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Competition Shows What Photographers Can Do Underwater

Get ready to dive

By Alex Zorn Alex Zorn Freelance Technology Reporter Alex Zorn started as a writer for Lifewire in 2021 to focus on a wide range of topics in the streaming, gaming, and tech worlds. He’s been a freelance writer on-and-off since deciding that he wanted to be a journalist and continues to work for newspapers across the state of Colorado. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on January 20, 2021 02:14PM EST Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Smart & Connected Life Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming

Key Takeaways

You need the proper equipment to take a good photo underwater. More than that, you need to know what you’re doing. But, if you like taking photos and you like diving, it could be just for you. richcarey / Getty Images Underwater photography may be intimidating to some and certainly requires the right tools and skills, but those that do it say they love what they can create with some dive time and a digital camera. In an ocean photography competition, photos from around the world showcase what amazing work photographers can do underwater with just a small amount of equipment. Gaetano Dario Gargiulo started out diving and taking photos as a hobby, but his winning photo brings out the hidden colors beneath the waves of the pools of Kamay Botany Bay National Park near his home in New South Wales, Australia. "If you are just starting you may want to start with an action camera or even your mobile phone," Gargiulo, winner of Best of Show in the Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition, recommended in an email to Lifewire. "You should be a good diver first. With good diving skills you will start to develop the need for a better tool to record what you see."

Photographers Share Tricks of the Trade

For the winning shot, Gargiulo used the Nikon D850 and a NIkon 8-15 fisheye zoom lens for a close-focus, wide-angle photo. He used powerful lights, two strobes at full blast, which certainly took some setting up. The whole set up weighed about 10 kilograms, he estimated. Gaetano Dario Gargiulo / Underwater Photography Guide Nirupam Nigam, editor-in-chief of the Underwater Photography Guide, said in an email to Lifewire that one of the challenges with underwater photography is that photos can look very washed and blue underwater. "Underwater photographers bring back the amazing colors you see in these photos with underwater strobes, which are basically very powerful speed lights," he said. "The key to underwater photography is balancing your strobe light so it adds color to the foreground while still giving you a nice blue, green or black background, depending on the environment." He said most photographers use the same camera above water as they do below, with one key difference. "You need an underwater camera housing which seals the camera off from the outside world with a series of O-rings and an aluminum or polycarbonate case," he said. Most underwater photographers like using fisheye and wide-angle lenses for large scenes with a glass or acrylic dome or flat port to protect it. For small animals, macro lenses are really popular, he said. If you are just starting you may want to start with an action camera or even your mobile phone. "Of course high-end mirrorless and DSLR systems still have an edge, but as compacts continue to improve they are able to capture amazing images with modestly-priced systems," Mark Strickland, one of the judges who works at Bluewater Photo, a top underwater photo retailer, explained in comments made after the winners were announced. He advised young photographers to resist the urge to over-process. "We saw many otherwise great photos ruined by effects like vibrance, dehazing, and sharpening," he added.

What Made the Winning Photo Special

"I believe the interaction between the animal, me, and the camera, together with the human factor (my family in the background) contributed to me getting Best in Show," Gargiulo said. Gargiulo works as an associate research professor at Western Sydney University in Australia, and photography and diving are some of his favorite hobbies. High-end mirrorless and DSLR systems still have an edge, but as compacts continue to improve they are able to capture amazing images. "I merged the two in [19]98-99 when I was given a Nikon Nikonos V… I lost complete interest in spearfishing and started only taking pictures," he explained. "I learned to process pictures in the darkroom and Photoshop feels like a natural extension for that." For post-processing, Garguilo has two basic rules: 1) no cropping; 2) if it takes more than 3 minutes to post-process, it’s probably not worth keeping the photo. With nature photography, wildlife photographer Tony Wu, another judge in the competition, said that processing software like Lightroom and Photoshop can be great tools to better reflect the scene without exaggerating. The most frequent problem he sees, however, is the overuse of saturation. "Having multiple elements in a photo, like the Octopus photo had, makes for a great nature shot," he said in a statement afterward. "The main subject is the octopus, but you don’t see the octopus, you just see the suckers and arm, the defining characteristics of an octopus. On top of a technically well-executed photo, there is a story there." Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire Why Pro Photographers Say You Should Be Excited About the New Pixel 7 Pro The 8 Best Lenses for DSLR Cameras of 2022 The 7 Best Online Photography Classes of 2022 How to Photograph Running Water With a DSLR The 6 Best Waterproof Cameras of 2022 How to Use the iPhone Camera What Is a Fisheye Lens? AKASO EK7000 Pro 4K Action Camera Review: Great Quality At a Budget Friendly Price Full Frame vs. Crop Sensor Comparison The 8 Best DSLR Cameras of 2022 DSLR Camera Basics: Understanding Focal Length The 6 Best Cameras for Under $400 in 2022 Nikon Z7 Review: A Top-Tier Mirrorless That Gets Nearly Everything Right How to Fix Barrel Distortion in Photography The 5 Best Cameras for Under $2,000 in 2022 The 8 Best Camera Flashes for DSLR, Tested by Experts Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies