Underwater Photography At Night

How to get great underwater shots after dark

- Tobias Friedrich

The first hurdle of night diving is to actually do it. Getting a beer at the bar and calling it a day is often more tempting than jumping into the water again. But once in, there is almost always one encounter or one shot that makes forgoing that beer worth it. For the best results, here are some important considerations to take with you.

The first and most important thing to bring is a torch. One for you and one for your camera. It’s equally important to be able to focus underwater at night as well as to communicate with your dive buddy or the boat that is going to pick you up afterwards. Underwater photographers often think that they have enough lights as they have their focus light or pilot lights built into the strobes. But when the focus light is on throughout the dive and the strobes have emptied out by the end, you face the risk of not having any light at the surface, which can be a serious safety hazard. It’s always better to bring a second, handy dive torch with you as a backup.

Regarding the focus light, wide and soft light will do the job well. Ideally, it should not be too strong or dimmable to low power to avoid scaring the animals away with the light. If you have the option of using a red light, it could be very useful for animals that are easily scared, but take note that the landscape will be set to a monochrome scene and it makes finding animals more difficult compared to using white light.

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