- Leam Self Control
- Get a Grip
- Say Hello to Your Camera
- Get Up Close and Personal
- See the Light
- Capture the Moment
- Know Your Subject
- Accessorise and Accentuate
Born in 1967, Tony Wu is a full-time marine photographer based in Asia.
He specialises in documenting marine behaviour and is known for his unique photographic techniques. Tony's award-winning photographs and text appear in publications worldwide, and his book Silent Symphony received the International Grand Prize for Best Book of the Year at the 28th World Festival of Underwater Pictures in Antibes, France.
Everything in the water tends to move. Fish and other marine life swim, while currents, tides, swells and waves affect everything, including you. Moreover, everything moves with 360º of freedom, making focusing and composing images quite a challenge.
To achieve optimal photographic results, it's critical to maintain control of your body to minimise movement, which will make it easier for your camera's autofocus to function properly, and for you to frame your subject.
While scuba diving, this means maintaining neutral buoyancy at all times and being completely aware of your surroundings. If you're snorkelling, it means timing your shots to coincide with moments when both you and your subject are moving the least.
Definitely not easy, but well worth the effort.
It's natural to hold a camera underwater just as you would on land — grip on the right side of the camera, with your index finger on the shutter button at the top of the camera. There are, however, a couple of potential issues with this standard method of holding your housing.
First, people with relatively large hands may inadvertently push some of the function buttons at the rear of the camera housing. Second, it's sometimes awkward to bring the camera to your face the same way you would on land, since you're usually not standing up underwater. In fact, much of the time you'll be horizontal.
To get around these issues, try grasping the camera from behind and holding it in front of you. You should be able to see and use the camera's LCD easily and in a more natural position, and there's less of a chance that you'll unintentionally activate one of the function buttons. Use your middle finger to trigger the shutter.
Experiment and see what works best for you.
Advances in digital photography technology have made it possible to take excellent photographs with all types and levels of cameras. Of course, no matter how good your camera is, if you just set it to fully-automatic-everything mode, it's unlikely that you'll be making best use of your camera's functions.
Before you hit the water, take some time to fiddle with your camera, read the manual and understand how to access the functions you'll need.
For instance, the underwater white balance setting could come in quite handy underwater — assuming your camera has this function and you know how to access it. Knowing how to turn the flash on and off, how to use the macro/ close-up function, and how to review and delete images are other things that you'll want to master long before you go under the waves.
All things being equal, you want to fill the frame with your main subject to create a high-impact image. The best way to do this is to get as physically close as reasonable to your subject.
The closer you are, the bigger and more impressive your subject will appear. Also, there will be less water between you and your subject, meaning your image will be sharper and more colourful, and your camera's flash (if you use it) will be more likely to light up the scene.
Zooming in with your camera's built-in zoom functionality is also an option, but if you use zoom, there will be relatively more water between you and the subject, so your camera's autofocus might not be effective, and the camera's flash might not reach your subject. In practice, try not to zoom beyond 1.5x.
Bottom line — when you have a choice, zoom with your body instead of with the camera.
Getting close to your subject has another advantage - you can use your camera's built-in flash to illuminate your photo. In general, the built-in strobe on most compact digital cameras will reach effectively up to 30cm/ 12in or so, depending on water conditions, the camera model and other considerations.
So if you're a long way away from your subject and using 3x zoom to try to take a photograph, forget the flash, because it won't reach. On the other hand, if you're nice and close, the built-in strobe can add a bit of light and zest to your photograph.
One thing to note is that with some cameras, the lens barrel of the housing may partially block the light from the strobe. Take this into consideration when positioning your camera, and don't be afraid to turn the camera upside down or sideways to obtain the best possible lighting effect.
Taking photos of rapidly moving subjects (anemonefish, for example) is always a challenge. To maximize your chances for success, pick subjects in well-lit conditions, preferably with the sun to your back. This will at least give your autofocus a fighting chance.
Ensure that you keep yourself as still as possible, and try pre-focusing on something near your subject. Hold the focus with a half-depressed shutter and re-position your camera to wait for your subject to get in frame. Press the shutter at the right moment and hope your reflexes are fast enough to capture the split-second action.
It can take many tries to succeed, but this method definitely works. If you become overly frustrated, move on to a nice, cooperative, stationary subject!
Perhaps the biggest "secret" of all for underwater photography (or perhaps any type of photography) is to learn everything you can about your subject.
If you know in advance what you're going to be photographing, do a bit of background research to understand your subject's behaviour, preferred environments, life cycle and so forth. All it takes is a few minutes to do a quick search on the Internet.
Talk to your tour/ dive guides, as they'll often be able to give you unique local insight, which could be the difference between getting a prize-winning shot and going home empty-handed.
And finally, when you're in the water, invest some time observing your subject. Too many people rush in and snap away, taking dozens of photos without ever actually seeing what they're photographing. You risk traumatising your subject, and virtually guarantee that you won't get anything special.
Swimming with sea lions, for example, I spend most of my time blowing bubbles to say hello, rolling in the sea grass to scratch my back (a perennial sea lion favourite activity), doing loops in the water to engage the playful pinnipeds, and generally watching the animals' behaviour to understand how they think and interact with one another.
By doing this, when I do finally take a photograph, I know I've captured something that conveys the thrill of what it's like to be a sea lion.
If you're so inclined, consider augmenting your camera's capabilities with third-party accessories like wide-angle adapter lenses, external strobes and the like. While it's perfectly possible to capture great photographs without such add-ons, having extra tools can open up additional photographic and creative possibilities.
