Create special holiday photos with a dome!

Saturday 16 March 2019, 14:07 by Alannah Paans | 7,179 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

A holiday is the perfect opportunity to take beautiful photos, whether you use professional equipment or simply take photos with a smartphone. You are in a different environment, and all the lovely memories and special places are preserved this way for later.

It is always nice to show the folks back home what you have experienced, but it is especially lovely to look back at all your photos and videos yourself a few years later. Want to take special holiday snaps? Try photographing half underwater and half above water!

A photo of me in Aruba, with me underwater and the beach and hotel above the water.

Half underwater, half above water

If you have a GoPro or another action camera, or a waterproof phone or camera, you have probably tried taking photos or videos underwater. That is fairly easy in itself. But if you then want to take a creative photo where you photograph partly underwater and partly above water, it actually never works.

The bottom becomes very dark, or the top is much too light, or the waterline is much too high or too low. And that is frustrating, because how great is it when you can see fish at the bottom, for example, and the beach with palm trees at the top, or yourself at the bottom and the beach or a boat at the top? Good preparation is half the battle.

Here are four points to prepare for.

1. What do you need?

A sharp photo or video that is half underwater and half above water is not particularly difficult, as long as you have the right equipment. For beautiful photos, you need an action camera, or another camera that is waterproof, and a dome, a kind of transparent half-sphere.

Using a dome means the water is further away from the lens, you have a wider view and you can see a clear waterline.

You can order a dome online from Bol.com, for example, from AliExpress, or make one yourself using half a large Christmas bauble and balloons. This is quite difficult and it comes apart quickly. In the end, I ordered one from AliExpress for 47.95 euros. It also comes with three filters that you can easily change while using it.

2. Get inspiration beforehand

Know beforehand what kind of photos you want to take, so you can work in a very focused way. Try searching on Google or Instagram and you will find plenty of inspiration.

Are you going to take a photo with some of your friends on a boat and some underwater, or perhaps with fish at the bottom and palm trees at the top? If you know what kind of photos you want to take, you can also decide where to take them.

3. Choose the right place

The swimming pool is ideal for your first test photos, but for the really beautiful snaps, take a dip in the sea at a tropical destination. This is especially entertaining in places with lots of fish.

Grab your snorkel and your waterproof action camera, or camera or phone with a waterproof case, and before you know it you will have been bobbing around in the sea for a few hours. If you really want to photograph lots of fish, it is a good idea to take a boat further out to sea. You might come across a turtle or even dolphins. It looks great with the boat at the top of the photo.

4. Take your time

Once you have arrived in a beautiful setting, you will probably want to dive straight into the sea to take your own underwater photos. However, make sure your camera is fully charged, you have enough space on your SD card and your waterproof case is properly closed. You do not want any unpleasant surprises halfway through.

Tips for better photos

To take the most beautiful underwater photos, it is best to make sure that whatever you are photographing is well lit by the sunlight. Make sure the sun is behind you and do not photograph or film facing into the sun.

Also try to make sure there are as few drops as possible on the top of the dome. This prevents the drops you can see in the photo from Aruba.

Even if you use a dome, the waves keep splashing against your lens and the underwater life does not stand still. That also makes it fun. You never know beforehand exactly what the photo will look like.

To make things a little easier, you can choose to film and select the right photo afterwards. This sometimes means sacrificing a little quality, but if you have a good camera, the photo will still be razor-sharp.

Hopefully you have found some more inspiration for taking a special holiday photo and/or video. Where are you going to try this out?

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