Technique/Tutorial

Underwater photo tutorials, techniques and tips for all types of underwater photo and video, including macro, supermacro, wide-angle, composition and best camera gear.

Master Split-Shots with these Easy Techniques
By Brent Durand

5 Tips for Awesome Over-Under Shots

5 Tips for Awesome Over-Under Shots
Brent Durand
Master Split-Shots with these Easy Techniques

Diversity is essential in any photo portfolio. The first thing we learn when presenting photos is that less is more; it’s better to show 5 excellent photos than 25 mediocre photos. The next trick in presenting photos is finding those “wow” photos, which is done through variety that keeps the audience looking forward to your next visual surprise. Over-under shots, aka split-shots, are perfect for mixing into your macro and wide-angle collection.

Below are 5 essential tips for shooting over-under split-shots.

 

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Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


The Secret to Sharp Focus on Fast-Moving Subjects
By Todd Winner

The Breakdown on Back Button Focus

Todd Winner
The Secret to Sharp Focus on Fast-Moving Subjects

Back button focus first appeared on Canon SLR film cameras over 20 years ago. Pro photographers wanted a way to separate the Auto focus function that is typically connected to the shutter release. Every Canon DSLR body is capable of back button focus either through a dedicated AF button or another button on the back that can be programmed.  Nikon also has dedicated AF buttons on the back of some of their models, and the AF lock can be programmed for focus on most bodies.

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Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


Add some Speed and Action to your Images with a Creative Zoom-Effect
By Lill Haugen

How to Use the Zoom-Effect Underwater

Lill Haugen
Add some Speed and Action to your Images with a Creative Zoom-Effect

How to Use the Zoom-Effect Underwater


Add some Speed and Action to your Images with a Creative Zoom-Effect
 

By Lill Haugen

 

Hawksbill Turtle

SUPPORT THE UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE:

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Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


Maximize Photo Opportunities on your Next Night Dive
By Craig Dietrich

5 Tips for Underwater Photography at Night

5 Tips for Underwater Photography at Night
Craig Dietrich
Maximize Photo Opportunities on your Next Night Dive

The sun is low as the dive boat hums along toward our destination. The divers -- mostly grown men -- are like schoolgirls giddy with excitement as the opportunity in front of us doesn’t present itself as often as we would like. The Captain slows the boat and we know we have finally reached our dive site. Hearts beat faster and anticipation mounts as we finish suiting up and complete our gear checks. We try to be patient as the excitement builds and we hear those magic words “Dive, Dive, Dive!”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Craig Dietrich is a former Naval and family/children’s photographer.  An avid scuba diver, his two loves of diving and photography came together and now Craig is based out of Pompano Beach, Florida.  View more of Craig’s work at www.dietrichunderwater.com.

SUPPORT THE UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE:

The Best Service & Prices on u/w Photo Gear

 

Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


Make your subjects POP using Backlighting
By Ridlon Kiphart

Advanced Strobe Techniques - Backlighting

Ridlon Kiphart
Make your subjects POP using Backlighting

Advanced Strobe Techniques - Backlighting


Make Your Subjects POP Using Backlighting!

By Ridlon Kiphart

 

SUPPORT THE UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE:

The Best Service & Prices on u/w Photo Gear

 

Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


Inspirational images & techniques for underwater photography with a fisheye lens
By Scott Gietler

Ten Amazing Photos You Can Take With A Fisheye Lens

Ten Amazing Photos You Can Take With A Fisheye Lens
Scott Gietler
Inspirational images & techniques for underwater photography with a fisheye lens

Wide-angle underwater photography can produce some absolutely stunning results, as is evidenced with the images below.  Perhaps foremost among the many advantages of going wide is the ability to get very close to the subject while also allowing a wide angle of view. By minimizing the amount of water between lens and subject, you can achieve excellent color and sharpness in a wide variety of shooting situations. The field of view is also much wider than our own vision, allowing you to include very large subjects and panoramic views of background scenery

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Scott Gietler is the owner of Bluewater Photo, Bluewater Travel, and the Underwater Photography Guide. Bluewater Photo, based in Culver City, CA is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious underwater camera stores, serving many thousands of customers each year, where nothing is more important than customer service. The Underwater Photography Guide is the world’s first website to feature free tutorials on underwater photography, and has become the most trafficked resource on underwater photography worldwide. Bluewater Travel is a full-service dive travel wholesaler sending groups and individuals on the world’s best dive vacations. 

Scott is also an avid diver, underwater photographer, and budding marine biologist, having created the online guide to the underwater flora and fauna of Southern California. He is the past vice-president of the Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society, has volunteered extensively at the Santa Monica aquarium, and is the creator of the Ocean Art underwater photo competition, one of the largest underwater international photo competitions ever held in terms of value of prizes. He lives in California with his wife, newborn girl and scuba-diving, photo taking 4 year old son.

Follow Scott on Facebook or Instagram.

SUPPORT THE UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE:

The Best Service & Prices on u/w Photo Gear

 

Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


Part III in a great series of underwater composition tutorials
By Scott Gietler

Underwater Composition: Fill the Frame

Scott Gietler
Part III in a great series of underwater composition tutorials

Composition: Fill the Frame


Part III in a series of underwater composition tutorials

By Scott Gietler

 

underwater composition tutorial for underwater photography

 

SUPPORT THE UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE:

The Best Service & Prices on u/w Photo Gear

 

Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


Optimizing Lightroom Workflow for Underwater Photographers
By Brent Durand

Workflow Basics in Adobe Lightroom

Workflow Basics in Adobe Lightroom
Brent Durand
Optimizing Lightroom Workflow for Underwater Photographers

Returning from a dive vacation is great – we’re relaxed and have taken the edge off the quest to dive every day.  But as underwater photographers, there’s always the daunting task of sorting and editing thousands of photos from the trip.  Different subjects, different dive locations, different cameras and a few topside photos.  It’s not a very exciting process but with a streamlined workflow and efficient organization we can fly though our edits and make images easy to find later on.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brent Durand is a weekend wanderer and story teller from California.

Brent is an avid diver and adventure photographer, and shoots underwater any time he can get hands on a camera system. He can be reached at brent@uwphotographyguide.com.

Follow Underwater Photography Guide on Facebook or Instagram.

SUPPORT THE UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE:

The Best Service & Prices on u/w Photo Gear

 

Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


A look at the best settings for macro and wide-angle underwater photography
By Kelli Dickinson

Olympus OM-D and PEN underwater settings

Olympus PEN and OM-D Underwater Settings
Kelli Dickinson
A look at the best settings for macro and wide-angle underwater photography

Olympus has had a long standing tradition of creating great cameras, and over the past several years their PEN line and now OM-D line have offered some of the most popular cameras for underwater photography around. These camers tend to be highly customizable, especially in the higher end O-MD options, allowing the user to set up the camera exactly as they like.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli Dickinson is an avid diver and underwater photographer who shoots primarily on mirrorless cameras. Familiar with a variety of cameras and housings she tries to shoot on as many different options as possible to improve her overall knowledge of underwater camera systems. In addition she is Manager of Bluewater Photo. In her spare time she can be found running, hiking or underwater. 

Connect with her on instagram @kelnkelp or at www.kelnkelp.com

She can be reached via email at kelli@bluewaterphotostore.com.

SUPPORT THE UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE:

The Best Service & Prices on u/w Photo Gear

 

Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


Best underwater settings for underwater photography
By Scott Gietler & Travis Ball

Underwater Settings for the Sony RX 100

Underwater Settings for the Sony RX-100
Scott Gietler & Travis Ball
Best underwater settings for underwater photography

Sony RX 100 settings for Macro

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Scott Gietler is the owner of Bluewater Photo, Bluewater Travel, and the Underwater Photography Guide. Bluewater Photo, based in Culver City, CA is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious underwater camera stores, serving many thousands of customers each year, where nothing is more important than customer service. The Underwater Photography Guide is the world’s first website to feature free tutorials on underwater photography, and has become the most trafficked resource on underwater photography worldwide. Bluewater Travel is a full-service dive travel wholesaler sending groups and individuals on the world’s best dive vacations. 

Scott is also an avid diver, underwater photographer, and budding marine biologist, having created the online guide to the underwater flora and fauna of Southern California. He is the past vice-president of the Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society, has volunteered extensively at the Santa Monica aquarium, and is the creator of the Ocean Art underwater photo competition, one of the largest underwater international photo competitions ever held in terms of value of prizes. He lives in California with his wife, newborn girl and scuba-diving, photo taking 4 year old son.

Follow Scott on Facebook or Instagram.

SUPPORT THE UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE:

The Best Service & Prices on u/w Photo Gear

 

Visit Bluewater Photo & Video for all your underwater photography and video gear. Click, or call the team at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

 


The Best Pricing, Service & Expert Advice to Book your Dive Trips

 

Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers.

 


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