Why Choose an Underwater Photography Course?



Posted: Friday, December 05, 2008

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Just about everybody now has a digital camera and has merrily been clicking away at everything they could while on land. Now however these very same people are taking their cameras underwater and attempting the very same thing, taking 100's of pictures of everything they see. As someone who has been involved in scuba diving and leading divers on these dives I have saw some very poor photography techniques but more importantly very poor diving techniques. So poor in fact that many of these underwater photographers risk their lives unwittingly.

The reason of such an growth in hapless diver methods is the introduction of underwater digital cameras and more so the disposable underwater camera. Now I am all for people diving, I bring in my bread and butter from it, and I enjoy underwater pictures, I've myself taken a camera underwater on a lot of dives. The difference is however I have acquired the knowledge to complete a safe dive in addition to the understanding of what this new bit of dive gear, the underwater digital camera, will mean to my diving. Like other dives without a camera, I plan my picture taking dives well, pick out a appropriate buddy (this is very important) and organize what type of pictures I'll be tackling the dive. I do all of this as I've studied to do so on the underwater photography classes I've taken.

In spite of this apparently dull safety preparation and thoughtfulness, that is not all that's instructed on underwater photography courses. This type of training course is there to supply divers with the skills, knowledge, planning, system, functions, know-hows, troubles, risks and not to be forgotten the enjoyment of underwater photography.

On your underwater photography course you'll acquire a great deal more than simply how to take a camera underwater. Now it is hard to give you an precise analyze of what it's you'll study as each type of underwater photography course will change with training agency, if applicable, teacher and location. Methods used in the turbid waters off the west coast of Scotland will differ from those used in the clear waters around the Similan Island off the west coast of Thailand. Likewise a few teachers will narrow down more on macro photography, while other people love the challenges of deep wreck photography.

Deciding the instructor is just as crucial as picking out the location but as an foundation to underwater photography, I'd advise you begin on your holiday dives. The most widely available foundation to underwater photography course is likely that offered by PADI diving schools and in reality is an first-class starting point. Before you're introduced to the open water with your camera you are given a short introduction to not only underwater photography techniques but to picture taking principals and how they possibly affected by the water. You learn all about exposure, ISO rates, f stops, bracketing, focusing, focal distance, perspectives, depth of field, types of cameras, the use of strobes underwater and the relationship between water depth, the color spectrum and strobe lighting among many other things.

So the next time you would like to take some pictures submerged why not think about discovering what is available in the way of underwater photography classes. Not only will it make you a better diver but it could improve your underwater photography to a point were you return from a dive with more than the one chance good shot you got before.


Brain has been invloved with scuba diving for a number of years and often takes underwater digital cameras on his diving. He lived in Thailand but now enjoys the colder waters off the west coast of Scotland. He started his underwater photography while living in Thailand with nothing more than a waterproof digital camera but still found the results good enough to show his friends and now sells a few here and there.
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