How to Approach and Photograph Underwater Creatures?
Exploring the amazing underwater world has always been a fascination for many, and capturing the beauty of underwater creatures through photography is a rewarding endeavor. In this comprehensive guide, we will help you to approach and photograph underwater creatures successfully. Whether you are a seasoned underwater photographer or just starting, these tips will help you capture stunning images of marine life.
Understanding the Underwater Environment
Before you dive into underwater photography, it’s crucial to understand the unique challenges and opportunities the underwater environment presents. Choosing the right dive site is paramount. Research your chosen location’s marine life, water conditions, and visibility to prepare adequately. In Bali, dive sites range from very easy to adrenaline rush.
Around Amed you can enjoy many dive types with easy conditions : The USAT Libety in Tulamben is the most dived site in Bali. Here the conditions are great for beginners and allow you to take pictures of the shipwreck and its diverse marine life. Hard and soft corals, colorful tropical fish and clownfish are present on every dive. The Muck dives of Seraya, Melasti, Batu Niti and many more let you photograph small critters that may hide but won’t swim away too fast.
In Amed you can also shoot turtles and colorful coral reefs while slowly drifting in Pyramid and Amed wall.
In the south the conditions and current can make it much more challenging to capture the rare Mola mola. The peaceful manta rays of manta point will be much easier to shoot if the surge is moderate.
Mastering the Art of Buoyancy
Achieving proper buoyancy control is fundamental to capturing sharp and well-framed images underwater. Learn buoyancy techniques to stay stable in the water, preventing accidental contact with fragile coral reefs and marine life. On muck dive sites you may want to achieve negative buoyancy in order to stay very still. In any case you want to be very steady when taking your shots.
Enroll in a buoyancy control course to refine your underwater movement and stability.
How to Approach and Photograph Underwater Creatures?
Now that you are familiar with the basics, let’s discuss how to approach underwater creatures for that perfect shot.
Patience is Key. Approaching marine life requires patience. Observe their behavior from a distance before getting closer. Then give the animals time to get used to you. If you’re seen as a predator you won’t be able to approach your subject close enough and of course your picture will be mediocre. Don’t hesitate to ask your guide advises on how close you can get from different animals. The most important is that you never follow a fish otherwise you’ll get pics of tails only.
Move Slowly and Calmly. Make slow, deliberate movements to avoid startling or stressing the creatures. Quick movements can lead to missed photo opportunities.
Mastering the art of approaching and photographing underwater creatures takes time and practice, but the results are incredibly rewarding. By understanding the underwater environment, perfecting your buoyancy, and how to approach the subjects, you can create captivating images that showcase the mesmerizing beauty of marine life.
Here is what our guests think about us
Martin Steiner06/12/2023My wife did a Underwater photo course with Jerome. All was very well organized in a very relaxed way and the results were incredible. Before photos were average but after 1 full day of training the quality and level of interest in her Makro photos improved to a absolute "I love to see her photos level. After being back in Bali I told her to do another training and it was worth it as well. Highly recommended !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!mayanah z24/10/2023Très belle expérience mémorable avec Jérôme et son équipe. Beaucoup de partage et de générosité ! Jérôme a été adorable et professionnel. Passionné, à l'écoute, pédagogue, réactif, il s'applique à personnaliser la théorie et la pratique selon les demandes et besoins, et transmet copieusement son savoir et ses techniques (et même des photos bonus en plus =)). Le tout dans une ambiance parfaite. Je conseille de faire plusieurs jours à ses côtés afin de pouvoir pleinement profiter de l'apprentissage et parvenir à une bonne maîtrise durable pour votre pratique, photo comme vidéo. Merci pour tous ces moments et a très vite ! Plouf ! MariaJean Metzler06/10/2023Je recommande fortement et sans hésitation les services et cours de Jérome, surtout si vous êtes débutant ou si vous voulez vous perfectionner en photographie ou video sous marine. Merci Jérome 🙏🙏bruno transcript24/09/2023Merci Jérôme pour tout tes conseils avisés. Depuis 10 ans c'est toujours enrichissant de passer sous l'oeil critique d'un expert. Merci de nous tirer par le haut. AmicalementSylvain Veron24/08/2023Merci à Jérôme pour ce cours photo où j’ai appris beaucoup de chose qui m’ont permis de progresser. Je recommande vivement.Clem 3218/07/2023J'ai passé 5 jours avec Jérôme pour effectuer un stage de photographie sous-marine... et quelle rencontre ! Quelle expérience ! Jérôme est très pédagogue, avec une approche graduelle adaptée pour un débutant en prises de vues sous-marines comme moi. Il m'a transmis les fondamentaux pour obtenir des clichés optimaux. J'ai été étonné de ma progression rapide effectuée à ses côtés. J'ai été très content des résultats obtenus ! Alors, que vous soyez débutant ou pas en photo/vidéo subaquatique, foncez chez Plouf Diving avec Jérôme pour vous former !Max JU25/04/2023if u want to learn photo or video graphy this is the place tp learn.. )) the owner of dive shop really friendly and helpfulllLúcia Pinto08/11/2022Absolutely recommend! I had an a amazing time with Jerome and his team. There was great technical advise and I loved all my dives in Amed and Tulamben. Everything is very well organized. Don't hesitate!!
