So you want to be underwater photography…

I see so many people now with GoPro and small camera on diving boat trying to catch underwater life but believe me even if I started like that being Wildlife photographer, Underwater photographer or Nature photographer is not so easy and so glamour than you think…
First it’s a real passion I like to be lot of time in water sometimes I can stay 4-5 hours a day and sometimes more looking for life, searching behavior, waiting for good light and visibility. When I am on boat I see people expecting catching a good shot with one hour max. They can be in a lucky day but generally they come back home with a blur image, a back of an animal but nothing really good or great. 

As you can see you need a good place to be, time and practicing. But it’s not enough you also need to choose a place where you can get good conditions and story to tell. I choose to live in Mayotte Indian Ocean first it’s a place and area less documented than Pacific with nature conservancy to develop for sea turtle, manta ray and coral reef. When you have to make a photo it’s to tell something, to show something that is important for you to tell. Use your camera as a medium to express what you want to. 
As you can see you need a good place to be, time and practicing. But it’s not enough you also need to choose a place where you can get good conditions and story to tell.

I choose to live in Mayotte Indian Ocean first it’s a place and area less documented than Pacific with nature conservancy to develop for sea turtle, manta ray and coral reef. When you have to make a photo it’s to tell something, to show something that is important for you to tell. Use your camera as a medium to express what you want to.  The picture : play with lines, light, reflection, shapes. Watch lot of pictures even in portrait, nature, landscape, travel etc… find inspiration but do not copy. A guy under or up to a school of fish can means something different it remind me that shot amazed me of David Doubillet with barracudas in Papouasie the diver was up, I’ve done one in French Polynesia were the diver was down and for me it’s not the same meaning, the photos don’t tell the same story.

So you can say ok guy but how you stay 4-5hours in water… to get great shots you need to be in water so you need to live near water or to work as marine biologist or to be a scuba diver instructor. I choose the first option Cause I need to be focus on what I want to do as pictures. If you want to be a photographer you need to involve and practice a lot. People says I’ve got some great shots but when I asked them how many pictures they took on boat 4-5 when I took perhaps 300 trying to play with aperture, shutter speed, iso wide angle, narrow, macro, flash, light, natural light etc… and at the end I’ve got 4-5 good pictures.
we will see soon in an other article what is good to great pictures.

Focus on one or two ideas no more : you have to decide if you want to shot wide angle or macro, portrait or behavior. You can also imagine your shot. Personally I use YouTube as virtual dive watching movie and imagine the shot I would like to do in this place. Ask to your guide the specification of dive sites of the day. Don’t also forget to ask when is the best visibility to get best shot. August is a July-August is not the best moment to get great shot in Baja California but in October-December it’s pristine seas and full of life. 

And you what are your best tricks to get great shots ? Feel free to comment.
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