The Underwater Photographer Corner Ep.1

Hello, my name is Dray van Beeck and I’ve been an underwater photographer since 2002.

In the next months I will try to give you a couple of tips to improve your underwater photos.

Preparation;

Let’s start at the beginning. It does not matter if you have a professional camera or a cheap point and shoot. Either one can make good and bad photos. But since you will take your camera under water it’s very important to prepare the housing it goes into very slowly and carefully. Don’t talk to anyone whilst you are preparing. This is the first mistake from which I saw many cameras flood. Take your time to inspect, clean and grease o-rings. The more grease the easier the flooding. (it can gather dust and sand and will not be sealing properly) A little bit of grease, rubbed between your thumb and finger is plenty. Before closing the housing; check for dust, hairs or even a lanyard in between the two sides. MAKE SOME TEST SHOTS. You will not believe how many people go in the water with the lens cap on or no battery.

Safety;

It’s so easy for underwater photographers to get lost in the shot. So: Do a safety check with your buddy before the dive. Agree on how to proceed under water. At all time stay close together. Uwp uses a lot more air than a normal dive.

Maintain good buoyancy. It’s a good idea to practice hanging still without touching the floor in a pool. It’s very easy to forget your fins and what they do when you are concentrated on a subject. Don’t destroy the reef behind you to make a photo of what’s in front of you. Best have your fins up in a 45° angle.

Uwp is not video. You have to keep very stable and still to make a sharp photo.

Next month I will talk about:

• Aperture
• Shutter time
• ISO
• Happy Bubbles
• Dray