Underwater Photography Guide

You are pretty good with your camera, right? On the family vacations and class reunions, you are the official photographer. You get a lot of likes and complimentary comments on social media about the photos you post. So this summer, you decided to take your photography skills underwater or even half underwater photos. You tried to take a few underwater photos of your kids in the backyard pool, or a underwater maternity shoot. Maybe you even took some on your snorkeling adventure in the Bahamas. The problem is, your underwater photos did not get quite as many likes or morale boosting comments. Did you find that taking photos underwater is a little different from the portraits and landscape photos you are used to taking? Do you want some help perfecting those underwater techniques before you head back out to the open water again? Here is an underwater photography guide to help you improve your skills. You’ll be getting all the likes and confidence boosting comments you can handle when you use these underwater photography tips!


Underwater Camera
The first thing you have to do to take quality underwater photography is to choose a quality camera for the job. Obviously, you are going to need something that is more than splash proof if you are planning to take your photos from below the surface of the water. If you are wanting more of a “traditional” camera for your underwater photography adventures, it is possible. Have thousands upon thousands to spend on this new venture? No problem. If you’re an ocean photographer you can always buy a high end camera to capture professional quality underwater photos. Just remember, you will also have to purchase underwater housing for this camera. This can also cost a pretty penny. If you are just starting out with your underwater photography, there are plenty of quality cameras that will take fabulous photos. They won’t break the bank either. The Nikon COOLPIX W100 13.2 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Zoom Lens from Beachcamera.com is an easy to use compact digital camera that is waterproof down to a depth of 33 feet underwater. This will make your underwater photography job easier! Another underwater camera option is an action camera. An action camera like the Vivitar HD Action Waterproof Camera/Camcorder is perfect for a beginner just getting their feet wet. This compact digital video camera comes with its own lightweight underwater housing. You can remove this housing when you want to use the camera on dry land. Capture all of your underwater adventures in full HD 720P with this waterproof action camcorder.

Camera Settings
The camera you use for underwater photography is different from your regular camera. This means the camera settings for underwater photography will be a little different too. As a beginner especially, you will want to try to have the settings on your VanTop Moment 5M 4K Built-In Gimbal Action Camera from Beachcamera.com set and ready to go before you are submerged.

Frames Per Second
You will want to shoot a higher number of frames per second so you can use slow motion to slow your footage down. You want the ability to slow down that awesome shot of that Great White! Slow motion will remove the shake that comes from handheld shots as well. Just be careful you don’t set your FPS too high. You don’t want to end up with grainy underwater photos.

ISO
To make sure you capture crisp underwater photos, keep your ISO low. The higher your ISO, the grainier your underwater photography.

Aspect Ratio
How much footage do you want your viewers to be able to see? The most common aspect ratio for shooting is 16:9. That’s the width and height. You can shoot 4:3 if you want to show more of the footage. This may not work out very well if you plan to upload your underwater footage to social media. You may be able to see black lines on the edges.

Resolution
Do you want the ability to crop footage while still maintaining the high resolution and detail in your underwater shots? You can do this if you shoot your underwater photography in 4K with the VanTop Moment 5M Action Camera. However, if you are just posting your underwater footage to social media, you will find that 1080 is enough for high resolution.


Next time you take the plunge you will be ready if you use these underwater photography tips. After you capture your beautiful underwater photos  don’t forget to edit before posting to social media. Most action cameras come with editing software you can use to perfect your underwater photos.