Taking a great photograph while snorkeling has very little to do with the camera you are using or the subject you are taking a photo of. You could have the best camera money can buy, and the most unique underwater subject out there, but if you don’t understand the simple fundamentals of underwater photography, there’s a very good chance that your photos won’t have that wow factor that you may have hoped for. Meanwhile, someone snorkeling with a very cheap camera who focuses on simpler subjects and has a basic understanding of the fundamentals of underwater photography will very likely be able to take a photo that captivates an audience far better.
Fundamentals of Natural Light Underwater
One of the most noticeable issues we first face as underwater photo enthusiasts is the loss of color, which occurs because water absorbs and scatters light differently than air. As you try to photograph subjects that are deeper, colors like red, orange, and yellow fade first, leaving images looking increasingly blue or green. To overcome this challenge, we need a couple of things.
Shoot with the sun
We always want to try to shoot with the sun, as it’s our light source, and we want to make sure we’re photographing the light illuminated side of our subjects, not the shadow side. Most of the time, this isn’t an issue as the sun is high in the sky and as snorkelers, we’re between the sun and our subjects. However, when the sun is lower on the horizon, early mornings or late afternoons, this is when we need to pay more attention to this.
Get within three feet of your subject
Proximity is one of the most important things to consider with underwater photography. The more water we have between our lens and the subject, the less color we’ll have.
White balance is key
Setting the appropriate white balance setting on your camera is what’s really going to make the big difference with the colors in your image. Most digital cameras nowadays, like the Olympus TG Series, will have built-in underwater white balance settings, where the camera adjusts the colors based on the light for each shot, giving you colorful images every time.
To learn more about white balance, check out this blog.
Fundamentals of Photographing Through Water
Just like having more water between your lens and the subject affecting your colors, your proximity to the subject will also affect things like clarity and contrast. The further away you are from your subject, the more washed out your image will be. For the sharpest images with the most pop, it’s very important that we follow these basic guidelines.
Zoom with your fins
Unlike taking photos on land where we can simply zoom with our camera’s lens to close in on our subject, the same does not work underwater. I mean, we can still zoom, but the end result will not be the same given the waters density. We will just end up with a washed-out image with very little color. We want to instead zoom with our fins to physically get as close as we can, and then zoom, if at all, to fine-tune our composition.
Photograph subjects at a depth you can access
If you have the ability to duck dive down to a few meters, that will help you a lot in being able to physically get closer to your subjects. However, if you prefer to stay on the surface, there are still plenty of amazing subjects to focus on in the shallows, especially in places like Indonesia, Palau, and Egypt!
For tips on improving your duck diving skills, check out our Shallow Freediving Workshops led by professional Freediving Instructors.
Use a wide-angle lens
For photographing larger reef scenes and subjects like manta rays, turtles, and whale sharks, a wide-angle lens can make all the difference with your images, as they allow you to physically get closer to your subjects without compromising your field of view.
Olympus Camera with FCON T01 Fisheye ConverterTo learn more about wide-angle lenses, check out this blog.
Subject Selection
Choosing a great subject is not about finding the coolest or most unusual subject. A good subject will be visually interesting to look at, but also in an ideal setting that allows for prolonged encounters, offers multiple angles to approach it from, and is relatively easy to photograph. A good subject will quite often be a simple subject.
An example of a very simple subject composed using nothing more than a wide angle lens and a TG 6 Camera Even the simplest subject can produce amazing results when composed correctlySnorkelers will often spend their time trying to photograph the small colorful reef fish that are darting in and out of the reef. If you try to get close or make any sort of movement, they’re gone before you know it. Similarly, more stationary subjects like scorpion fish and other benthic dwellers that sit in camouflage amongst the corals are also problematic for us photographers trying to elevate our photos to the next level, as they generally tend to wedge themselves into the reef, making it difficult to approach them from an angle that’s going to flatter them. Luckily, there are quite a few of these cool critters on the reefs so if you find ones that’s not in an ideal setting, you will likely find one later on that is. For example, the crocodile fish in the left was just so imbedded in the reef there was no way to highlight it. The crocodile fish on the right was found a few moment later on the same reef, but this one was in a position I could get a much more pleasing angle on it so as to highlight it.
Here are some subjects that we suggest searching for as they tend to be not only beautiful subjects, but also more cooperative.
Anemones and anemone Fish
In the Indo-Pacific, we find a lot of different species of anemones and their resident fish. Some anemone fish will cooperate with the cameras, while others will hide. Find the ones that are cooperative and spend your time with them. If the fish isn’t cooperative, and the anemone has those beautiful tentacles, try taking abstract photos of the tentacles.
Turtles
In many of our trips, we encounter turtles. Like the anemones, some will be cooperative while others a bit more skittish. Wait for the cooperative ones and if you’re relaxed around them, they’ll be relaxed around you, allowing you to photograph them from many different angles.
Coral Abstracts
Coral abstract photos are some of the easiest and most satisfying photos to take. Just get close and explore the photographic possibilities with the different shapes, textures, colors, and compositions.
Crinoids & Larger Tunicates
Both of these unusual-looking marine creatures can be very photogenic. They don’t move, they’re visually interesting, and they’re generally found in easily accessible locations.
Cuttlefish
A little bit harder to find, but when you find a friendly cuttlefish, there’s no need to look for anything else because this is as good as it gets! They’re a large size, they can be quite cooperative if you’re calm, and they change shapes, colors, and textures while often exhibiting some pretty amazing behavior.
Reef Scenes
Reef scenes are one of the easiest and most rewarding photos you can take, especially if you have a wide-angle lens. Coral reefs are like psychedelic gardens with a myriad of tropical life forms exploding from them.
Subjects on the Surface
Sargassum seaweed is very often overlooked or pushed aside by snorkelers despite it being a fantastic photographic subject, especially if it has fish hiding amongst it, which it often does! Objects, like sargassum or floating seed pods make exceptional subjects as they are very close to us and allow us to approach them from any angle. Not only that, the water’s surface will now reflect the subject, giving our images a very unique effect.
Jellyfish
We don’t see a ton of jellyfish on our tours, very few actually, but from time to time we encounter one here and there. While keeping a safe distance from their tentacles, jellyfish can make exceptional subjects.
Nudibranchs
While nudibranchs can be a little bit of a tricky subject given their small size and proclivity for slugging around in the crevices of the reef, we quite often come across larger ones who happen to be sitting in the most ideal positions.
Composition
Composition is all about what you decide to include or exclude from a photograph, and also how you choose to frame your subject or subjects. There are many different ways to photograph a single subject, so make sure you put a little thought into how you want to showcase yours. To really flatter your subject and draw the viewer into the image, follow these simple guidelines.
Shoot Laterally
A general rule of thumb for composing your underwater images is to approach your subjects from a more lateral perspective. If you shoot down on your subject, you’re composing it against the clutter of the reef. If you shoot laterally, you have a better chance of being able to compose your subject against a clean blue water background, while also introducing some depth to the image. Some other
The Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is a compositional guideline that divides an image into nine equal parts using two horizontal and two vertical lines. Placing your subject or subjects within relative proximity to the intersecting points, we can create balance in our images.
We typically use one or two subjects. In the case of two subjects, we want one in the foreground and one in the background. It’s also best to work in diagonal lines, so if your foreground subject is in the bottom left intersection, your background subject should be around the top right intersection.
In general, we want to avoid putting our subjects in the center of the frame. However, when there’s symmetry involved, placing your subject in the center can be a very visually interesting composition.
Look Room & Head Room
Lookroom and headroom are important compositional elements that help create a sense of space and balance in a photograph. Look room provides visual breathing space in the direction a subject is facing or looking, making the image feel natural and comfortable. Headroom ensures that there is enough space above a subject’s head, preventing the composition from feeling cramped or awkward.
Negative Space
Negative space refers to the empty or unoccupied areas around the main subject of the image. It helps draw attention to the subject by providing contrast and emphasizing its importance within the composition.
Additionally, negative space can create a sense of scale, simplicity, and balance in a photograph. You can choose to include a lot of negative space or choose to fill the frame entirely with your subject.
Understanding Your Camera and Making it Work For You
If you know how to use your camera and understand what its strengths and weaknesses are, you’re well ahead of someone with a big fancy camera that has no idea how to use it. Some things you really want to spend time learning about your camera should include….
Knowing how to access the white balance functions and/or underwater shooting modes, in and out of the camera housing
The quicker you can change your white balance settings on your camera, the better your colors will be in your images.
How to adjust the exposure
Many of the compact cameras like the Olympus TG series, and action cameras like GoPro, will have a dial or setting where you can quickly adjust how dark or bright your images are, giving you the ability to easily fine tune your images in the water, all without having to know anything about ISO, shutter speed, or Aperture.
How to turn on and off the camera’s flash
In general, we want to keep our flash off as the flash will just create backscatter. However, if we’re going in to take some close-up photos, then we’ll want to turn on our flash. Knowing how to quickly engage or disengage your flash will ensure that you have the correct flash setting for every shot, without missing a moment.
How wide your lens is
Having an idea of how wide the field of view is on your camera’s lens will really help you decide which subjects to focus on. If your camera has a field of view of around 60-70 degrees, like the Olympus TG series cameras, then you’re going to want to focus more on smaller subjects, fish portraits, smaller reef scenes, or coral abstracts, for example. If you have a field of view greater than 90 degrees, then larger subjects like turtles, mantas, and vast reef scenes with your snorkeling buddy will be what you’ll want to look for.
Like every skill in life, underwater photography can be as complex or as simple as we like it. To achieve your photographic goals, it doesn’t take the the latest and greatest camera or the most sought after subjects. It just takes a bit of forethought, a simple camera, and a basic understanding of the fundamentals of underwater photography.
