How to take a Good Basic Underwater Photo There is no real secret to being a successful underwater photographer. Remember, most of us simply want to take some good images to show our family and friends, or to remind us of that special dive we did. This becomes particularly important for us when we plan our big overseas dive trip. After all, if you invest time and money to get to some tropical dive destination you want to make sure you bring back those treasured memories. The first step is to decide what your goals are when taking photos underwater. If you want to take images of small and very shy marine creatures, you may opt for a housed camera system that allows you to take a photo without spooking your subject. If the idea of taking prints of macro, wide-angle or close-up subjects appeals to you but you don't want to invest lots of money, then an MX10 system will be your best bet. Attend a Reputable Course Attending a course to get the basics is strongly recommended. Sea & Sea dealers offer an introduction to the MX10 which provides all the useful information that a beginner needs to confidently turn out a very acceptable image, and you'll learn all this in just one day. A very important aspect of these courses is learning how to clean and maintain your camera equipment. Become Familiar with Your Camera and Accessories Once you have attended the course, the most important step is to become familiar with your camera, strobe and lenses. You will notice the quality of your images improve proportionately to the amount of film you take and your developing understanding of what your equipment will do or not do. Strobe Placement You will learn that to get good quality macro photos, placement of the strobe close to the subject for even lighting and the selection of very small apertures like F22 to maximize depth of field, are very important. Selecting subjects with a clear water background can provide a black backdrop that will add real impact to your images. Placing the strobe away from the camera lens will help to reduce back-scatter in wide-angle photography. Using the light meter to balance strobe light against ambient light will produce a more natural looking photo and will reduce harsh shadows and very dark backgrounds. Where models are used, it is important that their positions are natural looking, that they appear to be interacting with the underwater environment and not looking directly into the camera like a rabbit in the headlights. Natural Light Photography If you have an interest in natural light photography, you will lean how to use the light meter in your camera and to set aperture and shutter speed control to suit. Remember to shoot up where possible. Shooting down, whether you are using a strobe or not, tends to produce flat and uninteresting images. The other reason for shooting towards the surface is that there more light available for the exposure of your film. Film Selection Film selection is also an important consideration. Print film has far greater latitude than slide film which means that your exposures can be a little out and you will still get very acceptable prints. While accurate exposure is more critical in slide film, the colours are generally richer and more vibrant. Slide film also allows you to show your images to groups of your friends at one time and if you would like your work published, magazines generally prefer slides over prints.