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M
ost underwater photographers
start as divers. In my case, I
was a photographer long before
I began diving. In fact, I went to
art school and have a master of
fine arts degree in photography.
After more than 20 years making images of marine
life, I thought it was time for a change. I wanted to do
something that would take me back to my early artistic
roots but still keep me wet.
My vision was to have a clear, warm and controlled
environment where I could push the limits of creativity
and still breathe from a scuba tank. The fruition was
a custom-designed 11-foot-deep saltwater pool. It has
20 embedded mounts to attach strobe arms so I don’t
have to attach strobes on my housing. It can easily be
heated to 86°F-90°F, temperatures comfortable to be in
even without thermal protection. My pool also has two
lower-level viewing windows so observers can watch
or shoot video of a project.
Underwater photography in pools has become
very popular over the past few years. Since it is not
necessary to be a scuba diver to shoot in a pool, many
people shoot in shallow pools, holding their breaths
and ducking underwater to take photos. Coming from
a diving and underwater photography background, I
have a different approach. In the course of working in
my underwater studio I’ve learned many lessons that
might help other photographers in their own pool
photo sessions.
MODEL ORIENTATION AND EVALUATION
While it isn’t hard to find models who have experience
in front of the camera, not all will be comfortable in
and under the water. Some are even afraid of the water.
You might be surprised that many of the skills you take
for granted, such as equalizing your ears, are foreign to
those who don’t dive. It is important to get a sense of
your model’s abilities and comfort in the water prior to
a shoot.
I shoot in both the shallow and deep ends of
the pool. The skills required for each are a little
different, but even if you shoot only in shallow
water it’s important to get a sense of your model’s
basic water skills. Even when I work with models
who are experienced freedivers, I have an in-water
orientation with them before I schedule a shoot, which
is necessary both for safety and to determine our
compatibility. We also work extensively on buoyancy
skills before doing deep-end shoots.
Make things easy the first time around: Shoot in
shallow water, as this eliminates the need for safety
divers and extra crew. As long as the model can just
stand up for air, your shoot will go smoothly.
BE A MODEL
Before you direct models, you should be aware of what
it’s like to be a model: to see underwater without a
mask and control your buoyancy without dive gear.
That will help you understand what is involved in
posing and how long you can hold your breath and
still be relaxed.
LIGHTING
Get your strobes off of the housing. This will give
you more control in terms of exposure and creative
positioning. With attached strobes, the exposure will
change as you move closer or farther away. Exposure
can remain more consistent from shot to shot with the
lighting distance fixed relative to the model.
Use inexpensive tripods to mount and position
your strobes underwater, and hang extra strobes from
the poolsides.
Use multiple strobes, often three or more. Fire the
remote strobes using slave mode to avoid having to use
cables. I use Triggerfish slave sensors, which can be
positioned to face the primary light so they will always
flash. Ikelite also makes a good remote slave sensor.
An extra strobe or two is great for creative
backlighting. Shooting at night is another option for
creating interesting lighting, atmosphere and effects
such as surface reflections.
SAFETY
The safety of everyone involved is crucial. Many
shooters who do this kind of photography work only
in shallow water so all they or their models have to
do to get air is stand up. I shoot in shallow water
whenever I work with a model for the first time.
When I’m in the deep end or the ocean, there are
always at least two assistants: a safety diver to watch
the model and provide air through a hookah and
another diver to act as my camera assistant and to
promote general safety.
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THE ART OF POOL PHOTOGRAPHY
Text and photos by Rod Klein
ANOTHER WAY OF SEEING