I want to get into underwater photography..

I have been a photographer for quite a while and absolutely love the water. I want to get into diving. I would be starting from the bottom and would need to start working on my diving certifications. Where do I start? What do you recommend? I know I have a long way to go before I can actually start shooting underwater, but I would like to start heading in that direction and get comfortable in the water before making underwater equipment purchases.

Welcome aboard!

If you've never dived before - or are not certified - you might check out the Open Water Diver course on PADI.com. It's a good training agency and will get you on the path.... it's an exciting journey.

The website can tell you where your local dive school are and you can take it from there.

Good luck!

Always become a competent, certified diver, before you take up UW photography.

If you have several choices for training near your home, I'd go in and talk to each of them. Go with the one you feel comfortable with.

I would really recommend volunteering on a marine conservation expedition where they teach you to dive, not only will you have a focused and safe learning environment (no tourists!) but you will also learn about the environment your entering,how the ocean works, about different creatures and how they live etc. this really helped me understand the undersea world with a profound respect, and our place in protecting it.

I did one in mexico , and now i can say i learnt to dive in a cenote, beats a swimming pool!

the bonus being you will have a lot of knowledge ready and waiting when you want to start taking photos, and maybe open your eyes to things you never really knew about, like the fact sponges are actually animals!!

I would really recommend volunteering on a marine conservation expedition where they teach you to dive, not only will you have a focused and safe learning environment (no tourists!) but you will also learn about the environment your entering,how the ocean works, about different creatures and how they live etc. this really helped me understand the undersea world with a profound respect, and our place in protecting it.

 

I did one in mexico , and now i can say i learnt to dive in a cenote, beats a swimming pool!

 

the bonus being you will have a lot of knowledge ready and waiting when you want to start taking photos, and maybe open your eyes to things you never really knew about, like the fact sponges are actually animals!!

 

GVI?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

GVI?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

YES!

did you do one? or anything similar, im actually looking into doing one again, not with gvi, but something that will let me dive in a cool location.

I noticed your from iceland, very tempted at the moment to visit and do some cold weather diving! i think the photos would look great in black and white film!

I live in Iceland now as a an instructor but originally didn't DM with GVI. Cold water diving is a little different but very cool!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have been a photographer for quite a while and absolutely love the water. I want to get into diving. I would be starting from the bottom and would need to start working on my diving certifications. Where do I start? What do you recommend? I know I have a long way to go before I can actually start shooting underwater, but I would like to start heading in that direction and get comfortable in the water before making underwater equipment purchases.

I'm in the US, and have PADI certification. Years ago did NAUI. I'd say find a competent instructor/course and get certified. Not sure it makes much difference which certification agency you go through. A good instructor is what you want.

Once you get underwater you need to be comfortable with your equipment and the environment. Little things going wrong with your equipment (even a slow mask leak) can spike your stress levels very quickly. Adding a camera into that mix isn't a good idea at first. Once you get comfortable (maybe 5-10 dives, maybe more) add in a small point-n-shoot without an external flash. I'd get one small enough that you can put it into the pocket of your BCD so it's not dangling from a wrist when you first enter the water. A problem with having a camera underwater is that it needs to be attached to you, via wrist strap or tether, and it can get tanlged up in your air lines, knock you in the head entering the water, or just add to confusion when things go wrong. I have strobes often getting caught in my air line - and in an area I can't really see due to my mask. Not a big deal when you are comfortable underwater, but could be a huge problem for a beginning diver.

I started using a camera underwater early on - within 10 dives. I think it made me a better diver more quickly due to needing to learn how to hold still in the water. You definitely need good buoyancy control, and holding that camera will drive home that you aren't controlling bouyancy. It will also make you tend to ignore other things going on, including your buddy. I think it's a good idea to pair with a good buddy diver who does not have a camera and is looking out for you at first.

As for the camera gear itself, I recommend starting with a Canon point-n-shoot with matching Canon housing. You can get camera + housing new for under $500 - great bang for the buck. Sea and Sea looks like a nice rig to dive with also.

Personally, I enter the water and then have someone on the boat hand me the camera. When shooting a point-n-shoot, I immediately put on a wrist strap and tighten it, on my right wrist. (My BCD pockets are too small to hold the camera). When shooting a larger camera or one with strobes, I have the camera handed to me and then tether it to my BCD with a strap. I once was on a liveaboard where a guy thought his new $900 Sea & Sea rig was tethered to him as he exited the water, only to find himself on the boat with no camera. He had checked in a bathtub a few days earlier and saw that it sank, so the whole boat did a search and recovery drill to find the camera. No luck. I think it sank in fresh water, but floated away in salt water.

The nice thing about using a small point-n-shoot on a wrist strap is that you can simply let go of it to deal with a problem. It can, however, (especially if it floats up) get tangled in things.

Once you add a strobe, it really changes how you dive with the camera. You are constantly holding it by a grip, and it's a lot less 'ignorable'. Hence the advice to start without a strobe until you get comfortable diving. At this point you need to past the point where you are swimming with your hands. A camera with one or two strobes also has noticeable drag in the water, and it's not fun to fight currents or try to catch up to another diver battling the drag.

Should you progress on to a DSLR rig, beware the logistical issues of the sheer size of the rig. Not for the beginner.