Summary: Underwater photography tips for beginners will give you just enough to get good results as you prepare to head to the beach areas for vacation. With time and experience, your initial frustrations will wane.

Underwater photography tips

•    Practice with your camera in a pool to familiarize yourself with the equipment before you snorkel or dive. Planning and preparation will pay dividends.

•    Safety is important. If you are a novice free diver or scuba diver take along a partner to be on the watch for dangerous situations. Tell someone you trust where you are going and when you expect to return.

•    A camera with a built in flash is important to capture the vivid color of sea life. After you dive under the water, the color saturation of your subjects fades away. The flash will assure you better results.

•    Most dive photographers use cameras with a waterproof housing that will keep the equipment safe. However, some point and shoot cameras are waterproof to depths of 10-15 feet.  Check your manual for the specifications.

•    You don’t have to be in deep water to take great photos. Explore the shoreline and area where sea life might be left behind by a falling tide.

•    The water distorts depth perception.  Subjects might appear closer than the really are, so get as close to your subject as possible.

•    Remember to respect the sea life. The beautiful coral that might make a great souvenir is a living thing and should be left in the water for the next photographer.

Photograph of a sea turtle in shallow water demonstrates how the vivid colors of sealife appear less saturated. Using a flash that is often built in to cameras might restore the vivid colors at this depth. A great depths, 20 feet or more, a flash or battery-powered supplemental light is a must. Photograph by Robert P. Ruehlman