1
Get close
Water blurs and turns everything blue. Get within about 3 feet of your subject, then closer. If it looks close enough, it isn’t.
Gear guides · Underwater photography
Better underwater photos, quick settings.
Starting settings for the cameras most new underwater photographers use, plus the three habits that matter more than any setting.
Three habits that beat any setting
2
Shoot slightly up
Get low and aim a little upward, with blue water behind your subject instead of busy reef. Fish at their eye level, not from above.
3
Master your buoyancy
Hovering still is what gets sharp photos, and it keeps your fins off the reef and the sand out of the water. Peak Performance Buoyancy does more for your photos than any camera upgrade.
Starting settings by camera
Starting points, not rules. Check your camera’s manual for exact menu names, and always check its depth rating.
GoPro (HERO12 / HERO13)
- Depth
- 33 ft (10 m) on its own. Use the GoPro Protective Housing to dive to 196 ft (60 m).
- Video
- 4K at 30 fps, or 60 fps for moving subjects. Wide or Linear lens. HyperSmooth on.
- Protune
- ISO max 800–1600 to keep noise down. Sharpness low. Color Natural (Flat if you edit).
- Color
- Add a red filter in blue water from about 15 to 60 ft, a magenta filter in green water. Take it off when you’re shallow or using a light.
- Photos
- Grab stills from your 4K video, or use burst for moving fish.
OM System / Olympus Tough (TG-6, TG-7)
- Depth
- 50 ft (15 m) on its own. The PT-059 housing takes the TG-6 or TG-7 to 147 ft (45 m).
- Mode
- Turn the dial to the underwater modes: Underwater Wide for reef scenes, Underwater Macro or Microscope for small critters (as close as 1 cm).
- White balance
- Use the underwater white balance (shallow, mid or deep), or set a custom white balance on a white slate at your depth.
- Flash
- Only for close subjects, and with the diffuser on. Off for anything farther than about 2 feet.
- File
- Shoot RAW + JPEG if you ever plan to edit.
SeaLife Micro 3.0
- Depth
- 200 ft (60 m). It’s sealed, so there’s no housing or O-ring to flood.
- Mode
- Snorkel mode in shallow water, Dive mode deeper, Underwater Light mode when you use a video light.
- Color
- Pick the color correction for the water: shallow, deep or green. Use manual white balance for the truest color.
- Tip
- Its big buttons are easy with gloves. Add a SeaLife light for close-ups and night dives.
Insta360 X4 (360°)
- Depth
- 33 ft (10 m) on its own. With the Invisible Dive Case, 164 ft (50 m).
- Before you dive
- Turn on Dive Case Mode in the camera, or the stitch lines will show. Update the firmware.
- Settings
- Record at the highest resolution. Hold it out on the invisible selfie stick, a little away from you.
- Color
- Fix color after the dive with AquaVision in the Insta360 app.
DJI Osmo Action (4 / 5 Pro)
- Depth
- Action 4: 59 ft (18 m) on its own. Action 5 Pro: 66 ft (20 m) on its own, 196 ft (60 m) in the Waterproof Case. Use a case for scuba.
- Video
- 4K at 30 or 60 fps. RockSteady on.
- Starting point
- White balance manual around 5500K, ISO max 800. D-Log M only if you color-grade later.
- Color
- Same filter rules as GoPro: red in blue water, magenta in green, off with lights or in the shallows.
iPhone in a housing
- Housing
- Never dive a bare phone. Water resistance isn’t made for diving and doesn’t last. Use a dive housing rated for your depth, such as the SeaLife SportDiver (100–130 ft depending on model).
- Settings
- Flash off. Night mode off. Video 4K at 30 or 60 fps.
- Focus
- Press and hold on your subject to lock focus and exposure (AE/AF Lock), then slide to adjust brightness.
- Close-ups
- Use the 0.5× lens for big subjects up close. Avoid digital zoom: move closer instead.
Android in a housing
- Housing
- Same rule: a dive-rated housing, never a bare phone. Many housings use their own app over Bluetooth for control.
- Settings
- Flash off. HDR and night modes off. Video 4K at 30 or 60 fps.
- Pro mode
- If your phone has Pro mode, lock white balance manually and keep ISO as low as the light allows.
- Focus
- Tap and hold to lock focus and exposure before the fish moves.
Anything more serious?
Mirrorless or DSLR in a housing, strobes, wet lenses: that’s its own world. Come talk to us about what you shoot and what you want to get.
Why everything turns blue
Water swallows color as you go down. Red is gone first, within the first 15 feet or so, then orange and yellow. That’s why a red fish looks brown at 40 feet.
- 0–15 ft: natural light is enough. No filter.
- 15–60 ft in blue water: a red filter brings back warm colors on action cameras.
- Green water: use a magenta filter instead.
- Deeper, or up close: a light brings back real color. Filters can’t add light that isn’t there.
Shoot with the sun behind you on shallow dives, and fix what’s left after the dive with a one-tap color correction in your editing app.
Lights
- Video light: a steady light for video and photos. The easiest place to start.
- Strobe: a flash made for underwater. Brighter and freezes motion, for photos only.
- Angle them out: point lights slightly outward, not straight at the subject. Straight-on light lights up every particle in the water as white dots (“backscatter”).
- Built-in flash: usually does more harm than good past 2 feet. Turn it off.
We carry dive lights at the shop, and we can help you choose one for photos or video.
Reef rules for photographers
- Never touch, kneel or rest your camera on coral. Hover.
- Don’t chase, corner or move animals for a better shot.
- Go easy with strobes and lights on sensitive animals like seahorses, and never use them to herd anything.
- Know your air and depth. No photo is worth a missed safety stop.
Good photos start with good diving. Start with buoyancy.
Peak Performance BuoyancyMarine life in Puerto RicoAll gear guides