Strobes are a light in the darkness for underwater photography – literally. We learn in open water scuba classes about light falloff (starting with red) as we descend in the water column. We also know that the water itself gets darker as we descend, especially when visibility is less than 30ft (10m), when clouds block the sun or (obviously) at night. Using a strobe will bring not only light, but also vivid color and contrast back into the scene.

There is an old saying that goes “never work with animals or children due to their unpredictable nature”, but I guess the actor W.C. Fields, who coined this phrase, never tried his hand at dive model photography! The underwater realm is a far cry from the dry safety of a movie set, however the mercurial mixture of water, wildlife and breath-holding models presents a very different and sometimes equally challenging equation to work with.

Macro is arguably the most popular underwater photography category, attracting divers in all corners of the globe.

Classic underwater macro photography has its own styles, techniques and objectives. We have all seen the great images produced with these techniques, but sometimes the images start to look very similar to each other, especially after the 100th pygmy seahorse or frogfish photo. This is when the desire to shoot different macro images begins to grow in u/w shooters’ hearts.

Shooting Fast Action Underwater

Tips for Capturing the Moment of Peak Action

Text and Photos By Todd Winner

Most of us have been intrigued at some point by things we cannot see with the naked eye. Scientists are continuously making new discoveries in the oceans, and underwater photographers are keeping pace by documenting the large and very small elements that make up our oceans. In my view, there are two developments in the last 15 years that have helped spur the growth in underwater super macro photography to the level we see today: