Underwater Photographer Course

With a cloudless sky crowning the expanse of the Coral Sea, you slip quietly into the azure waters surrounding the Great Barrier Reef. Below you lies a multi-colored world stretching for miles, a living, breathing art gallery of the gods. Everywhere you look, creatures of all shapes and sizes dart and swim around massive colonies of staghorn, fan and star coral. A silvertip shark slinks above the bottom, but you’re too overloaded with awe to feel any fear. Schools of red bass and gobies shimmer and dance past a giant clam as you gracefully glide to meet a friendly dugong grazing in a patch of seagrass…

Coconut palms wave languidly above the shores of Eten Island as you adjust your mask and gaze into the waters of Truk Lagoon. Swift kicks send you coursing down past schools of wahoo and angelfish, but the marine life is only part of the reason you were drawn here. Near the fifty-foot mark you begin to see them – dark, irregular shapes appearing from the blue gloom. Slowing down, you snap on your dive light and play it’s beam across the coral-encrusted remains of a Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boat. Nearby, a skeletal truck lies against a type 97 light battle tank, as if both vehicles lost a bizarre game of chicken. And towering over all is the tilted hull of a destroyer, deck guns frozen in place and covered with algae and mollusks. Slowly and carefully you swim past these relics, just a few of the numerous weapons of war sent to the bottom when the U.S. attacked the Japanese-held islands in 1944…

A dive only lasts for so long, but the memories it creates live on forever. And whether you’re exploring Australia’s offshore pride and joy, the Pacific’s "ghost fleet" or the coast around Fernandina, photos can help bring the excursion to life when you share the experience with friends and family. While you can always buy a book featuring pictures from these locales, the satisfaction you feel knowing you personally took the "snaps" is unbeatable. At Scuba Lessons Jax, we can prepare you to capture everything the underwater world offers.

Why is an underwater photographer course important?

Although you may be quite good with a camera on the surface, there are different rules, methods and techniques for taking pictures underwater, not to mention specialized equipment. The underwater photographer faces unique challenges when seeking the perfect shot – color and contrast is lost the deeper you go, using a flash can be tricky, and the density of water can greatly affect image quality. Scuba Lessons Jax offers courses for both conventional and digital photography, and you may be able to earn college credit upon completion.

What exactly will I learn in the course?

The underwater photographer course will cover the following topics:

• How to choose the underwater camera system that’s right for you
• The PADI SEA method for getting great shots quickly
• The three primary principles for taking great pictures underwater

What is required for me to take the course?

Participants must be at least ten years of age and have completed a (jr.) open water diver course or have received a qualifying rating PLUS the snorkeler option. An underwater photo system and snorkel gear are required.

Our enriched air diver course is a perfect compliment to these lessons, as extended time underwater mean more pictures. And the peak performance buoyancy course can improve your control, which can improve your photos.