Underwater Photography With Dolphins In The Wild
One of my favorite subjects for underwater photography is dolphins due to their playful nature and their social dynamics that they have within their pods.
Today i would like to introduce some encounters i have had with them and also explain the settings i use to take photos of dolphins in the wild!
A Pair Of Bottlenose Dolphin At Ogasawara Islands - Sony A7III/Aquatech Housing
ISO - 250, SS - 1/1250, F - 4.0
Above is a photo from one of my favourite encounters with Bottlenose dolphins.
The conditions in the water was amazing that day and the dolphins of this pod were very comfortable in our presence, constantly circling and interacting with our group.
This was an encouter i had around a series of remote islands around 80km North of Chichijima Islands, Ogasawara.
As you can see in the photos above and below, a lot of times when dolphins pass by they make eye contact with you and will inspect the stange animal in the ocean with them.
Sometimes they’ll turn around and come back again to swim around you for a closer look. Of course, im not too sure what they’re thinking or why they do what they do but it seems like they’re curious about humans and are are coming up to say hi!
A Pair Of Bottlenose Dolphin At Ogasawara Islands - Sony A7III/Aquatech Housing
ISO - 250, SS - 1/1250, F - 4.0
Bottlenose dolphins also have a curved beak which makes it look like they’re 'smiling’. Of course, this doesn’t mean that they’re always happy and its just how it looks from a humans point of view. It does make for some interesting photos and it gives them a photogenic look!
Smiling Dolphin - Photographed With Sony A7III/Aquatech Housing
ISO - 250 , SS - 1/500 , F - 4
Pod Of Spinner Dolphins At Hahajima Islands - Sony A7III/Aqutech Housing
ISO - 100 , SS - 1/640 , F - 3.5
Settings For Camera
Dolphins in general are fast moving creatures underwater so I usually increase my shutter speed to between 500-1250.
Any shutter speed below 1/300 and usually there will be some blur in the photo due to their fast nature.
F Value should be above 6 or 7 so the entire photo is in focus, however i havent done so in most of my photos as i have F value set on auto. Some edges (tails etc) are not in focus on some of my photos so that is something i have to improve on.
More in depth settings and guide for underwater photography:
If your using a GoPro:
Dolphin Species
The 2 species of dolphins I have had the opportunity to photograph underwater is the Bottlenose dolphins and the Spinner dolphins.
Bottlenose Dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins are usually found in smaller pods of 3-10 individuals.
They are larger in size when compared to spinner dolphins and measure between 2-3m when fully grown. I find bottlenose dolphins are easier to photograph as they are more playful and willing to get close to humans.
Bottlenose Dolphins - Sony A7III/Aquatech Housing
ISO - 250, SS - 1/1250, F - 4.0
Spinner Dolphins
Spinner dolphins are found in larger pods usually ranging from 30-100 individuals. They are a little smaller than bottlenose dolphins and are more shy so they usually swim a little further away when approached by humans.
Large Pod Of Spinner Dolphins Taken On GoPro Hero 8
Thanks for reading all the way through, if you have any thoughts or questions please let me know in the comments below! Hearts on the post and comments are much appreciated :)
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