Hey Chris!
A nice set of pics especially for a first outing with a new system.
You got pretty close for most of the images - which is always good. My one suggestion would be that in a number of the images you are shooting downwards. This can flatten the impact of the subject of the picture as it tends to blend into the background.
If you compare those with the image of the lionfish shot in mid-water you may feel that shooting upwards creates a more dramatic image. Anything you can do to use the background to highlight the image and emphasis it does, I think, make for a better picture. So shooting against the blue, or a piece of single colour coral which contrasts with the colours of the subject.
Yep, it's not easy but it does make quite a difference and is worth thinking about consciously when selecting the image to shoot. You end up after a while looking for good backgrounds which will enhance the subject that swims in it - to comes and sits on it.
As for Lightroom, it might be worth enhancing the clarity on some of the images - and for those with sand in them, I'd suggest playing around with the colour balance a little. They look slightly blue. If you want a fun challenge - and don't feel you are manipulating the image too much, try cutting out a bit of the coral to the right of the mid-water lionfish's mouth - and replace it with blue. This would highlight even more the lionfish against the blue.
But, as I say, first go with a new system - nice work!
