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50 Awe-Inspiring Underwater Photos

Today we’ll be looking at a range of inspiring underwater photographs, including images taken in the sea, rivers, lakes – even fish tanks and swimming pools! You might think that underwater photography is limited to taking pictures of fish, but we’re here to prove you wrong.

Take a trip into the deep blue sea with this collection of awe-inspiring underwater photographs.

How Can I Shoot Underwater Scenes?

This could also be asked as "am I going to have to buy even more new kit?" Obviously, the answer to this is yes. Underwater photography can an expensive hobby, and the first important item to find is a suitable waterproof case for your SLR. These start from around $300+ for a good brand. When buying a case, be sure to look into the type of water protection they offer and the depth they’re suitable for.

Equally importantly, you need to ensure that easy access is provided to important buttons and settings (there’s no point needing to re-surface every time you’d like to change a setting!) Often you might also want to have enough room for a flash gun or lighting equipment, as things can get fairly dark towards the bottom of the sea…

underwater photography inspiration

If you’d prefer not to risk taking your SLR underwater, you could opt for a waterproof camera. Although this sounds like a good idea, relatively few good-quality devices are on the market. A range of water-resistant compact, disposable, cameras are available, but you’ll be severely limited in terms of quality.

underwater photography inspiration

Zena Holloway

Zena Holloway has taken fashion photography one step further, and has established herself as very successful underwater photographer. Zena has dealt with many big clients including Umbro, Olay, Tota and most recently "The Water Babies" which involved working with children and animals underwater.

View Zena’s Website

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

Motoya Kawasaki

Check out this photographer’s Flickr account here.

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

Wolfgang

A amazing collection of photos from Spain, Germany, Austria, France and more.

Flickr

underwater photography inspiration

This photo is actually an example of Ice-Diving in Plansee, Austria

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

Marcus Wallinder

Marcus has an amazing cool gallery of macro shots under the sea! They are very unique compared to the normal photos you see. I would recommend viewing them on his website as well, as the gallery is excellent.

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

David Doubilet

David is one of the best known underwater photographers. He is always contributing to the National Geographic Magazine and has been doing other crazy projects since 1971. He has won many awards for his photography and he rightful deserves it, often being within metres of crocodiles and sharks – just for a single shot.

Website

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

Other Photographers

Here are a mix of random underwater photos, simply click the photo to go to the original location and find out more about that photographer.

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

underwater photography inspiration

Thanks For Reading!

I hope you’ve enjoyed experiencing a selection of awesome underwater photography, and feel inspired to try it for yourself on your next vacation. If you have any suggestions or ideas for future roundups, please feel free to post them in the comments!

  • http://www.gdepm.com Gaspar Garcia de Paredes

    Very cool collection of underwater pics. Yet there is one glaring omission: the work of Gregory Colbert.

    For a truly inspiring collection of underwater photography take a look at the website http://www.ashesandsnow.org/. Not all of his work is underwater photography, but it is really impressive.

  • http://hybrid-creation.deviantart.com/ Hybrid59

    c ‘est magnifique !

  • http://japh.com.au/ Japh

    Wow, what an incredible collection! Thanks for sharing :D

  • http://flickr.com/8caliber 8caliber

    very inspiring!

  • http://davidwoodfx.blogspot.com/ David W.

    Lovely! :)

  • http://www.swanydesign.com Swany

    do you also need to use a red filter when shooting underwater?

  • http://www.e-sushi.net e-sushi

    I wish I had an ocean, a camera and a lifetime to shoot all those beautifull pictures.

    Good that you’ve collected these resources for me to enjoy. Tnx!

  • http://www.flickr.com/pharch Nicolas

    I bought a Cannon D10 this summer and gave it a go.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/pharch/sets/72157621771555913/

    if anyones interested.

  • http://www.stillformat.com Carlos Bohorquez Nassar

    Awesome examples, thx for sharing

  • Encorer
  • http://www.digitaldiving.co.uk Debi Henshaw

    I was quite surprised to see one of my images here (the Mantis Shrimp Eyes) but thanks for including me amongst some fantastic works!

  • http://desouzaphotography.webs.com Sara de Souza

    great collection! I also feel that this photographer is worth a mention http://www.flickr.com/photos/sugarock/

  • http://www.geniuzdesigns.de g3niuz

    great collection ;D

    the croco is great…

  • http://www.bluewebstyles.com Blueweb

    Wonderful collection. Thanks for sharing :)

  • http://dreamj.deviantart.com/ Dream Art’s

    Some shot are really breathtaking !
    Thanks for sharing !

  • georgette

    wow, these are beautiful

  • Mamun bangladesh

    in a word “Awesome”

  • http://www.underwaterdigitalcamerainfo.com Joel

    Although waterproof digital camera may offer limited features, I always have my Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 with me. And it has been a great savior in capturing great candid shots I least expected.

  • http://underwaterdigitalcamerainfo.blogspot.com szenny

    Beaches are often some of the most beautiful places. Unfortunately, they also represent challenges for both aspiring and experienced photographers.

  • http://www.awe-ltd.co.uk/ Tom

    Wow – this is some pretty awe inspiring stuff.

    Makes me glad that we try to keep the oceans and the water as clean as we can.

    Tom

    AWE

  • http://www.dzinepress.com Dzinepress

    awesome inspiration in these of all photos.

  • http://www.mamunsultannur.com mamun sultan nur

    awesome inspiration