Underwater Photography Guide
Everything I wish I had understood when I first started taking a camera underwater - from cameras and settings to lighting, composition, wildlife behaviour and editing.
The first thing I learned when I started taking a camera underwater was that almost everything I understood about photography suddenly became more complicated.
Light behaves differently. Colours disappear. Visibility can change in minutes. Your subject is usually moving, you are moving, and - if you're photographing wildlife - the animal certainly isn't going to pose because you've finally got your settings right.
And then there is the small matter of controlling your buoyancy, monitoring your depth and air, communicating with your buddy and actually remembering to enjoy the dive.
It can feel overwhelming.
But underwater photography is also one of the most rewarding forms of photography I have ever experienced.
Over the years, my camera has allowed me to spend time in the water with everything from sharks and whale sharks to rays, turtles and whales. Some encounters have lasted seconds. Others have unfolded slowly in front of me. The photographs I value most aren't necessarily the technically perfect ones - they're the images that capture something about what it actually felt like to be there.
If you're just getting started with underwater photography, this guide covers the things I wish I had understood sooner: cameras, housings, lenses, underwater camera settings, strobes, natural light, composition, wildlife behaviour, editing and some of the mistakes almost everyone makes at the beginning.
You absolutely do not need the most expensive underwater photography equipment to make a good photograph.
You need to understand your equipment, understand the water and, above all, learn how to get yourself into the right position when the moment happens.
What Is Underwater Photography?
Underwater photography is simply the process of making photographs beneath the surface, but that can encompass an enormous range of subjects and techniques.
It might mean photographing a nudibranch the size of your fingernail on a coral reef.
It could mean shooting a shark passing through blue water.
It could involve photographing a shipwreck, a freediver, a coral reef, a whale shark at the surface or a grey whale calf approaching within metres of you.
Broadly, most underwater photography falls into two categories:
Wide-angle underwater photography focuses on larger subjects such as sharks, whales, rays, turtles, wrecks, reefs and divers.
Underwater macro photography focuses on small subjects such as nudibranchs, shrimp, frogfish, seahorses and other tiny reef inhabitants.
The equipment and techniques can be very different, but the same principle lies at the heart of both:
Reduce the amount of water between your camera and your subject.
This was one of the biggest lessons I learned early on.
On land, stepping several metres backwards to fit an animal into the frame might not dramatically affect image quality. Underwater, every extra metre of water between you and your subject absorbs light, reduces contrast and makes the image look flatter.
This is why wide lenses are so useful underwater: they allow you to get physically close while still fitting a large subject into the frame.
Before Photography, Become a Good Diver
If there is one piece of advice I would give anyone wanting to improve their underwater photography, it has nothing to do with cameras.
Become comfortable in the water first.
Good buoyancy changes everything.
If you're constantly kicking to stay in position, crashing into the bottom, using your hands to stabilise yourself or concentrating entirely on your depth, you have very little mental capacity left for photography.
You should be able to stop, hover and make small adjustments to your position without touching the reef or disturbing the environment.
This isn't just important for making better photographs. It's an ethical responsibility.
No photograph is worth damaging coral, stressing an animal or putting yourself or your buddy at risk.
Your camera should eventually become another part of your diving rather than something competing with it.
And, perhaps surprisingly, better diving often produces better wildlife encounters too. A photographer who can remain calm and relatively still is far less intrusive than someone constantly swimming towards an animal.
What Camera Do You Need for Underwater Photography?
One of the most common questions beginners ask is:
What is the best camera for underwater photography?
There isn't one answer.
You can make excellent underwater photographs with an action camera, compact camera, mirrorless camera or DSLR. What matters is choosing a system appropriate for the type of photography you want to do.
Action cameras
GoPros and similar action cameras are probably the easiest entry point into underwater photography and video.
They're small, relatively inexpensive compared with full camera systems and are particularly good for:
- Snorkelling
- Freediving
- Travel
- Underwater video
- Large marine animals
- Wide-angle scenes
- Documenting dives
Their limitations become more obvious when you want greater control over exposure, lenses, low-light performance and still-image quality.
But don't underestimate them.
The best camera is often the one you actually have with you.
Compact cameras
Compact cameras can be an excellent middle ground.
They offer considerably more photographic control than an action camera without necessarily requiring the huge investment of a professional mirrorless setup.
A compact underwater camera system can also be physically small, which is incredibly useful for travel.
With wet lenses, some compact systems can even switch between macro and wide-angle photography during the same dive.
Mirrorless cameras
This is where underwater photography becomes considerably more expensive - and considerably more capable.
A mirrorless setup gives you:
- Larger sensors
- Better autofocus
- Interchangeable lenses
- Improved dynamic range
- Better low-light performance
- Faster burst shooting
- More control over your images
But the camera itself is only part of the cost.
You'll potentially also need a housing, ports, extensions, gears, arms, clamps, strobes, focus lights and sometimes a vacuum system.
The complete underwater camera setup can easily cost more than the camera body.
Don't build a camera system because somebody online told you it was the best. Build it around the photographs you want to make.
Underwater Camera Housings Explained
Unless your camera is specifically waterproof, it will need an underwater camera housing.
Think of the housing as much more than a waterproof box.
A good underwater housing allows you to operate the camera's important controls while also providing attachment points for handles, strobes, video lights, monitors and other accessories.
Polycarbonate housings
These tend to be lighter and less expensive.
They can be an excellent choice for someone entering underwater photography without wanting to immediately invest thousands into a housing.
Aluminium housings
These are generally aimed at enthusiast and professional photographers.
They're typically more compact around the camera, extremely robust and often offer excellent ergonomics.
Whichever you choose, one thing matters more than almost anything else:
Look after your O-rings.
A tiny hair, grain of sand or badly seated O-ring can become a very expensive problem.
I treat preparing my housing as part of the photographic process, not something to rush five minutes before jumping into the water.
Dome ports vs flat ports
The front of your underwater housing is called the port.
For beginners, the important distinction is:
Wide-angle lenses generally use dome ports.
Macro lenses generally use flat ports.
Dome ports allow wide-angle lenses to maintain a much wider field of view underwater and are particularly useful for reef scenes, sharks, whales and other large subjects.
Flat ports work extremely well with macro lenses but change the apparent field of view underwater.
What Is the Best Lens for Underwater Photography?
For the majority of large underwater wildlife, my preference is simple:
Go wide.
It feels strange initially.
On land, wildlife photography often means long telephoto lenses. Underwater, it is almost the opposite.
For subjects such as sharks, whales, turtles and manta rays, wide-angle and fisheye lenses allow you to get close while still showing the animal within its environment.
Getting close reduces the amount of water you're shooting through, which usually means greater clarity, contrast and colour.
This is why some of the most dramatic underwater photographs feel almost three-dimensional.
The photographer wasn't fifty metres away zooming in.
They were close.
Very close.
Of course, that doesn't mean chasing an animal until you're close enough.
The skill is putting yourself somewhere the animal chooses to come close to you.
Fisheye vs wide-angle lenses
Fisheye lenses are extremely popular for underwater photography because they offer a huge field of view and allow photographers to work exceptionally close to large subjects.
Rectilinear wide-angle lenses produce less obvious distortion and can work beautifully for animals, wrecks and environmental scenes.
Neither is automatically better.
For me, lens choice comes down to the subject and the image I'm trying to create.
Underwater Camera Settings for Beginners
There is no magical set of underwater photography settings.
If someone tells you there is, they're probably oversimplifying it.
Your ideal settings depend on:
- Available light
- Depth
- Visibility
- Subject speed
- Lens
- Whether you're using strobes
- Whether you're shooting into the sun
- How close the subject is
- The effect you're trying to create
I almost always think about settings in terms of priorities rather than memorising numbers.
Shutter speed
Your shutter speed controls motion.
For a stationary macro subject, you can often work differently than when a shark or dolphin is moving quickly through the frame.
When I'm photographing fast-moving wildlife using ambient light, I would generally rather increase my ISO than come home with a beautifully exposed but slightly blurred animal.
Sharp first.
Noise can often be managed later. Motion blur usually can't.
Aperture
Aperture affects both exposure and depth of field.
For wide-angle wildlife, something around f/5.6–f/8 can be a useful starting point in many situations.
Macro often requires smaller apertures because depth of field becomes incredibly shallow when you're working close to the subject.
These are starting points, not rules.
ISO
I don't think photographers should be scared of ISO.
Modern cameras can produce incredibly clean images at sensitivities that would once have been considered unusable.
I'd rather have a sharp image at ISO 1600 than a blurred image at ISO 200.
For bright shallow water I might stay around ISO 100-400.
When light drops or I'm photographing fast animals, I'll increase it as much as necessary to maintain my shutter speed.
Your camera doesn't know that the photograph of a whale shark swimming towards you might only happen once. Prioritise the moment.
My Starting Underwater Photography Settings
These are starting points rather than prescriptions, but they give you somewhere useful to begin.
Large wildlife
Shutter: 1/500 sec or faster
Aperture: f/5.6-f/8
ISO: Auto or as required
Focus: Continuous AF
Drive: High-speed burst
File: RAW
Wide-angle + strobes
Shutter: 1/160-1/250 sec
Aperture: Around f/8
ISO: 100-400
Strobes: Manual starting point
Macro + strobes
Shutter: 1/160-1/250 sec
Aperture: Around f/11-f/16
ISO: 100-400
Lighting: Strobe-led exposure
Again, don't memorise these and assume they're correct for every situation.
Learn what each setting changes.
That will make you a far better photographer.
Shoot RAW Underwater
If your camera allows it, I strongly recommend photographing in RAW.
Underwater images often need more adjustment than photographs made on land.
Colour balance changes with depth. Highlights on the surface can be extremely bright while the water beneath them becomes dark. Visibility can reduce contrast dramatically.
RAW files retain considerably more information for editing than a processed JPEG.
That gives you much more flexibility when adjusting:
- White balance
- Exposure
- Highlights
- Shadows
- Colour
- Contrast
- Noise
Editing shouldn't be about turning the ocean into something that wasn't there.
For me, it's about bringing the photograph closer to how the experience actually felt.
Why Do Underwater Photos Look Blue?
Water progressively absorbs different wavelengths of light as you descend.
This is why red, orange and warm colours seem to disappear while blue becomes increasingly dominant.
Your eyes and brain are surprisingly good at compensating for this.
Your camera isn't.
That's why you might remember a colourful reef, look at your photograph afterwards and wonder why everything looks blue or green.
There are three main ways of dealing with this:
- Get shallower.
- Correct colour through white balance and editing.
- Bring your own light.
Do You Need Strobes for Underwater Photography?
No.
Some of my favourite underwater wildlife images are made entirely with natural light.
For whales, whale sharks, sharks and other large animals near the surface, natural light can be beautiful - and strobes may not even be practical.
But strobes become enormously useful when photographing reefs, macro subjects and wide-angle scenes at depth.
An underwater strobe isn't simply there to make the photograph brighter.
It puts colour back into the subject.
How to Avoid Backscatter in Underwater Photography
Almost every underwater photographer eventually comes home with a photograph covered in tiny white dots.
That's backscatter.
Your strobe has illuminated particles suspended in the water between your lens and your subject.
One of the best ways to reduce it is to move your strobes away from the camera and angle them so that the edges of the light illuminate the subject rather than blasting the entire column of water directly in front of the lens.
And once again:
Get closer.
Less water between you and the subject means fewer suspended particles to illuminate.
The Most Important Underwater Photography Tip: Get Closer
I know I've already said it.
I'm saying it again because it matters that much.
Get close.
Then, if the situation and the animal allow it, get closer.
Every extra layer of water between you and your subject reduces clarity.
This is especially important when visibility isn't perfect.
When photographing large animals, my goal isn't normally to swim directly at them.
Doing that often produces exactly the opposite result.
Instead, I'll watch the animal.
- What direction is it moving?
- Is it circling?
- Is it feeding?
- Is there a predictable route?
- How is it reacting to people?
- Can I position myself ahead of it and simply wait?
Understanding behaviour is often what gets you close enough for the photograph.
Don't Chase Wildlife
One of the easiest ways to photograph the back end of a shark for an entire dive is to spend the dive chasing it.
Wildlife photography is often about resisting the urge to immediately swim towards something.
Stop.
Watch.
Think.
An animal's behaviour can tell you an enormous amount about where it might go next.
If you constantly chase marine life, you're reacting to what already happened.
If you understand behaviour, you can start anticipating what happens next.
That distinction has probably improved my underwater wildlife photography more than any camera upgrade ever could.
Photograph Animals at Eye Level
One of the most common beginner underwater photography mistakes is shooting downwards.
You see a turtle beneath you.
You point the camera down.
You take the picture.
Technically, you photographed a turtle.
But the background is probably just reef or sand, and the animal can become lost within it.
Whenever possible, I try to get at eye level or slightly below my subject.
Now the animal is separated from the background.
You can include blue water.
You can frame it against sunlight.
And most importantly, the photograph feels as though you have entered the animal's world rather than observed it from above.
Think About the Background
When a spectacular animal appears, it's very easy to stop seeing everything else.
You're thinking:
SHARK.
Your camera, unfortunately, is also photographing the diver behind it, the person's fins entering the frame, the white dive boat above, your buddy's bubbles and the piece of reef growing out of the animal's head.
Try to train yourself to look beyond the subject.
- Where is the cleanest water?
- Where is the sun?
- Can you use the surface?
- Can you include another diver for scale?
- Can you move twenty centimetres and remove a distraction?
Great wildlife photography isn't just about finding great wildlife.
It's about arranging everything else around it.
Use Negative Space
You don't always have to fill the frame.
Underwater environments are brilliant for negative space.
A shark surrounded by endless blue.
A tiny diver beneath a whale.
A turtle disappearing towards the surface.
These images can communicate something that a tight portrait cannot:
Scale.
Learn to Use Sunbursts
One of the things I love most about underwater photography is being able to incorporate the surface and the sun into compositions.
Shooting upwards can give you:
- Blue water
- Silhouettes
- Reflections
- Sun rays
- Surface texture
- Sunbursts
If conditions allow, I'll often position myself below an animal rather than above it.
Suddenly a photograph of an animal becomes a photograph about being underwater.
Autofocus for Underwater Wildlife Photography
Modern autofocus systems have made underwater wildlife photography considerably easier, but the camera still needs help.
For moving subjects, I generally prefer continuous autofocus combined with high-speed burst shooting and an autofocus area appropriate for the situation.
Animal or eye detection can be fantastic when it works, but don't become completely dependent on it.
Underwater scenes can confuse autofocus systems.
Low contrast, particles, bubbles and changing light can all interfere with focus.
Know how to quickly switch autofocus modes or move your focus point.
The whale shark will not wait while you navigate three menu screens.
Underwater Macro Photography
Macro photography is almost a completely different discipline.
Instead of scanning blue water for large animals, you're suddenly searching centimetre by centimetre for tiny subjects.
Macro teaches patience.
Composition becomes extremely precise. Depth of field can be tiny. Small changes in strobe position dramatically change the photograph.
If macro is what interests you, there are several areas worth learning in more detail:
- Macro lenses
- Underwater macro settings
- Strobes
- Snoots
- Focus
- Black backgrounds
- Supermacro
- Composition
How to Edit Underwater Photos
Editing is an important part of my underwater photography workflow, but I prefer starting with a photograph that already works.
Editing can't fix poor composition.
It can't move you closer to the animal.
It can't change the direction of the light.
And it definitely can't make an out-of-focus eye sharp.
What editing can do is refine what you've captured.
White balance
This is often the first major adjustment.
Exposure
I'll establish the overall brightness while protecting important highlights.
Highlights and shadows
Underwater scenes can have huge differences between bright surface water and darker areas beneath.
Contrast
Water naturally reduces contrast, so underwater files can sometimes benefit from carefully restoring it.
Colour
The goal isn't maximum saturation.
I want believable colour.
Local adjustments
Masks can help subtly guide attention towards the animal without making the edit obvious.
Backscatter removal
I'll remove distracting particles where appropriate, particularly around the main subject.
Noise reduction and sharpening
These usually come near the end of my workflow.
Watch on YouTube How I Edit My Underwater Photographs Follow my underwater photo editing workflow and see how I work with colour, white balance, exposure and detail to take an image from the RAW file to the finished photograph.
Common Underwater Photography Mistakes
If you're beginning underwater photography, you'll probably make most of these.
I did.
Shooting from too far away
Probably the biggest mistake.
Get closer.
Shooting down at everything
Get lower and find cleaner water behind your subject.
Using a shutter speed that's too slow
A technically clean image isn't useful if your moving subject is blurred.
Being afraid of ISO
Use the ISO you need to make the photograph.
Chasing animals
Observe first. Position second.
Ignoring your background
The animal is only one part of the photograph.
Using too much strobe power
More light isn't always better - especially in poor visibility.
Not checking the housing properly
Take your time before every dive.
Spending the whole dive looking through the camera
This one matters.
Sometimes put the camera down.
Look at where you are.
What Underwater Photography Equipment Do Beginners Actually Need?
You don't need to buy everything at once.
A simple underwater photography setup could be:
Camera
A camera appropriate to your budget and goals.
Housing
Rated beyond the depth you plan to use it at.
Lens and port
If you're using an interchangeable-lens camera.
Tray and handles
These make larger systems considerably easier to hold and provide mounting points.
Lanyard or attachment
You really don't want to discover what negatively buoyant means when your camera isn't connected to you.
Optional strobe or video light
You can add lighting later.
Start simple. Master your camera. Then add complexity when you understand why you need it.
Buying two strobes, eight arms and thousands of pounds of camera equipment before you've learned to hold position underwater probably won't improve your photography as much as you think.
How to Improve Your Underwater Photography Quickly
If I had to reduce this entire underwater photography guide to ten pieces of advice, they would be:
- Become a confident diver before becoming an underwater photographer.
- Get closer to your subject.
- Use a wide lens for large underwater wildlife.
- Learn shutter speed, aperture and ISO rather than memorising settings.
- Prioritise sharpness when photographing moving wildlife.
- Shoot RAW whenever possible.
- Get to eye level or below the animal.
- Pay as much attention to the background as the subject.
- Watch wildlife behaviour instead of chasing animals.
- Don't let photography stop you from experiencing the dive.
That final one is something I still remind myself of.
Underwater Photography FAQ
Is underwater photography difficult?
Underwater photography has a steep initial learning curve because you're combining photography with diving, buoyancy, changing light, limited visibility and moving subjects. Once camera controls and diving skills become instinctive, it becomes much easier to concentrate on composition and wildlife behaviour.
What is the best camera for underwater photography?
There is no single best underwater camera. GoPros and action cameras are excellent for simplicity and travel, compact cameras provide more photographic control in a small system, while mirrorless cameras offer the greatest image quality and flexibility at a significantly higher cost.
What camera settings should I use for underwater photography?
Your underwater camera settings depend on the subject and conditions. For moving wildlife, I prioritise a fast enough shutter speed to keep the animal sharp, then choose aperture according to the depth of field I want and allow ISO to compensate where necessary.
Should I shoot RAW or JPEG underwater?
If your camera supports RAW, I recommend using it. RAW files offer considerably more flexibility when correcting white balance, exposure, colour and contrast - all particularly useful when editing underwater photographs.
Do I need a strobe for underwater photography?
No. Natural-light underwater photography can produce beautiful results, particularly with large animals near the surface. Strobes become extremely useful for restoring colour when photographing reefs, macro subjects and wide-angle scenes at greater depths.
Why are my underwater photos blue?
Water progressively absorbs different wavelengths of light as depth increases, leaving blue and green wavelengths dominant. Shooting shallower, using artificial lighting, adjusting white balance and careful RAW editing can help restore natural-looking colour.
How do I make underwater photos sharper?
Use an appropriate shutter speed, focus carefully on your subject, reduce the distance between yourself and the subject, keep your camera stable and make sure your dome or port is clean.
How do you avoid backscatter underwater?
Get closer to the subject, minimise the amount of water between your lens and the animal, and position strobes so that they illuminate the subject without directly lighting all of the particles directly in front of the camera.
What lens is best for underwater photography?
Wide-angle and fisheye lenses are excellent for large marine animals, reefs, wrecks and divers, while dedicated macro lenses are best for small subjects. The right lens depends entirely on what you intend to photograph.
Can beginners do underwater photography?
Absolutely. Start with equipment you can comfortably manage, concentrate on becoming confident in the water and learn basic exposure and composition before making your setup more complicated.
Final Thoughts
Underwater photography has taken me to some extraordinary places and put me face-to-face with animals I used to only see in books and documentaries.
But the equipment isn't what keeps me coming back.
It's the uncertainty.
You can spend hours in the water and see almost nothing.
And then suddenly there is a shadow in the blue.
A shark appears.
A whale turns towards you.
A manta passes overhead.
For a few seconds, everything comes together - the animal, the light, your position and the camera - and you press the shutter.
That's what underwater photography is really about for me.
The settings, cameras, housings and strobes are simply tools that help you make the most of those moments when they arrive.
So if you're beginning underwater photography, don't worry about having the perfect setup.
Get comfortable in the water.
Learn the equipment you already own.
Study the animals you're hoping to photograph.
Get close without interfering.
Pay attention to the light.
And take as many photographs as you can.
Because eventually, the technical side starts becoming instinctive.
And when that happens, you can stop thinking so much about the camera - and start concentrating on the story unfolding in front of it.
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