OK, now I'm worried about this underwater photography thing

[TSandM]

There's lots of good advice in this thread, but I just wanted to add one thing, which is that photographs of your dives, the sea life you see, and yourself are wonderful and valuable things. And a great way to get them is to dive with a photographer! No, really -- Hooking up with experienced buddies is a fantastic way to learn, and even though you and your wife are certified and undoubtedly want to dive together, you can go to the dive site and have each of you actually DIVE with another buddy. Doing this with experienced people will help your buoyancy control and your situational awareness, and if those experienced divers have cameras, they'll probably share their pictures with you.

To this day, I rarely take photographs, but I often dive with photographers. I save myself the annoyance, expense and occasional heartbreak of diving with a camera, but I still get the pictures to enjoy afterwards!

 

[vladimir]

When you do decide to take your camera with you, position yourself so you are facing the reef, with your fins extending towards blue water. On a typical sloping reef or wall, this will afford you and the reef some leeway before your fins touch. It will also get you level with or facing up at many of your subjects, often a more interesting vantage point. Ideally, your horizontal (or inverted) trim, arched back, and bent knees will keep your fins off the reef, but until this is second nature, pointing your fins away will spare the coral.

 

[Diver Dennis]

If you can, do what Lynne says, dive with an experienced photog. Watch how they control themselves in the water, stay off the reef and hover to get the shot. See how many times they check their gauges and how often they look around to see where you are and where they are, their situational awareness. You'd be surprised how many tips you can pick up by just watching someone who is experienced.

Then, you can practice hovering over what would be an interesting shot without the camera for a few dives. Be honest when evaluating your skills and you will know when you're ready.

 

[gustele]

NWGratefulDiver, that is great information about what is needed to be a good buddy for a photographer. Diving as a photographer's buddy means most of the time that you are in fact solo diving. The photographer is protected by his buddy but the buddy is mostly neglected. I am a photographer myself and currently diving with another photographer which means that both divers have a buddy just in case something unexected happens, but not as a continuous guardian.
I agree completely with the advices on this board that you first should become comfortable under water yourself and that you and your buddy should know each other's behaviour under water thoroughly before starting to take a camera with you. The information in the NWGratefulDiver's answer is a great way to make a photography dive safer for both.

 

[mrwa]

I'll play the devil's advocate here. I am very new to UW photograpy and diving. So my opinions shouldn't carry much weight, if any. With that said, I have been using a single strobe that I clip to my BC when not in use for most of my 11 logged dives. If I see something interesting, I fire off a couple shots. If not, I just enjoy the dive. I don't chase fish around, or leave my buddy's side. I have never found buoyancy control to be very challenging, I don't damage the reef, and it really doesn't distract me that much to have my camera around. I did familiarize myself first with the camera controls extensively by practicing on dry land. So I may be living in a dreamworld in which I am a serious danger to myself and others, or carrying a camera doesn't have to be a major dilemma for all new divers. The preponderance of evidence does suggest that it may be the former case, but so far so good.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Wow! Tons of great advice here. I've been using a simple Canon point-and-shoot for 2 years now. In addition to honing buoyancy skills, optimizing trim, and developing "specialized" photo-buddy skills, another very useful skill is a backwards kick. It allows you to back away from a wall/reef and fine-tune your camera position relative to the subject. For now, I would recommend just using the camera while snorkeling.

Have fun and be safe...

 

[vladimir]

I have never found buoyancy control to be very challenging, I don't damage the reef, and it really doesn't distract me that much to have my camera around.

I don't think anybody is suggesting that buoyancy control is "very challenging" or that having a camera is a huge distraction. I would suggest, however, that it only takes a momentary distraction or a small lapse in buoyancy control to kill some coral, create a buddy separation or have an uncontrolled ascent (read the OP in this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ask-dr-decompression/229665-very-mild-decompression-sickness.html). Of course, 99% of these lapses will be non-events, but eventually, you may have an event on your hands.

 

[jrmigs]

A middle ground... leave your expensive digital topside and carry a disposable. At <30' they will take good enough pics with ambient light that it will remind you of what you thought was exciting... at the same time, you will not win any awards so precise boyancy won't matter. Focus on your control first, your buddy second and you can still take an occasional snapshot.

JR

 

[mrwa]

I don't think anybody is suggesting that buoyancy control is "very challenging" or that having a camera is a huge distraction. I would suggest, however, that it only takes a momentary distraction or a small lapse in buoyancy control to kill some coral, create a buddy separation or have an uncontrolled ascent (read the OP in this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ask-dr-decompression/229665-very-mild-decompression-sickness.html). Of course, 99% of these lapses will be non-events, but eventually, you may have an event on your hands.

Yes, I agree that a camera may increase your risk of some sort of accident to some degree, and probably more so with new divers. But how much of additional risk it is depends a lot on the idividual diver's behavior too (your link is a prime example). I probably don't even know enough about diving to know what I don't know yet. But I do know that life comes down to a series of choices and little bit of luck (good and bad). I guess that I'm willing to accept a bit of additional risk to enhance my enjoyment of an inherently risky activity. I would only want make that decision for myself though, and certainly don't intend to dispute the very sound recommendations made by the many more experienced divers on this post. In fact, many thanks for the interesting discussion, it has given my a lot to think about.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

It's difficult to say any number of dives in order to say you should take a camera...

As many have stated, you are pretty much a solo diver at the time you take a camera. The better prepared you are for diving, the better prepared you will be when you take a camera.

There is always a risk when you take a camera. That risk is greatly increased when you are new to diving, uncomfortable with new equipment or... even diving a new site. I often leave my camera on the boat when diving a new site. I much prefer to get the layout and feel for the dive site. I can always come back and dive it again with a camera (possibly not, if I had the camera and ran into trouble on that first dive).

Before taking a camera into the water, I first ask myself if I am comfortable with my equipment and the environment. If the answer to this is no... the camera stays (sometimes I stay with it... lol)

The second thing I ask myself is if I am comfortable with my buddy's skills? If the answer is no... the camera stays (I would prefer to be there for the buddy if I am not comfortable with their skill set)

The third thing I ask myself is if a problem arises, am I prepared to ditch the camera in order to survive (can be a question with the cost of cameras, housings, flashes and lenses). I am willing to ditch it at any time someone's life may be on the line (But, I ask myself this question every time I dive with my camera anyway)

The last thing I ask myself is if I am physically able to make the dive with a camera and make all the skill moves needed to protect the reef, wreck or structure I am diving. You must be prepared (trained, practiced and skilled) in order to make some of the moves that will put you in awkward positions to get the shot, protect the environment and get yourself back out of whatever you get into (a hole, upside down, back fin... etc) These skills take time, practice and ability to keep the dive site in the same (or better) condition as it was when you hit the water...

Does this all mean you should not take a camera at your skill level? I don't know about you... You must answer this.

Was I prepared at your skill level? NO!
====

As some have stated, learn your camera inside out on land, get your buoyancy under control, then take it on some shallow dives where risk is minimized. Get comfortable with diving, then... get comfortable with underwater photography!