In recent times, waterproof housings and digital cameras are getting more affordable. Considering this fact, it’s pretty much possible even for the budding photographers to get some fabulous pictures. Here are some valuable tips that would help you improve your underwater photography:

1. Get familiar with your camera

As with any device or equipment, it’s essential that you get to know your camera well. This must be your first step before you head off to the waters for the shoot. Study the main controls by getting some test shots at home. Then you can take some more pictures of the neighboring areas.

Next, you can try putting your camera into the housing and then taking some more shots. You’ll see how different things can get by operating your camera through a housing. If you have access to a pool, you can dive in with your camera and housing. The scenario can be entirely different when you use the housing underwater.

It’s always a good idea to get used to such conditions first. This would be a lot better than struggling with the equipment during your first underwater dive. You’ll also learn how to handle the daylights efficiently.

2. Retain your buoyancy

Another important thing to remember before you begin shooting underwater is to have decent buoyancy control. When getting neutral in the water comes instinctively, you’ll be able to retain your buoyancy. This is useful while attempting to capture the underwater images. Nothing is more worse than people ignoring buoyancy control. They simply plough their way through a coral reef and damage it.

If you can’t shoot without disturbing the pristine coral reef, it’s better to move on to another subject. Most people these days don’t give a thought to their buoyancy, especially the beginners. Much of this can be attributed to the cameras and housings becoming cheaper than ever before.

3. Use external strobes

When you’re under the water, the built-in flash of your camera is almost useless. The flash coming from your camera would be too small to light any of the subjects underwater. It will only be good to light up some particles, which ruins our shot. Taking these facts into consideration, you’d want to get external strobes.

There are several benefits of using external strobes while indulging in underwater photography. Upon carefully positioning them, you can minimize the backscatter. This is because they’re mounted on arms that keep them at a good distance away from the lens.

They are also good at producing more powerful flashes, giving you the chance to light your subjects better. For getting specific shots, you can also move them wherever you need. Just like housings and cameras, you can get the strobes a lot cheaper today.

4. Do a test shot

Once you’re fully prepared with your camera and housing, take a test shot. There are many photographers who can’t contain their excitement of going underwater and capturing some splendid underwater images. They forget to see whether they’re truly prepared for the shoot.

Some don’t even bother to see that they’ve left their lens cap on. It’s better to check everything before getting into the water and have a test shot taken. When you go underwater and realize that something’s not right, you can do nothing else but curse yourself.

5. Go closer to your subject

When you’re all set to take your first underwater shot, get closer to the subject you intend to capture. You don’t want to have the fish you captured appear like a tiny spec in your image. Of course, you can use zoom to capture the subjects underwater, but the problem is the light. You’ll have a great zoom feature on certain cameras or with some lenses.

When you zoom and bring the subject closer, it’s still a few meters away. In this case, even your powerful strobes won’t be able to light the shot properly. You must, therefore, try moving in slowly and carefully. Once you’re close enough, capture the subject instantly.

6. Approach your subject slowly

When it comes to underwater photography, your subject would mostly be fish or any of the beautiful marine beings. Most of them move very fast and you won’t be able to catch up with them. It won’t be possible even if you’re an expert swimmer.

Let’s take the example of a turtle. If you chase after this marine being, you’ll only get a shot of its rear at best. So, the ideal strategy when taking your shots under the water is to approach your subject slowly. Be patient enough to stop for a while if needed. You can get extremely close to some creatures if you take your time.

One of the best ways to get some good shots is to approach your subject from the front. If these aquatic beings see you coming and sense that you’re not a threat, they’ll not swim away. If you approach from behind, they’re likely to disappear into the blue within seconds.

7. Shoot at level or upwards

You’ll get better lighting by shooting upwards. This also gives you the chance to frame your subject against the background of the blue water. Sometimes you’re left with no choice but to shoot downwards to get a shot of your subject. Such shots rarely come out well. It would also be a good idea to shoot at level with your subject.

8. Make good use of technology

There are a variety of computer applications to enhance the appearance of your photos. So, don’t stop yourself from making some good use of the latest technologies. There’s no denying that some underwater photographers can capture some fabulous images straight off the camera. It’s also true that the images captured by most of the photographers under the water would need tweaking.

You can get an excellent computer application for this purpose and familiarize yourself with it. Get some good practice with some of your photos by tweaking them with the software. You can also keep referring to the user guide made available with the software to improve your editing skills.

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Today, nature photographers can easily take their camera out to the sea with the availability of low-budget boat trips. However, there are certain things that they need to be prepared for. So, here are some of the elements that you need to consider if you’re photographing boats:

1. Camera

Large sensors are essential for producing pictures that are sharper. It’s also a fact that sharpness alone doesn’t result in a good photograph. You can use any combination of camera and lens while photographing a boat. Before doing this, you need to understand the features of your lens and camera. You also need to know what they can and cannot do.

2. Lens

Telephoto and wide-angle lenses are excellent while taking some realistic photos of boats. You just need to angle them properly. The distance of camera from the boat determines the best focal length that you must use while photographing it. Lenses of fixed focal length are fine if you’re shooting a boat that’s at rest.

If you’re shooting a moving boat, you might need to use a zoom lens. This is regardless of whether you’re shooting from a chase boat or a fixed location on land. Maintaining good balance between the water, boat, and sky is the key here.

3. Filters

Polarizing filters can be of great help in removing unwanted reflections and eliminating glare. To keep water and salt from spraying off the front lens elements, UV filters are ideal.

4. Wind

During sunrise and sunset, the winds tend to slow down and waters are somewhat still. This can also get you better reflections if you’re photographing a boat at rest. If you’re capturing a sailboat, lack of wind makes it hard to get running shots that are good enough.

Fortunately, many of the sailboats have auxiliary power that keeps them moving. Despite this, there’s a difference between the sails being filled through the action of wind and powered boat.

5. Light

Light plays an important role in photography. So, you definitely need the required amount of light while photographing a boat. Early morning and late afternoon would be the best time to photograph a boat. This is just like photographing architectures and landscapes.

Hulls of boats taper typically towards the waterline and the late day and early morning sunlight illuminate their deeper recesses. As the sun rises higher, these recesses fall into shadow owing to the build-up of contrast. You also tend to get a good balance of color and lesser contrast earlier and later during the day.

6. Distortion

When you’re photographing boats, avoid distortion. If you’re using wide-angle lenses, don’t get too close. You must not tilt the camera up or down as it might lead to keystone distortions. It’s important to keep in mind that your goal should be to render the boat’s shape accurately.

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From the coast, you’ll find all kinds of boats, such as fishing and tourist boats. Upon getting to the shores of rivers, you can take some perfect shots of canoes and kayaks. Here are some fabulous tips that would help you in photographing boats:

1. Choose a kit for photographing boats

A standard zoom of the range 35 to 80mm would be fine for photographing boats. You can get the entire boat in one shot as it’s usually wider. It’s also long enough to capture the hull, sails and other finer details. If the boat is further away, you can go for a longer lens of the range 80 to 200mm.

This lens is also useful for shooting smaller details, such as portraits of crew and mini flags. You’ll need a polarizing filter to reduce reflections. If the boat is set against a sky that’s bright, a gradual filter would be fine. Take a tripod with you if there are plans to capture panoramic images of marinas and harbors.

2. Shoot one boat instead of many

When you think of a harbor, scenes of colorful boats set against beautiful blue skies come to your mind. In the waters below, you can see the reflection of these scenes as well. To get some perfect pictures of these scenes you’ll need to have a sunny day. Besides, the waters must also be still.

Choose the viewpoints without much clutter and use a polarizing filter to make the colors saturated. Instead of shooting several boats in the foreground, it would be more impressive if you shoot a single boat.

3. Wait for the tide

You can photograph moored boats grounded on the beach or in mud when the tide goes out. Make sure that everything from the front of the mooring rope to the distant boat is sharp. For this purpose, a small aperture would be needed. If you shoot from a low angle and accommodate a brooding sky, the photo will be more dramatic. To darken the sky, the use of ND filter or a graduated grey would be ideal.

4. Explore opportunities on a river

Instead of a coastal location, you may choose to photograph a boat on a running river. You may come across a variety of boats on the river, from small cargo boats to large sailing boats. You don’t need to worry about planning or using ultra-fast shutter speeds. Boats run at a relatively slower speed on the rivers. This would make shooting a boat easier for you on a river.

The side or low bank point provides a lower angle for maximum impact. Try to capture some interesting landmarks in the background if you can. Some of the charming elements you can include in the photo are odd buildings and trees. The presence of a bridge would make things a lot easier. You can use the bridge as a frame when the boat passes under it.

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