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Continuing-Education

Digital Underwater Photographer

eLearning covers self-study material. Your dive shop will charge training fees.

About the Course

During the PADI® Digital Underwater Photographer course, you’ll learn how to take underwater photos you’ll be proud to share with others. 

Avoid beginner mistakes and shorten the learning curve with tips from the pros. Learn how to use underwater photography lights (strobes), avoid backscatter and enhance color.

Available Languages
Take This Course If You Want to
  • Share your scuba adventures
  • Reduce backscatter
  • Use your action camera underwater
Learn How to
  • Use underwater strobes
  • Photograph marine life
  • Choose photo equipment

How to Take Great Underwater Photos

You could spend hours learning underwater photography through trial and error, or you can take a shortcut. Learn professional tricks and tips for taking great photos underwater and the best way to capture video while scuba diving with a GoPro (or other action camera).
Mobile phone in plane
Independent Study

1
PADI eLearning®

PADI eLearning makes it easy to learn underwater photography fundamentals. Learn about composition, shooting angles, lighting and photographer etiquette.

Study at your own pace, online or offline, using a computer or mobile device. Connect with your instructor for inwater training, or whenever you have a question.

  • eLearning time commitment: 2-4 hours
Instructor in pool
At The Dive Shop

2
With Your Instructor

During two dives you’ll get hands-on experience taking photos with a compact camera or action camera (use your own or ask about rental). You’ll use the SEA (Shoot, Examine, Adjust) method for getting great shots.
  • Prerequisites: Certified diver / Jr. OW Diver (or qualifying certification)
  • Total time commitment: 2 days
  • Minimum age: 10 years or older

More Info

 
Medical Requirements

Scuba diving requires a minimum level of health and fitness. Chronic health conditions, certain medications and/or recent surgery may require you to get written approval from a physician before diving.

Avoid disappointment, download and review the Diver Medical form to ensure you won’t need a physician’s approval to dive before enrolling in a scuba course. Instructors, divemasters and dive shop staff are not physicians and should not be asked for medical advice; only medical professionals can give medical clearance to dive.

If you (or your physician) have questions about medical fitness to dive, contact the experts at Divers Alert Network (DAN).

 
Prerequisites & Minimum Age

Minimum Age: 10

Course prerequisites: (Jr.) Open Water Diver or equivalent entry-level certification

 
Choosing a Dive Shop

Choosing a Dive Shop
You can complete this course locally or while travelling.  

Choose a dive shop close to home to:

  • Support your local diving community
  • Meet dive buddies in your local area
  • Learn about your local ecosystem

Choose a dive shop away from home if you:

  • Plan to travel to a dive destination on holiday
  • Like to meet new people when travelling
  • Have the time to complete your course while on vacation
 
Other Costs & Equipment

This course requires both knowledge development and inwater training for certification. When you purchase PADI eLearning from our website, the cost covers the knowledge development portion only.

There is an additional cost to complete your certification with a PADI Instructor. The cost depends on class size, environment, and whether or not you need to rent equipment. Contact a PADI Dive Center or Resort for more information and pricing. 

Beyond basic scuba equipment, you'll need a digital underwater camera and a computer or other device for downloading and viewing your images. Your PADI Pro may suggest additional equipment and accessories depending on your camera system.

It’s best to use your own camera, strobes, etc. during the course so you can become familiar with how they work.

 
Time Commitment

PADI eLearning: 2-4 hours

Entire course: 2 days

 
System Requirements

PADI’s online courses are designed to work on the browsers listed below. For the best experience, make sure your browser is up-to-date.

Chrome
Safari
Edge
Firefox

If you plan to be somewhere without internet access, use the PADI Training app to download course content and study offline. Content can be downloaded in small sections with a total file size of approximately 13.9 MB. When you get back online, upload your progress so you can resume your training right where you left off. 

The PADI Training app is available for Android™ and Apple® iOS devices. For the ideal experience, devices should be no more than three models old and running with the most current OS (operating system).

 
After this course

The first dive of the Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty course may count toward your Advanced Open Water Diver certification – ask your instructor about earning credit.


Every PADI Specialty certification you earn gets you one step closer to achieving the elite Master Scuba Diver™ rating.

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