One of my favorite underwater photographers is Eric Cheng, and I just stumbled on a full presentation that he titled top 10 underwater photography tips. The presentation is over 105 Slides long and showcases some of his great work and advice.
Some of the most useful tips I took from the presentation included:
Tip #2 – Travel to exactly where you subject may be, don’t just hope to stumble upon it. If you want to see a specific creature, travel to a spot where they are common so you’re not wasting your time.
Some places where you’ll find popular underwater animals / environments include:
Whale Sharks – Isla Mujeres (between July-August) – largest congregation of Whale Sharks.
Big Sharks – The Bahamas. These include tigers, lemon, and silky.
Gray Reef Sharks – French Polynesia
Humpback Whales – Tonga
Giant Manta Rays – Revillagigedos, Mexico
Sailfish and Sardine Bait Balls – Isla Mujeres, Mexico
Great White Sharks – Guadalupe, Mexico
Breaching Great White Sharks – False Bay, South Africa
Lush Reefs: Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Millions of Jellyfish – Jellyfish lake, Palau
Stellar’s Sea Lions – Alaska
Tip #4 – Be Ready All the Time – Before Jumping into the water Eric recommends the following settings:
-1/250 f9 @ ISO 160 for surface shots
-1/250 f7.1 @ ISO 320 for mid-water tropic reefs on sunny days.
He also recommends having camera user settings preset so you can switch things quickly on the fly based on settings that work better in specific environments.
Tip #5 – Get closer, Get Lower – observer your surroundings to get great shots of smaller sea creatures.
Tip #6 – Get away from the group – most underwater creatures are afraid of bubbles, so large groups of divers typically scare them off. By getting away from the group you can get better photo opportunities and have a smaller chance of a getting a fellow diver in the shot.
Check out the full presentation here
Here’s also a great presentation, given at Google by Eric, about his experiences.
Do you have any favorite underwater photography tips, or favorite underwater photographers?
