Hey Again,

I was curious about underwater photography. So I looked it up on...you guessed it National Geographic...they are great. Anyway, I was wondering what kind of special gear one would need to get good underwater shots of nature. I found this information about the basic gear and settings for getting good underwater photos.

Here are some example pictures taken by our friend Raul.

   

Choose the Right Gear
When choosing what gear to use, keep in mind that there are two basic—and hugely different—systems: A point-and-shoot camera in a waterproof case and a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) in an underwater housing with external strobes, such as that shown here.
The first system has some advantages, including ease of use (no complex set up) and economy. Point-and-shoots are also fun for taking pictures on the surface, where there’s a lot of light. One of this option’s major disadvantages is the inability of the photographer, in most cases, to direct light, since the strobe in these cameras is integrated into its body. Also, manual control of exposure is difficult to achieve.
Most professional photographers use DSLRs, as we have total and absolute control over the system. With a DSLR it’s possible to control aperture and speed depending on the situation or desired effect, e.g., movement. It’s also possibe to point the strobes where they’re needed. But the system does have some disadvantages in that it can be cumbersome, hard to maintain, and expensive.—Raul Touzon


Be Familiar With Basic Settings
Here are some basic camera settings that will improve your underwater imagery. Remember, in some point-and-shoot systems you might not be able to reach these controls underwater in a fast and efficient manner.

1. White balance: For most cases put your white balance in daylight mode, especially if you are using flash.
2. ISO: Keep your ISO low (100 or 200). Higher ISOs will, in most cases, result in “digital noise” in your pictures.
3. Aperture: Depending on how deep you’re working, most of the time you’ll be shooting between f8 and f16. This will provide you with greater depth of field.
4. Speed: In the manual setting, it’s the right combination of aperture and speed that will yield the correct exposure. I tend to use speed as a creative tool—if I want my subject to be sharp and motionless I’ll go to a higher shutter speed: 1/125th or 1/250th. Or if I want to convey or capture motion, e.g., fish swimming, a slower shutter speed of 1/15th or lower is the way to go.
5. Focus: I tend to keep my focus in automatic and in single subject, which allows me to autofocus on the subject. In this mode, as long as I keep the shutter button down, it will hold the focus even if I recompose the scene.—Raul Touzon 

I do not take credit for any pictures in this post.B$ For more information regarding underwater photography visit

 http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/underwater-photography-tips/