- One of my absolute
favorite types of photography is underwater photos.
And I think I've just been gravitated towards this
because I love being outside.
I love swimming.
I love spending time in the ocean.
And capturing it is definitely something
that I enjoy more than most types of photography.
Now, underwater photography can be very expensive.
If you are choosing to shoot
with a mirrorless or DSLR camera,
that will then require housing.
Housings can cost upwards of 15, $1,600, you know?
And then there's all the added expenses
on top of that.
Lenses.
So, one way to tackle this is to use
a really affordable camera, like a action camera,
specifically GoPro.
There's plenty of options on the market.
Definitely be sure to check out some of our other videos
if you're new to action cameras.
But I'm sure many of you are acquainted
with this style of photography.
So, today I wanna chat through seven tips
on how you can improve your underwater photography
with a GoPro.
So, let's get suck into it.
(gentle upbeat music)
For those of you that are new around here.
My name is Jake Rich.
I'm a travel filmmaker and photographer from Australia.
For the top of today's list,
I wanna run you through some settings.
So, if you're thinking about going out on your adventure,
this afternoon or today,
or you are currently on the adventure and you're like,
"Damn, how can I make these photos look better?"
Well, you can quickly jump in and dial these settings
into your camera.
Now, the first thing I recommend doing
is shooting in burst
as opposed to taking single images,
as opposed to constantly having to click the shutter
each time you wanna capture an image.
In photo mode on GoPro,
at the very bottom you can click that big tag.
This will happen on the HERO8.
From the HERO8 onwards, this is available.
And you can see you've got a number of different modes.
You've got photo, liveburst, burst or night photo.
Obviously, we are shooting in the day,
so let's avoid night photo.
But let's choose the burst mode.
Now in burst, you have a range of different options.
You can click on the burst
and you can click the little pencil icon to the right of it.
And you can dial through some settings.
The first of which I like to set is the output.
Now, basically what you wanna do
is you want to preserve your images.
If you're brand new to GoPro photography,
you probably are just shooting in a standard output
which is only gonna be giving you JPEGs.
Now, what I will mention for this setting
is if you have the HERO9 and you are not too crazy fussed
about editing the content, the raw content?
Then I would recommend
choosing the standard output as a JPEG
because the processor on the HERO9 is much slower
than the HERO10.
HERO8 you'll be fine,
but processor on the HERO9 is much slower,
so I recommend just outputting JPEGs.
However, for those of you who love editing photos
as much as I do, then I recommend choosing RAW.
So, this is gonna give you an output of both JPEG and RAW.
Now, the reason why I don't recommend doing that
on the HERO9
is because it takes up to 45 seconds
to process those images.
The more photos that you choose in the burst,
the longer it takes to process the images.
And when you're free diving,
you either gotta be a really good swimmer
or you are gonna get really impatient
while the photos are being processed
and you're out in the middle of the ocean.
So, I recommend choosing JPEG and RAW on the HERO10
because you can edit the JPEGs on your phone.
You can then further edit those RAW images in Lightroom.
More on that later.
However, choosing your burst rate is obviously up to you
but I like to choose 10 photos over three seconds.
Now, it's the top one on the list.
You can also choose like 10 over 1 or 5 over 1,
or 3 over 1.
I like to choose 10 photos over three seconds
because often in three seconds,
like it's not a crazy amount of time
but it's more time than one second.
And when you are capturing, say wildlife,
or even if you're capturing yourself diving,
a lot can be achieved in three seconds
from either going down.
You'll see the frames will differ a lot more
over three seconds than they will over one.
It's gonna give you a little bit more variety to work with
when you come to edit and choose the best actual photo.
So, my recommendation is 10 over 3 in the RAW output.
All the other protune settings I leave.
I do not touch until I am very well acquainted
with the environment.
So, the first thing I recommend
is shooting in bursts 10 over 3 and starting on auto.
(gentle upbeat music)
Tip number two is really about assessing the conditions.
And to do this, we always dive and we always, I guess,
location scout our underwater photos with a face mask.
So, before we just start like shooting from the hip,
I guess the phrase is called, pew pew pew.
Shooting from the hip.
We dive.
We go and we free dive.
And we check where the light sources are.
I think one of the most memorable photos
I've taken is this one.
And this photo came about from first doing the cliff jump.
If you know, Milos in Greece, then you will know this spot.
But doing the cliff jump
and then the way that you exit out of the water
is through this tiny little cave.
Now, once we have the mask on and we could look underwater,
we could really assess the composition
of the underwater landscape.
And I think it was at that point that we realized,
"Hey, this is the perfect place to take photos."
There is light coming into the hole of the landscape
which creates this really beautiful composition.
So, tip number two is to use a face mask
to assess the underwater landscape.
It's really important to spend time underwater
to find where the best photos can be taken.
And again, this comes down to being comfortable as a diver.
And I would also recommend like really long fins,
like free diving fins
or if you're a diver, then put on your oxygen tank
and go down and start checking out the shelf.
Start checking out what looks good.
Start checking out the reef structures.
Start checking out what is cool underwater.
(gentle upbeat music)
The next tip is purely related to the way that we feel
and our confidence in the ocean.
So, tip number three is to improve your breathing,
is improve your lung capacity
and to improve your free diving.
The better you are, and the more confident you are,
holding your breath underwater,
the more time you will have for composing your images,
the more comfortable you will be in taking photos.
This one is a timely thing.
Don't think that in one day you can jump in the ocean
and get amazing underwater content.
This really does take time to master.
I think if you are serious about this,
there's plenty of schools that can teach you
breathwork for diving.
I would seek them out.
I would take the class and take the course in free diving.
Breathwork is hugely important.
So, seek some professional advice,
but yeah, just practice diving day after day
and holding your breath longer and longer,
and it will eventually expand your lungs
and give you more confidence at free diving.
(gentle upbeat music)
Whilst you have your mask on, tip number four in this video
is to start to assess the lighting conditions.
Now, if the water is murky or if it's an overcast day,
you're not gonna be able to see those light rays
penetrate through the surface of the ocean.
And in my opinion, get as good shots.
I think you really need nice lighting
both above like in the sun to penetrate the ocean
and to create really beautiful light rays.
So, one thing that we always look for when we are diving
or we are swimming and trying to find
really beautiful composition underwater is for the light.
We look to see where that light is piercing through.
A really beautiful example of this
is this image in the Cenote.
So you'll notice, like we've tried to take this image
on a number of different occasions
but this image only really works...
(alarm sounds in distance)
Parisian, the Parisian sounds.
This image only really works when you have full sun
which is creating the light rays into the Cenote.
If you are jumping into the water
and you are trying to change your settings on your camera,
but there's no light penetrating the water
then I don't believe you're gonna get as great a photo.
You know, I've tried.
So yeah, definitely think about really aligning
the light that's shining through.
Another tip that I would recommend that I generally enjoy
is if it comes to sunrise or sunset,
and you're noticing the light rays
penetrate through the surface of the ocean on an angle,
I've always found it really cool to get below the subject.
So, let's say a friend or a marine life is swimming.
If you get below the subject and you position that subject
in between the light source and yourself, the photographer,
I've found some really beautiful images in this space.
It can either create silhouettes or underwater.
It can create these really beautiful light cascades.
So, I think that's something you think about
is also shooting into the light underwater
because it definitely creates some beautiful content.
(soft music)
The next tip on lighting is definitely directed
towards the divers out there.
So, if you are using something like the GoPro HERO10,
and you're going pretty deep,
I would definitely recommend creating a dual mount
and having some kind of LED light to also add
like just enhance what you're seeing.
If you've ever seen effervescent corals
or is that even the right word?
Like illum, like, you know, fish which have those scales
which are enhanced by the light,
then I think it can be really cool to also add something
like, well, you know, like one of these.
Like just a little LED that you can click on.
This is waterproof. This one.
However, it's a bit brighter at the moment.
Aah.
Something like that.
Okay. (chuckles)
So, this would be a setup
that I would also kind of recommend.
So, you have your camera rolling here
and then you just have like this Zeus light here.
Now, one thing I'm gonna mention
is that I've never tested this.
I've never tested what this Zeus light is for diving.
So, maybe you check out some other videos on YouTube
or hit me up in a couple of weeks time once I have tested it
or ask me a question in the comments
and I might be able to give you a response to it.
However, there are other options
other than this GoPro light.
But I definitely know and I've seen in documentaries
that when you light the coral,
it can look so much better if you are a diver.
Yeah, but for photos, maybe it will be good.
But for video, this is definitely a video,
more than a photo hack.
So yeah, test it out.
Light is important for your composition.
Now, to know vibe is to learn how to edit.
Most photos that you see shared on social media
that you probably lust over,
that you probably and are inspired by
when it comes to underwater content are edited.
They are extremely edited.
It should be no illusion that underwater photos
are extremely edited.
And I think one of the most popular questions
I get asked in terms of my underwater photography
is like what filters were you using?
Were you using red or blue filters?
Like with the photos?
And my answer is always the same.
It's no, I haven't ever used like a red filter
or an underwater dye filter.
This yes can be really valuable to your content.
I'm not saying that it isn't.
I, however, just opt for the easier out
of choosing to capture the content as I see it
on the GoPro as it is.
Keeping it super simple so I can really focus
on the other elements like natural lighting, free diving.
These things which I think may be more important
than slapping on the dye filter
or just things that I choose to prioritize.
Then after that, focusing on editing the photo
in post production.
Now, what I will mention with editing
is if you are interested in learning how to edit your photos
and take them from maybe what you see
or what you're currently capturing
which the greens and the blues just aren't
exactly where you'd like them.
Then we highly recommend that you join us
in our upcoming Action Camera Masterclass.
We have a four weeks live masterclass which will take you
hopefully from fairly basic skills in editing
to much more advanced editing.
We show you how we go about creating
these underwater photos.
We also critically analyze the composition.
The masterclass isn't just about photo editing.
It's about video editing, storytelling and a whole lot more.
So if you are interested, I highly recommend
that you check the top link of the description.
Now, if you're watching this video
and it's in the back end of 2022, or it's 2023
or it's sometime in the future,
then check out our on-demand version because,
or just hit up our website
because we may be running another live masterclass soon.
(gentle upbeat music)
As I said in the earlier tips, just start with auto.
This is fundamental for beginners.
But when you're ready to develop that photo
or take it the next step, there are extra protune settings
that you can play around with to really improve
what you're capturing.
Now, something that I recommend doing is playing around
with your shutter speed
if you are in low lighting environments.
So, essentially having the shutter open for longer
will let more light into the sensor.
So, if you are diving in a Cenote for example,
and it's not super bright
but you are getting some interesting light
coming from the top,
you might wanna have the shutter open for longer.
This is extremely interesting.
And it's a creative, I think, a creative feat
because having the shutter open for longer
whilst you're performing an action is gonna create blur.
It's essentially gonna create motion blur.
Creatively, this can be really awesome.
If you're capturing a burst with a long shutter,
then you might be able to capture an image like this.
This is exactly what we did
whilst we were playing around in the Cenotes.
So yeah, but then start to change your minimum ISO.
Essentially, the ISO is also a way of bumping up
the amount of light in the image.
However, it does affect the noise.
So again, if you're not too worried
about having a noisy image,
then I would recommend lifting your ISO up
as opposed to having it at 100
which you would normally set for full blaring daylight.
So yeah, play around with your ISO
and your shutter speed and experiment.
(gentle upbeat music)
Now, unfortunately not all action cameras offer this device.
And what I mean by that is like domes
are mostly designed for GoPro.
Right here, this is the Telesin Dome
for the GoPro HERO9 or 10.
The GoPro HERO9 and or 10 fits in the dome like that.
And it just snaps on like so.
I highly recommend this dome.
And one of the most commonly asked questions we get
in regards to like shooting with this product
is also the water droplets
which are commonly found on the lens.
So, a product which we have tested is this Rain-X
which is a plastic water repellent.
Had mixed results.
Don't always use it.
Something that we recommend doing
is just dunking the dome underwater before you shoot.
So, if you're shooting and bursts,
before you click the shutter, dunk the dome into the water
then hit the burst mode shutter.
So, that essentially the water droplets
will repel off the dome lens
and you'll get the cleanest image.
Other points to note when shooting with the dome
are should just again, think about your light source.
If you're shooting directly into the sun,
you will get weird refractions coming from both here
and then into the lens.
It's really important to not scratch this front lens.
Keep this as clean as possible because anything
that is essentially on this piece of plastic
will be in your image, burnt into your image.
And then the other thing is just thinking again
about the environment.
Often, it's not about,
the best photos come from really clear steel water.
They don't come from murky or agitated sea beds
or sediment-filled oceans.
Think about shooting in really clear water
for the best results.
You know, even if you're deep into the middle of the ocean
and it's a nice sunny day,
you'll get some really great dome shots.
If you're in a pool, if you are in a creek
and the water's nice and clear,
definitely check out this video up here next
if you wanna learn more about shooting,
how we shoot with the dome.
Guys, thank you so much for checking out today's video.
If you have enjoyed it, punch the thumbs up button.
If you're new around here, consider subscribing
and I'll see you guys in the next upload.
Ciao.
Peace.
(tranquil music)