I remember first coming across beautiful split water shots on Instagram where you could see both above the water and below the water and I was mesmerized. “How did they get that shot?!” I was obsessed with the beautiful images of a swimmer below the water and a tropical landscape, boat or surfer above! As it turns outs, an easy way to capture over/underwater photos is to purchase a simple attachment for a GoPro.
GoPro Hero 8
First you’ll need a GoPro to shoot photos this way. You can buy the lastest version on Amazon for less than $400. If you’re serious about travel, you’ll be thankful you have your GoPro for all future trips to come! You can easily edit your videos with the Quik app which edits, cuts and syncs your videos to music. It’s a huge time saver and really easy to use.
Telesin Dome
Once you own a GoPro, you’ll want to purchase a dome that is compatible with your GoPro. Simply open the back of the dome and pop your GoPro in the fitted capsule. The attachment at the back works as a trigger to click the record/photo capture button while keeping in the GoPro inside the waterproof dome. The dome keeps the water further from the camera lens which allows the camera to capture both above and below the water line.
Remember, a good split shot is composed over a strong underwater scene, a clear waterline across the frame of the photo and a strong/interesting above water scene.
You want to tell a story with your photo and to do that- both above the water and below the water shoot be an engaging image.
Tip: Place the sun behind your back when shooting!
Keep in mind, it is always darker underwater than above water so you’ll need plenty of light when shooting. If it’s an overcast day or the sun has already begun to set, you might not be able to capture what’s going on below the water.
The clearer the water, the better!
Shooting in transparent water will give you much clearer photos obviously! While muddy, murky water could be used to an interesting artistic effect, you’ll typically have much better luck with clear water. Even in a pool!
Water droplets on the dome? Try licking it! Spit helps keep it clear.
If you’ve gone snorkeling or scuba diving before you might have heard that spitting in your mask then dunking it will prevent your mask from fogging up. The same works with a dome attachment. Although you might feel a little silly licking or spitting on your dome before dunking it in the water and shooting, you will find you get clearer photos without any water droplets!
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A fun challenge!
Shooting underwater provides a fun challenging twist on travel photos! Your hair will be floating every which way, the waves might crash just as you take the photo so your waterline is disrupted and you might end up swallowing half the ocean. But the results can be mesmerizing! And it’s awfully fun swimming around the ocean and getting creative with shots.
Have you tried underwater photography before? If this blog post was helpful, repin it on Pinterest!
And if you used any of my tips to get a photo, tag me on Instagram so I can reshare it on my stories! Have fun photographing in the water 🙂
All shots taken by the amazing Tony Myshlyaev from Tones of Blue Photography. Follow his Instagram here.
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Keep reading: How To Get Epic Solo Travel Photos
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