Can anyone do it?
Underwater photography is growing in popularity, and as time goes by, more and more options are available to people from novice to professional photographers.
Yes, anyone can do it. Pretty much all the technical rules for normal photography count for underwater photography as well. If you know your way around a camera, you will easily adjust to the underwater scene. What makes this so accessible is that, even if you are not interested in knowing all the ins and outs of photography, you can get a smaller and less expensive setup to snap away with. You don’t have to be a professional or even an intermediate photographer to get started in underwater photography.
Why I love underwater photography
I have always loved taking pictures since I was a child, but underwater photography is what got me into doing photography more seriously. I can express my love for nature and animals through my photographs, this is what I always wanted to be - a nature and wildlife photographer.
My passion for photography, as well as animals, makes this one of my absolute favourite topics! I love to help, teach, and chat with anyone who is interested.
How I got started in underwater photography
I bought my first underwater setup second-hand. It was a Canon Powershot S95 compact camera (a camera not having interchangeable lenses) with an Ikelite housing (a watertight casing). I quickly got the hang of it, and soon I was itching to add a light to my setup.
Since the camera’s built-in flash cannot be used underwater, all the pictures are taken with natural light. Light can disappear very quickly underwater, especially on deeper dives or in lower visibility. This sometimes leaves you with underexposed (dark) images as well as very little colour, since colours disappear the deeper you go below the surface.
So, I decided to get a strobe (flash) to add to my underwater housing, and I got a strobe light. This one addition to my setup completely changed my pictures; the vibrant colours of the reef were visible. I was hooked; there was no turning back.
Do I have to sell my car to get started?
Underwater photography, like most hobbies, can be expensive. I guess it comes down to what you want to spend your money on. The quality of images I got with my S95 compact camera was great and more than most people would want or need.
What do you want to achieve with your underwater images?
Are you a happy snapper who wants some memories of your dive travels? Or do you want to take pictures to be able to identify the animals you encountered and have some proof for those disbelieving, jealous divers who sat that dive out? Maybe you want to take videos to grow that Instagram account of yours?
I also love the versatility that many setups provide in that there are lots of add-ons available, so you don’t have to buy everything at once. You can start with your housing (watertight casing) and can then immediately start taking underwater pictures.
Then you can decide, for instance, that you enjoy taking macro (close-up) pictures of the underwater world, and then you add a lens that can screw onto the front of your housing bringing your subject even closer. How cool is that! Or you can decide that you want to add a strobe (flash) and so on.
If you are more serious about photography, there are great mirrorless options available, which are still relatively small and manageable setups, but with incredible image quality.
If you’re keen on getting more serious about underwater photography, you can check out this course: PADI Digital Underwater Photography. Not a PADI-qualified diver? Then this course is for you: Underwater Photography Course.
We protect what we love, join the movement!
by Madelein Wolfaardt
All images ©️ by @sealife_madeleinwolf
www.madeleinwolf.co.za
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