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Digital Underwater Photography - "Before and After"

Jetting off somewhere and really want to come home with some pics to impress?  No time to make a pool session?  Try our "Before and After" course, designed to not only make sure you take better photos on your dives but also help you refine and make magic in the editing suite after your return.

The instructor for this course is Mario Vitalini.  Mario is a self confessed camera geek!  His full time job is with Ocean Leisure Cameras, helping people work out which camera is right for them (and playing with just about every compact camera on the market).  At weekends he can be found in the classroom or the Surrey Sports Park Pool with Oxygene Surrey, helping people to make the most out of their digital cameras.  Mario knows all the hints and tips for getting that wow factor out of just about any camera set up… and diver!  Mario has been taking photos underwater since the film days and now digital - come and hone your skills with this photo pro! 

Course Prerequisites:

PADI Junior Open Water Diver or above.  No minimum dives needed.  Your own camera and housing is recommended.  Dont forget to charge your battery and bring all the bits and pieces!  If you dont have your own camera please speak to us about renting a camera and a housing for just £25 for the duration of the course day.

What You Will Learn:

This is a “dry” course with two theory sessions, each of approx 3hours.  Before you fly you can prepare and learn the techniques needed to really get the best results.  When you get back the second session helps you sort out the good, the bad and the ugly and generate a “best of” selection to print and share!  
 
Before your holiday:
  • How to set up your camera including O-ring care and bubble checking
  • White Balance and what it means in underwater photography
  • Exposure Lock and Compensation and how to access it on your particular camera
  • ISO - Sensitivity and how to adjust it in different light conditions
  • Internal flash
  • Macro settings
  • Composition & shot selection– making your images stand out
After your holiday:
  • Importing & organizing images
  • Histograms & what they tell you
  • Cleaning up images – working with clone & heal
  • Adjusting exposure
  • Colour corrections – what you can and cannot do!
  • Crop & resizing
  • Getting ready for printing or sharing via internet 
Course Cost:  The cost of the 2 theory sessions is £95.  We will be able to make suggestions about software you can trial for a limited period free of charge if you are not already using a software programme for image editing.  We have dates arranged for these courses in our "Activities" section to the right of this page but as there is no pool session needed, we can really work around your commitments. Speak to the dive centre today to arrange a date.  
 
PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Level 1
 
If you would like to take your underwater photography to the next level why not complete the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Level 1 course with Mario?  This includes a theory session and a  pool session complete with a fake underwater reef!  Click here for more info.  To gain the PADI certification 2 open water dives need to be completed.  Why not complete these for FREE on one of our Red Sea Liveaboard Diving Holidays or one of our Escorted UK Dive Trips?  Cost of PADI Certification = £20