.

The deeper you go the less light, so  if you don’t have artificial light by staying shallow you can still take picture without major colour loss.

5. Get closer to your subject

The less water distance between you and your subject the less light is absorbed as it travels between your subject and your camera.

6. Flash

1. Get close to your subject.

The less water distance between you and your subject, the less colour is absorbed as it travels between your subject and your camera.

2. Stay shallow.

Water absorbs the colour so the closer you are to the surface the less colour that is absorbed.

3.Use a colour correcting filter.

Filters do not restore or prevent colour loss. What they actually do is help in balancing the colour so that the picture does not turn out too blue.

4. Use a strobe or flash.

This is by far the best method in overcoming colour loss for underwater photography.

Aperture in the opening of the lenses. To understand aperture think of aperture as a water tap, the more you open the tap the faster the water flows. To understand shutter speed think of the shutter speed as how long you leave the tap open.

Like the tap that controls the water flow, the lenses act in the same way. The aperture decides how much the shutter will open and the shutter speed setting controls how long the shutter will remain open for. Aperture setting is known as “f/stop”. The normal f/stop settings you would find on lenses are f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6. f8, f/11, f/16, f/22. The higher the f/stop number the smaller the opening, so less light is let through the lenses. So f/22 lets in very little light but f/2.8 lets in a lot of light.

Shutter Speed

Typical shutter speed settings are 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000. The smaller the number the faster the shutter speed. The general rule is that you should not set the shutter speed slower than 1/60 for underwater photography. The higher the number the faster the shutter speed.

Aperture and Depth of Field.

Not only does the aperture control the amount of light entering the camera, it also has an affect on the cameras focus. As you change the aperture the range of sharp focus (Depth of field) also changes. Depth of field is how much of the scene, from front to back is in or out of focus. The higher the f/stop the greater the depth of field,  the lower the f/stop (larger aperture) the less the depth of field.

Underwater you typically try to get the greater depth of field by using the smaller aperture (highest f/stop) for correct exposure.

Right Exposure

This is the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. Exposure is the total amount of light that reaches the film through the combination of aperture and shutter speed. By changing the shutter speed or aperture even one position you can either double or half the light reaching the film. Changing the aperture from f/8 to f/11 halves the light that enters the camera. Changing the shutter speed from 1/60 to 1/30 doubles how long the shutter will stay open for. So by controlling the shutter speed and aperture you control the exposure.

www.PADI.com

If you are interested in underwater photography, I first recommend that you complete PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) courses to a minimum of the Advanced Open Water Diver level. This will give you the basic skills you need to be able to dive and control your buoyancy, which are the basic requirement for underwater photography.

As part of the Advance Open Water Diver courses you can do the following:

• Digital Underwater Photography

• Underwater Photography