Photo Etiquette

To most of the animals underwater, we look like frightening giants. It's no wonder they often turn tail and swim away. To avoid frightening your subjects and to get the best possible shot, take time to approach slowly and then spend some time near your subject without shooting. Once your subject seems used to you and your camera, you can gently start taking a few photos. Remember not to suddenly swing your camera into position! It's important to be patient, move slowly, and wait for the right moment to get your shot.

Unless you're diving alone, you should always be aware of your dive buddy and any other divers around you. If you're concentrating on getting just the right composition for the subject in front of you, it's easy to lose track of the other divers who may move on and leave you alone and possibly lost. Look up from time to time to see where they are.
If you're shooting macro, it often takes a long time to set up and take the shot. Keep in mind there may be other divers waiting their turn to shoot the same subject. Don't be selfish-be timely and finish your shot efficiently so the others can take their turn. You may be able to return later after the other divers have finished.

It's very important to pay attention to and think about other divers, both as a matter of manners and a matter of safety.

Beginning divers often forget the importance of breathing while they're shooting underwater. It's easy when you're taking a photo to unconsciously hold your breath or breathe unevenly because of excitement or because you want to hold the camera as still as possible. Never hold your breath whether you're shooting or not. Relax. It's safe, it helps extend your breathing time, and it makes your camera steadier while shooting.
It's also easy while shooting to concentrate on your camera and forget all about your air supply, dive time at depth, and other dive plan details. Be sure to check your air pressure gauge regularly, to look at your computer to make sure you don't stay down too long, and to follow the instructions of your dive guide or instructor.

A coral reef is a thriving ecosystem, home to a dazzling array of animals large and small. It provides shelter, a place to feed, and food itself for small fish that consume coral polyps. All the animals here live in a careful balance.
Reefs are under pressure from global warming, overfishing, pollution, and other human causes, so we don't want to add to their problems by damaging coral when we dive. A careless flick of a fin or wave of an arm can break coral that will take years to re-grow. Touching down on live coral can cause wide areas of damage.
We dive for the enjoyment of watching and photographing living creatures underwater. We must try to disturb their lives as little as possible. We should never touch living coral, and-no matter what our skill level-should work on our diving skills to keep us safely above the coral.

One very important skill for underwater photography is mastering neutral buoyancy. If you can float easily in position in the water column without moving your arms and legs, you're much less likely to touch and damage coral. Learn to take pictures responsibly so you can share the reef with your friends on land without damaging your subject.

This movie shows a diver shooting images while maintaining neutral buoyancy.

Maintaining neutral buoyancy is essential for diving on coral reefs without damage to you or the reef. If you're not confident of your buoyancy control skills, avoid diving above a coral reef and consider taking some refresher diving courses to help you with buoyancy.

An octopus or instrument console dangling loose from your side is an accident waiting to happen: they can damage coral without you knowing it, and sooner or later they'll get caught in something, especially in current, an unsafe situation. Make sure you clip those equipment closely to your BC. You can buy octopus and instrument console clips in any dive store.