Underwater photography allows divers to capture the incredible sights they experience beneath the surface. When you are surrounded by clear blue water, colourful fish, and thriving coral reefs across Indonesia, it is only natural to want to take home beautiful photos.

Whether you are diving in Raja Ampat, the muck-rich sites of Lembeh Strait or the famous walls of Bunaken National Park, Indonesia offers some of the most photogenic underwater environments in the world. Still, taking great photographs underwater can be challenging.

Water absorbs light and colour much faster than air does, and movement from currents or surges can make images blurry if you are not prepared. With the right techniques and a bit of practice, you can dramatically improve the quality of your underwater photos.

Below are seven helpful tips that will support you during your next diving adventure. These guidelines are suitable for divers joining Mikumba Diving across Indonesia, where the opportunities for both macro and wide-angle photography are endless.

1. Control Your Aperture and Shutter Speed

Light behaves differently underwater, so camera settings matter more than many people realise. Your aperture and shutter speed are two key controls that determine the brightness, clarity, and overall style of your shot.

A simple starting point is:

• Aperture: f/5–f/6
• Shutter speed: 1/200 to 1/250

This combination helps keep your subject sharp while creating a darker, deeper blue background. If you want a brighter blue backdrop, slow your shutter speed slightly, try between 1/60 and 1/125.

This allows more natural light into your photo. However, slowing your shutter too much can cause motion blur, especially if your subject is moving or if you are drifting slightly in the water.

Experiment with different settings throughout your dive until you find what works best for your style and the conditions.

2. Adjust White Balance to Restore Natural Colour

Water absorbs warm colours such as red, orange, and yellow as you descend, which is why underwater photos often appear overly blue or green. To correct this, adjust your white balance manually rather than relying on the automatic setting.

Manual white balance helps restore accurate colours and makes coral, fish, and reef landscapes look more lifelike. The light changes as you move deeper or change direction, so you may need to adjust it several times during a dive.

Some cameras also allow you to use a red filter, which helps balance out the stronger blue tones you see in deeper water.

3. Use Strobes or Underwater Lighting

Even in clear locations like Raja Ampat, or Maluku Islands, natural light fades quickly underwater. Using strobes or underwater video lights helps lift colours that would otherwise disappear.

Reds, oranges, and yellows become much more vibrant when lit with artificial light. Strobes also have the advantage of freezing motion, which reduces blur from water movement or from animals swimming past you.

This can make a huge difference when photographing fast-moving subjects or shooting in low-light conditions. One important technique to learn is how to position your strobes correctly to avoid backscatter, the white specks that appear in photos when light reflects off particles in the water.

4. Get Close to Your Subject

One simple rule of underwater photography is: the closer you are, the better the photo. The more water there is between you and your subject, the more colour and sharpness you lose.

Move as close as you can without disturbing the environment. Ideally, you should barely need to use your zoom.

This makes colours stronger, details clearer, and your composition more effective. Good buoyancy is critical for this and to protect marine life.

If you are floating up and down or accidentally kicking the sand, your photos will be harder to capture cleanly, and you may disrupt marine life. Practice controlling your position in the water so you can approach subjects gently and safely.

This tip is especially important in macro hotspots like Lembeh Strait, where many of the creatures are tiny and require precise positioning.

5. Adjust ISO and Use the Right Camera Settings

ISO determines how sensitive your camera is to light. Underwater, you may need a slightly higher ISO than you would use on land, especially in deeper or shaded areas.

A good starting point is:

• ISO 200-400 in bright, shallow water
• Increase only when necessary

Be cautious about raising ISO too high because it can create grainy images. Many cameras also offer colour or picture profiles such as “Vivid” or “Landscape”.

These settings can help enhance the natural blues and improve colour balance without much editing.

6. Choose the Right Lens for Blue-Water Photography

Different underwater environments require different lenses. In Indonesia, where you can move from manta cleaning stations to dense schools of fish to tiny macro critters all in one region, choosing the right lens can make a big difference.

Wide-angle lenses

Perfect for capturing:

• Reef walls
• Manta rays
• Schooling fish
• Sharks
• Large coral structures

Wide-angle lenses gather more light and allow you to shoot dramatic scenes, making them ideal for places like Raja Ampat or Bunaken.

Macro lenses

Ideal for shooting:

• Nudibranchs
• Pygmy seahorses
• Frogfish
• Ambon scorpionfish and other critters in Lembeh

Macro lenses help you capture fine details and produce stunning close-up photographs. With Mikumba Diving, you will find countless opportunities for both wide-angle and macro photography on every trip.

7. Make the Most of Natural Light

Even when using strobes, sunlight is still an important part of underwater photography. Small changes in the angle of the sun or the direction you face can dramatically impact your results.

To use natural light effectively:

• Keep the sun behind you when photographing your subject.
• Dive during brighter times of the day when possible.
• Use lighter backgrounds or sandy areas to help reflect light.
• Avoid stirring up sediment, especially in silty locations like Lembeh.

Understanding how sunlight behaves underwater will help improve your composition and overall image quality.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to make underwater photos less blue?

Underwater photos often look too blue because water absorbs warm colours like red and orange. You can fix this by adjusting your white balance to make the image warmer.

A red filter can also help while shooting. During editing, you can correct colour by reducing the strong blue and green tones and adding more natural colours back into the shot.

What is the best ISO setting for underwater photography?

Start with a low ISO such as 160 or 200 when diving in bright, clear water. Increase ISO only when you need more light, such as on deeper or darker dives.

Try not to go too high because it can make your photos look grainy.

What are the best techniques for underwater photography?

Get close to your subject, use strobes or flash for better colour, and shoot upward for more interesting angles. Wide-angle and macro lenses work best underwater.

Shooting in RAW helps you edit the image more easily later.

How to make underwater photos look better?

Correct exposure, enhance contrast, and adjust white balance to bring back natural colours. Remove backscatter if it appears, and improve composition by placing your subject thoughtfully in the frame.

Capture Indonesia’s Best with Us

If you are passionate about underwater photography and want to explore Indonesia’s most impressive marine environments, joining our liveaboard or expedition is an excellent choice. A vessel like Jelajahi Laut gives you direct access to multiple dive sites each day, whether you are exploring Raja Ampat, the Banda Sea, Maluku Islands or Lembeh, Bunaken and Gorantalo.

This means more time underwater, more opportunities to photograph during the best lighting conditions, and a chance to experience unique marine life up close. With comfortable cabins, delicious meals, and support from an experienced crew, you can focus entirely on improving your photography skills.

If you are ready to experience Indonesia’s underwater wonders and take your images to the next level, book now and join Mikumba Diving for an unforgettable photographic journey across Indonesia. We will help you capture the colours, textures, and extraordinary marine life that make these waters some of the best in the world for underwater photography.