Master Your Macro Skills: 5 Tips to Improve Your Macro Photography!

tiani dun
Sep 15
4 min read

Hey guys! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Tiani and I’m a marine biologist, PADI instructor and underwater photographer. My favorite style of photography is macro, and I’m usually the kind of diver who spends the entire dive staring at the ocean floor looking for teeny tiny things. There’s actually been quite a few times when I’ve completely missed a huge shark swimming right past the group while I’ve been too busy looking for nudibranchs!

Tiani on the hunt for Pygmy Seahorses: Image by Francesca Deweerdt

If you can relate, then I want to meet you! And for those of you interested in levelling up your skills, I wanted to share with you some of my best insights I’ve learnt from the past few years of shooting macro:

Get low, get closer, and shoot up.

I’ve found that when I get up close and personal, and shoot from below, it invites the viewer to really look at the subject and gives the images a really interesting perspective. When I first started shooting from below, I couldn't believe what such a small change made to my images! I also like to try and get at least one of the creature’s eyes in focus so the viewer can really connect to the animal.

Golden Cuttlefish at the Ningaloo Reef: Image by Tiani Dun

Pro Tip: If you manage to capture both the animal's eyes in your image, try using the lines of symmetry for powerful composition and balance!

Clownfish and Anemone: Image by Tiani Dun

Work on your buoyancy.

No shot is worth disturbing marine wildlife or damaging the corals. I like to test out my skills by floating upside down and practicing my back-finning whenever necessary! It’s super important to be cool, calm and comfortable underwater, so master your diving skills first before adding too many accessories to your photo setup.

Tiani practising good trim: Image by Francesca Deweerdt

Learn about marine wildlife, and ask for help!

Did you know that certain species of octopuses like to hide in shells, coconut husks and sometimes even bottles? Or that little crinoid shrimp live exclusively in feather stars? These animals can be very hard to find, because they change their colours and patterns to match the environment they've inhabited!

Learning about different animals means that you'll be able to know where to find them. And this, in turn, will lead to exciting photo opportunities. This is also why when I'm on the hunt for animals in a new area, I'll always ask a local dive guide to show me around. You never know what secrets you'll miss without the inside knowledge of a local!

Be patient underwater

I think this might be the most important point of all. In order to get the right shot, we usually have to wait (sometimes a long time) for the right moment! Remember to breathe, be present, and enjoy the process. Find yourself some dive buddies who are happy to wait around for you without rushing (even better if they can scout for new and exciting creatures for you to photograph while they wait)! That's why it’s always fun to go diving with other photographers who have the same goals in mind, and are happy to wait for you while you take over 1000 photos of the same nudibranch.

My nudi muse for half a dive in Amed, Bali. Image by Tiani Dun

On another note, remember to be patient with yourself, too! You might be feeling frustrated with your progress, or sometimes, your end result (I know, I’ve been there too). Be patient with your photography journey as a whole. Learning new skills is hard, and it takes time (sometimes years) to perfect! I know that I’m still learning new things on every trip that I do. Enjoy the journey, and if you want to improve, get out there and practice, practice, practice!

Shoot in RAW

Another important aspect of macro photography is post-processing. Without getting too technical, photographing in RAW saves more detail and colour information for your photos. This means that when editing, you can get a lot more out of your images!

I’ve attached a before-and-after edit of a shot of Shaun the sheep nudibranch to show the difference that editing and cropping your images can make!

Shaun the Sheep Nudibranch: Spotted in Dili, East Timor. Image by Tiani Dun

Let me know what you think—and feel free to share some of your favourite macro shots with me!

Want to Learn More?

If you’d like to learn more about underwater photography and editing, join us on a dive trip or sign up for our Online UW Photo Course! If you want to join me underwater, I’ll be leading a Macro Photography trip in the Philippines in December, and a Coral Reef Conservation Expedition to Raja Ampat in March!