Scuba diving and photography have gone hand-in-hand since humans started to explore with tanks. Jacques Cousteau developed the Aqua-Lung, and then quickly became a household name for capturing the ocean’s beauty on film. It’s no surprise that divers today still want to share the unique and wonderful things they see underwater, and thanks to modern digital photography tools, it has never been easier to get started.

The PADI Digital Underwater Photographer specialty gives divers a hands-on introduction to the fundamentals of underwater photography, including everything from camera selection and operation to the framing and lighting of shots. “This specialty is a great entry point into underwater photography,” says Annie Crawley, a Seattle-based instructor, PADI AmbassaDiver and professional underwater photographer. “You learn to do more than just point and shoot.”

Benefits

One clear benefit of taking the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer specialty is the ability to capture great photos and video of your experiences underwater. But learning underwater photography can also improve your diving overall by honing skills like buoyancy, air consumption and navigation.

It can also make you a more conscious buddy. “It’s great to have a buddy to help find photo subjects and to model for your shots, and you can help each other with navigation and watching your air consumption,” Crawley explains.

Becoming an underwater photographer will encourage you to slow down and pay more attention to your surroundings, which can improve your overall perception underwater and help you spot marine life that others might miss.

What You'll Learn

The academic portion of the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer specialty covers all the nuts and bolts of getting started—including how to choose the right camera system for your dives, the principles of image composition and tips for getting the most impactful shot.

The course also covers PADI’s Shoot, Examine, Adjust (SEA) method for underwater photography, which outlines the steps you’ll follow with a dive professional to take photos, evaluate how they look and then make adjustments on the next shot to improve your images over two open-water dives.

The PADI Digital Underwater Photographer specialty is open to any certified diver age 10 or older. There are no prerequisites, and no previous photography experience is required. The course can also count toward your Advanced Open Water Diver course and your Master Scuba Diver rating. Students will need to either have or rent an underwater camera system to use during the course.