PADI Digital U/W Photographer

But what if you don’t know anything about digital underwater cameras? Well, that’s not a problem. Many of our divers use the programme and the time with their PADI Instructor as a great launch pad to help them decide on the kind of camera equipment that best suits them and the type of photographs they are looking to take.

The best news is that with Aquasport you don’t even need to have your own camera as we can provide you with a state of the art digital underwater camera and housing for use on the programme at no extra cost!

Minimum age: 10 years

Course prerequisites: PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver

What will I do?

You will have two days of intense digital underwater photography training to complete. In our fully equipped multi-media classrooms, you will learn a variety of skills from how to set up your photography equipment and how to take a good photograph underwater to post dive photo processing techniques. You will also complete a basic underwater photography clinic in our onsite heated training pool.

You will then put into practice what you learn in a combination of skills in two open water training dives with your PADI Instructor.

During your programme you will cover the following:

• How to choose the right camera system for you
• How to get great results quickly
• The three primary principles for good underwater photos
• Setting up an underwater system
• Basic photography tips
• Why you don’t need a strobe
• Tips for eliminating back scatter
• Getting colour back into your images
• An explanation of digital file formats
• Post dive processing of your images on your computer

How do I get started?

Just pick your dates if you can and pay your £125 deposit and you will receive your PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty home study materials. Don’t worry if you can’t commit to a date straight away. There are plenty scheduled throughout the year and you can get started on the home study as soon as you have received your eLearning login code.

How long will it take?

The PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty takes place over one weekend. Starting on Saturday morning at 09:00, you will review the theory sections from the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer programme and watch the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer DVD with your Instructor. You will then complete an underwater photography clinic in the pool. On the Sunday you will complete two open water training dives.

What will I need?

The PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty is open to all divers who hold the PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver certification or equivalent.

You will need to fill out a self-certification medical statement. If you have any medical conditions that you think may prevent you from scuba diving, please feel free to contact us and we will try to be of assistance.

All the PADI materials and standard scuba equipment needed to complete the programme are included in the cost. You will need to pay for your entry to the open water dive site and any required air fills while away from the centre. This is approximately £30 a day.

Where can I go from here?

The PADI Digital Underwater Photography Specialty is a way for you to really improve your underwater photography skills. Digital Underwater Photography is a must if your next step is the PADI Wreck Diver Specialty or PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty.

Once you have completed five PADI specialties, the PADI Rescue Diver course and have 50 logged dives you hold all the prerequisites for the PADI Master Scuba Diver certification. This is the highest non-professional rating in the PADI system of diver education.

Here at Aquasport all our Instructors hold this level of recreational certification. We recommend that every diver takes this route regardless of their further ambitions as we see it as a commitment to education and a real achievement.