During & After the Dive
Cover Photo by Becky Kagan Schott
Submerged in complete darkness, photographers must navigate the delicate balance between technical precision, artistic creativity, and unwavering respect for the cave environment. Every movement matters, every light placement influences the scene, and every shot requires adaptability in an unpredictable setting.
The careful planning and preparation explored in Part One set the stage for success, but the real magic of cave diving photography unfolds during the dive. This second installment dives deeper into the essential skills needed to capture breathtaking images. From mastering buoyancy to carefully selecting compositions, working seamlessly with a team, and prioritizing safety, every moment underwater presents both challenges and creative opportunities.
We check back in with our panel of experts as they provide their insights into what happens below the surface, uncovering the best practices for shooting, lighting, and working efficiently in the demanding conditions of a cave dive. And when the dive is done, the process isn't over—post-dive review and editing continue to shape each image into its final masterpiece.
Photo by Carolina Wells
Cave Diving Skills & Environmental Conservation:
Carolina Wells: Choose the best locations. Use your imagination and take time to observe the cave — its shapes, lines, and textures. Not everything needs to be photographed in the cave, choose those locations that embark something special or unique. Think about how to light the space in a way that enhances its natural beauty. Positioning the diver to create depth and scale is often the element that brings the whole image to life.
Respect the cave. Caves are delicate and irreplaceable environments. Be mindful of your position, your fins, your equipment, and your lighting. Avoid contact with fragile formations, and don’t push for a photo that risks damaging the environment. A beautiful shot is never worth compromising the cave.
Cristina Zenato: It goes without saying but I will say it anyway: cave diving skills especially buoyancy and hovering motionless for minutes as the image might take time to execute.
Photo By Tom St. George
Tom St. George: Conservation is a must. Every dive can have an impact on the cave, even just from bubbles hitting the ceiling. In decorated caves, like we have here in Mexico, stopping to pose for the camera or set up lights can significantly increase the risk of damage. Being stationary is much harder than swimming, and one careless fin kick or momentary loss of buoyancy control can quickly destroy fragile formations. Besides, divers often look better doing what divers do—diving—rather than posing for shots. Going off the line (not a practice I encourage) to place lights or to take pictures means our bubbles can break fragile soda-straw ceilings that have never been hit by bubbles before.
Photo by Becky Kagan Schott
Becky Kagan Schott: Knowing the cave is important and locations like North Florida caves that are a bit deeper and have heavy flow can be more challenging when taking a camera or mounting it on a DPV. I like to have a lanyard on my camera so I can clip it off to myself and keep the dome cover on while entering high flow caves when I need both hands free. Knowing high flow caves ahead of time is also helpful because pushing a large camera system through the flow can add additional task loading and physical exertion. I take my time and stop when needed.
High flow caves can be challenging to shoot in but they have advantages as well. When I position models in a high flow cave it's best to have them swimming into the flow because holding position can be almost impossible if the flow is behind them. This will also make your model look more natural as they gently fin into the flow. It's more challenging as the photographer but it's more important that your models look comfortable and this also pushes bubbles behind them verses in front of them and into your camera lens.
Safety:
Photo by Alvaro Herrero (Mekan)
Alvaro Herrero (Mekan): Prioritize safety above all. No photo is worth compromising your life or the safety of your team. Always stay within your training limits and follow strict dive protocols. Monitor your gas consumption, decompression time, PPO2 levels, and navigation carefully throughout the dive. Have clear dive plans and abort criteria. In such a high-risk environment, discipline and preparation are non-negotiable.
Photo by Carolina Wells
Carolina Wells: Safety first. The most important aspect of cave photography is safety. Feeling confident in your skills and truly comfortable in the environment is essential before even thinking about taking photos in a very demanding environment as is the cave. It's worth remembering that in many fatal cave accidents, a camera was involved. A solid dive plan and a team that fully understands their roles are absolutely essential. When I’m shooting in caves, I tend to be more conservative with navigation and gas planning, shooting mostly in previously agreed-upon key locations with my team.
Photo By Tom St. George
Tom St. George: Safety is always first. Cameras have been factors in many cave diving accidents—don't become a statistic. Develop a robust approach to how you are managing risk, such as only photographing in caves you know, putting down an exit marker when stopping to set up for photos, and making sure to participate in team decisions. Be cautious with normalization of deviance—this is goal-oriented diving, so be sure to ask yourself, would I do this if I wasn't taking pictures? And can I do this safely (and with minimal impact on the cave)? A large part of my cave photography workshop is concerned with planning and executing photo dives safely and minimizing impact.
Photo by Becky Kagan Schott
Creativity:
Becky Kagan Schott: Think creatively and try new things. Look for reflections in air pockets or interesting features in the cave to highlight. A good cave image has an eye catching focal point.
Kewin Lorenzen: Be creative, challenge yourself, come up with new ideas (like the multiple panoramic shot) try to execute them and if they do not work out, try again.
Photo by Natalie Gibb
Shooting:
Natalie Gibb: The back screen lies. In the cave environment, most photographers I know, myself included, use the camera's back screen instead of the viewfinder when shooting. Looking down into a viewfinder causes perceptual narrowing, and it's difficult to maintain control and get good images in the cave when starting straight down into a viewfinder. That said, the glowing back screen in the darkness of the cave makes every image look fantastic and properly exposed. When I started shooting, I would end a dive super excited about my beautiful images, only to find the RAW files basically black. For daylight photos, reviewing the histogram can help photographers ensure they have a balanced image. For cave images, the histogram is always skewed to the black, and might not be as helpful. Instead, I use the exposure meter as I am shooting. With my Sony A7S3, I expose for +1.3 to +1.7, although your ideal exposure will differ based on your preferences and camera. Shoot for the numbers, not for the image on the back screen.
Photo by Natalie Gibb
Natalie Gibb: Shoot at a low shutter speed. Underwater photographers who shoot fish and other creatures that move quickly and unpredictably must shoot at a relatively fast shutter speed to achieve in-focus subjects. In the caves, where light is limited by the number of lights you can carry with you (my maximum is eleven so far) and the strength of the lights you can afford, photographers need to do anything they can to increase exposure. As there are no fish in the caves and cave diving models can typically hold fairly still, it's possible to shoot at far slower shutter speeds than you might initially expect. I often shoot down to 1/15 with skilled models. This allows me to get nicely exposed models with only 20,000-lumen video lights.
Photo by Natalie Gibb
Natalie Gibb: Review your photos in the water immediately after shooting them. Many photographers I work with in the caves don't look at their images until they get home. Shooting in the caves is task-loading, and people often find reviewing images tricky in the water. However, given the environment and the nature of cave photography, reviewing images is essential before breaking down the scene. I have saved many photos by spotting unexpected bubbles in the image or finding a light I thought I had hidden, peaking out from behind a formation. Check the composition and level, and look for bubbles and hot spots. And make sure your shadow isn't in the image!
Photo by Kewin Lorenzen
After the Dive:
Cristina Zenato: The other important part of our work is the Debrief, from how we executed the idea, what didn’t work, what worked; an open discussion on how each one of us felt, how can things be improved or if the shoot went well, what worked that can be applied next time.
Kewin Lorenzen: Review the dive, review the images, look at the details of light, diver, analyze what looks good and what not, do not be afraid to delete.
Photo by Natalie Gibb
Natalie Gibb: Shoot for the edit, not the JPG. When shooting film, photographers would develop their photos using a darkroom. With digital photography, we use programs such as Lightroom. There is nothing wrong with editing your photos, and I would encourage divers to carefully edit their photos after the shoot. The editing process leads me to find the weaknesses in my techniques and images, correct them, and get a better original photo. I used to have to drop the highlights to reduce hotspots and even needed to mask them with Lightroom's tools. Through this, I have learned to see the hotspots as I set up lights and compose the shoot, and I rarely create them as I am lighting the caves anymore. Being forced to increase the exposure in Lightroom made me realize that the backscreen image was lying to me. This led me to experiment until I learned what exposure works best for my images. Through editing, I have learned where my photos are weak, and my photography has improved.
Photo by Alvaro Herrero (Mekan)
The Importance of Teamwork:
Alvaro Herrero (Mekan): Work with a trusted team. Cave photography is not a solo mission. Having a skilled team — including models and lighting assistants — that you’ve worked with before makes a huge difference. Communication underwater can be challenging, so working with people who understand your signals, rhythm, and creative process is crucial. A team that moves well together underwater and knows the importance of patience and positioning is worth its weight in gold.
Photo by Carolina Wells
Carolina Wells: Work as a team. Cave photography is never a solo endeavor. Communicate clearly with your team, involve them in the process, and be respectful of their experience too. A supportive, synchronized team not only makes the dive safer, but also leads to stronger, more meaningful imagery.
Photo by Kewin Lorenzen
Cristina Zenato and Kewin Lorenzen: Patience, patience, patience, with each other, with the execution, with the obstacles along the way, when things don’t work out as we envisioned, when the day is not the right one, we take a break and go for coffee instead.
Tom St. George: Teamwork makes the dream work. Cave diving photography is a team effort, and my preference is a team of three: photographer, model, and lighting assistant (the divers can, of course, take turns at different roles during the dive). Cave photos rarely work without a diver in the frame for scale and context, and a lighting assistant allows shooting without having to stop to set up lights. Make sure to brief your model and lighting diver before the dive so they have a clear understanding of what you want them to do, and agree on a limited set of hand signals to facilitate any communication underwater.
Photo by Carolina Wells
The Art and Mastery of Cave Diving Photography
Cave diving photography is more than just a technical skill—it's an art form that requires patience, preparation, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to safety. Throughout this two-part guide, we've explored the essential steps that take an underwater image from concept to reality, from meticulous pre-dive planning to the complexities of shooting, lighting, and communication in submerged environments.
The insights shared by some of the world’s most accomplished cave diving photographers emphasize one key truth: success in this field is built on respect—for the cave, for the dive, and for the craft itself. Whether you're refining your buoyancy skills, experimenting with lighting techniques, or perfecting your post-dive review process, each moment contributes to the creation of an unforgettable image.
Ultimately, cave diving photography is a journey—one that rewards those who approach it with dedication, curiosity, and a commitment to continuous learning. By applying the strategies outlined in this series, divers and photographers alike can push the boundaries of creativity while safeguarding the fragile environments they document.
With each dive, each frame, and each shared experience, the legacy of cave diving photography continues to evolve. May your dives be safe, your images be stunning, and your passion for exploration lead you to new depths.
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Thank you for the contributions by these world-class divers and photographers:
Alvaro Herrero (Mekan)
Álvaro Herrero aka Mekan, originally from Spain, has had a deep connection with the ocean since his grandfather gifted him a mask at the age of 5. By age 8, he began experimenting with photography using his father's old camera. With over nineteen years and 5,000 dives, he has worked as a diving instructor, commercial diver, dive equipment repair technician, boat skipper and underwater photographer, teaching courses and masterclasses worldwide. His technical training includes the JJ-CCR rebreather for depths of over 100m, as well as the Kiss Sidewinder and DPV for cave diving. He has won awards in prestigious contests, including the grand title of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Red Bull Photo Illume and the Siena International Photo Awards, among others.
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Becky Kagan Schott
Becky is a 5 time Emmy-Award winning underwater cameraman and photographer whose work can be seen on major networks including National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and the Smithsonian Channel. She is co-owner of Liquid Productions, Inc, specializing in capturing images in extreme underwater environments from caves, under ice, deep shipwrecks and wildlife. Her projects have taken her all over the world from the Arctic to Antarctic and many exciting locations in between. She’s been actively diving for 29 years, 24 of which have been technical diving. Becky is on the US Antarctic Program’s Scientific Diving Control Board She is a Fellow in the Explorers Club and in 2013 she was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame. She leads expeditions all over the world to capture unique images that inspire others to explore our planet.
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Carolina Wells
Cave photography has become one of my biggest passions. Exploring and capturing the underwater cave systems of Mexico has allowed me to combine adventure, precision, and storytelling in a unique way. Shooting in caves is always a challenge — the conditions are demanding, and there's little room for error. But with the right preparation, a strong and committed team, and a deep respect for the environment, it becomes a very rewarding experience. These are some of the principles I follow when photographing caves. They’re not just about gear or technique — they’re about mindset, teamwork, and honoring the incredible places we’re lucky enough to visit.
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Cristina Zenato
A professional diver since 1994, Cristina is an ocean and cave explorer, shark behaviorist and ecologist, photographer, speaker, writer and conservationist. She is a NSS-CDS Advanced cave diving instructor, KISS rebreather instructor, TDI mixed gas instructor and PADI Course Director. Cristina works with sharks in the wild and has conducted the exploration and surveys of numerous new cave systems. Her work can be summarized in three words: Exploration, Education, Conservation. A member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame and The Explorers Club, she is a firm believer in the power of education and spends her time teaching below and above the water. Cristina is the founder of the nonprofit People of the Water, organized to widen the distribution of training, education, research related to ocean and environmental issues.
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Kewin Lorenzen
A professional diver with an engineering background, Kewin works in The Bahamas, combining his passion for cave exploration, sharks and technical diving with underwater photography and videography. Kewin has filmed shark TV programs as well as explored and completed advanced survey projects to create 3D, interactive and digital maps of numerous cave systems. As the board of director of the nonprofit People of the Water he utilizes his skills to document the science behind his work.
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Natalie Gibb
Natalie Gibb lives in Mexico, where she spends every spare moment exploring caves with her exploration partner, Vincent Roquette-Cathala. When she's not exploring, she's hanging around her dive center, Under the Jungle, teaching cave courses and mentoring past students. Natalie is an amateur videographer, photographer, and a published author, and loves to share her adventures with others at dive shows and public speaking engagements.
https://www.underthejungle.com
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Tom St. George
Tom is an award winning underwater photographer based in Tulum, Mexico. He loves to teach underwater photography and to shoot cave photos for visiting cave divers. Tom also undertakes commercial work with underwater and topside photo and video-shoots. Originally from the UK, he discovered his passion for scuba diving and the underwater world when he emigrated to New Zealand in 2001. In 2010, he quit his full-time job as a senior web-developer in Wellington, NZ to see the world, spend more time underwater and ultimately to combine his two passions; diving and photography.
