Nudibranch Photography in the Maldives
26 Apr 2022Underwater photography is a great way to add a new dimension to your scuba diving activities but it’s not always easy to capture the subject in a way that will give eye-catching results – the big pelagics are often too far away and fish move quite quickly or face the wrong way whenever you point a camera at them! For incredible images full of colour and interest, go in search of the beautiful nudibranchs hiding on our reefs here in the Maldives – they make the perfect subjects for underwater photography as they move slowly which allows the photographer time to capture incredible detail and compose a great shot.
Photography Tips:
- Get down to the nudibranchs’ level and try to fill the frame with the subject.
- Focus on the rhinophores on the nudibranchs’ head.
- Think about the background, avoid a ‘busy’ reef and shoot upwards to have more chance of a clear area behind.
- Light up your subject with strobes or a lamp to bring back the incredible colours lost by the water depth.
- Aim to get the gills, rhinophores, oral tentacles, etc. in the frame.
- Don’t touch or move the nudibranchs to a better spot – the natural behaviour of marine creatures is a higher priority than getting the perfect shot.
- You’ll need good buoyancy skills for macro photography – if yours need refreshing or could do with improvement, we recommend you take the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty course.
- Practise makes perfect so dive, dive, and dive again!
