How do you get started with underwater photography?

The underwater world is one of the last places that still feels genuinely unexplored, and capturing it is hugely rewarding. It can also look intimidating and expensive from the outside, with talk of housings, strobes and dive certifications. The good news is that you can start far more simply than you think.

The easiest way in is a rugged waterproof camera you can take straight into the water, whether you are snorkelling on holiday or practising in a pool. This guide covers the gear, the water skills and the handful of techniques that turn murky snapshots into images you are proud of.

What you need to start

You have several ways into underwater photography, and the right one depends on how deep you want to go, both literally and financially.

The simplest option: a waterproof camera

For most beginners, a rugged waterproof camera is the ideal starting point. There is no separate housing to buy, assemble or flood, and no fragile setup to worry about. You switch it on, drop into the water and shoot. Cameras in the PENTAX WG series are built for exactly this, with sealed bodies that are also shockproof and freezeproof, so a knock against a rock or a cold morning does not end the day.

Other options

Action cameras are popular for video and very wide shots, though their tiny sensors and ultra-wide lenses limit still photography. A phone in a waterproof case can work in very shallow water, but controls and image quality suffer. At the other end, a mirrorless or DSLR camera inside a dedicated housing delivers the best quality, but housings are bulky, costly and easy to get wrong. Most people are better served starting simple and upgrading later if the hobby sticks.

Get comfortable in the water first

The biggest mistake beginners make is thinking about the camera before thinking about the water. Photography adds a task to an environment that already demands your full attention, so build your water skills first.

If you snorkel, practise diving down calmly and holding a steady position without kicking up sand or bubbles. If you dive, get your buoyancy under control before you ever bring a camera, so you can hover, frame a shot and back away without touching the reef. A swimming pool is the perfect place to rehearse with your camera in calm, clear, controlled conditions. Above all, respect safety: keep track of your depth, your air and your buddy, and never let a photo pull your attention away from those basics.

Understand how water changes light and colour

Water is not simply air with fish in it. It absorbs light and colour surprisingly fast, and understanding this one idea explains almost every underwater photo tip that follows.

Colour disappears with depth

Water filters colour from the warm end of the spectrum first. Red fades within the first few metres, then orange and yellow, which is why unedited underwater shots often look flat and blue. The deeper you go, or the further you are from your subject, the more colour you lose.

Get close, then closer

Because water steals contrast and colour over distance, the single most useful habit is to get close to your subject. A photo taken half a metre away will almost always beat the same subject shot from three metres back. Move in gently, fill the frame, and let as little water as possible sit between your lens and your subject.

The settings that make underwater photos work

You do not need to master manual mode to take good underwater photos, but a few choices make a real difference.

Use an underwater mode or set white balance

The quickest fix for that blue cast is a dedicated underwater shooting mode, which rebalances colours automatically for the conditions. The PENTAX WG-8 and PENTAX WG-90 includes Underwater and Underwater Movie modes that optimise white balance to restore the natural colours water strips away, so your shots look right straight out of the camera. If you prefer manual control, set a custom white balance at depth rather than leaving it on auto.

Light, ISO and aperture

Natural light is your friend in shallow water. Shoot in the brightest part of the day, stay shallow when you can, and keep the sun behind you to light your subject and reduce backscatter from floating particles. Keep ISO as low as conditions allow for cleaner images, and if your camera offers it, aperture priority lets it adapt the exposure as the light shifts when you point up or down.

Macro and close-ups with a ring light

Small, slow subjects like starfish, shells and coral detail are perfect for beginners, and this is where a close-up light transforms your results. The PENTAX WG-8 and PENTAX WG-90 have a built-in ring light around the lens for exactly this, lighting tiny subjects evenly without a separate strobe, and it is waterproof to twenty metres for more ambitious dives. Getting within a few centimetres and letting that light do the work reveals detail the naked eye misses.

Simple techniques for better shots

Once your gear and settings are sorted, a few habits raise your hit rate quickly.

Shoot upward rather than down whenever you can, so your subject stands out against the water instead of a flat, sandy bottom. Look for pockets of light and let a subject move into them. Start with subjects that stay still, so you can practise framing and lighting without chasing anything. And take your time, because a handful of thoughtful frames beats a memory card full of rushed, blurry ones.

After the session: reviewing and editing

Underwater photos often benefit from a little post-processing.
While the WG models do not support RAW editing yet, their in-camera processing and built-in creative filters help produce images that are ready to share. For video recordings there are functions for editing the footage.

Reviewing your shots after each session also teaches you quickly, showing you what worked and what to try differently next time.

Ready to take the plunge? Pick a calm, shallow spot, get comfortable in the water, and start close. With a tough, ready-to-shoot camera in hand, the barrier to your first underwater photo is far lower than it looks.

And the fun does not stop at the water's edge. The same WG cameras are all-weather adventure companions on dry land too: read why the WG series are such hard-working cameras, and see how the PENTAX WG-8 and WG-90 is made for underwater shoots when you are ready to go deeper.