Night Diving Photography

Also known as: Night dive photography, underwater night photography, nocturnal underwater photography
Category: Photography technique
Related techniques: Blackwater photography, Fluorescence photography, Macro photography, Strobe/flash photography

Overview

Night diving photography encompasses the techniques, equipment, and creative approaches used to photograph underwater subjects after dark on reefs, muck sites, and coastal environments. Unlike daytime underwater photography, night shooting eliminates ambient light almost entirely, making the photographer wholly dependent on artificial lighting — both for composing and focusing on subjects and for illuminating the final exposure. The absence of ambient light also creates opportunities for techniques impossible during the day, including long-exposure light painting, fluorescence photography, and the documentation of nocturnal animal behaviors rarely witnessed by humans.

As Alex Mustard and Adam Hanlon noted in Wetpixel Live Ep 86 (“Essential Night Diving Advice”), “Night diving offers an opportunity for different subjects and creative techniques for photographers” (^[1], ^[2]). A follow-up episode (Ep 203, “Night Diving Guide”) emphasized that “Diving at night offers underwater image makers creative and subject options that are simply not available when shooting in the daytime” (^[3], ^[4]).

Night diving photography is distinct from blackwater photography, which specifically involves open-ocean dives over deep water (500+ feet) to photograph pelagic larvae and plankton along a lighted downline. Night diving photography as covered here refers to reef-based, muck, or coastal night diving where the photographer works over substrate and photographs benthic or semi-pelagic subjects.

Focus Lights and Lighting Equipment

The critical role of focus lights

A focus light is the most important accessory for night dive photography. Without adequate continuous illumination, the camera’s autofocus system cannot acquire the subject, and the photographer cannot compose images through the viewfinder or LCD. As Wetpixel noted in their 2006 link to Brad Brown’s comprehensive focus light overview on Backscatter, “a focus light is a broad beam of light designed to help a photographer create a sharp image by adding contrast to a subject” — but it also “may serve as a primary source of illumination during a night dive” (^[5]).

Alex Mustard’s 2010 review of the Light & Motion SOLA 600 underscored how critical focus lights are for night work: “if you like macro, murky water or night diving then a good focus light can make the fundamental difference between getting and shot and missing out.” He also cited Norwegian underwater photographer Christian Skauge, who “always encourages new shooters to purchase a decent focus light for their compact cameras, before even buying a strobe. There is no point taking photos if the camera cannot focus!” (^[6]).

Early improvisation with dive torches

In the early days of digital underwater photography, photographers improvised with standard dive torches. In a 2002 Wetpixel forum thread on shooting with strobes during night dives, user “eagleray” described the approach: “I tried using a normal halogen toshiba torch to light the subject for focus. Have to point the torch away before I take the shot else the ‘hot-spot’ of the torch is very obvious.” Eric Cheng responded that he used “a hartenberger with a matte lens” to eliminate the hotspot problem (^[7]).

Mustard noted in his SOLA 600 review that “standard diving torches can be used for focusing, but with narrow beams we find we spend as much dive time adjusting their aim as concentrating on our photography. Also with a focussed bright spot of light, we are more likely to spook critters.” He described another common workaround — “using the aiming lights from your strobe” — but noted this “relies on having to aim the centre of your strobe beam directly at the subject, which is not always ideal” (^[8]).

The Fisheye FIX revolution

The first major breakthrough in dedicated focus lights came with the Fisheye FIX light range from Japan. James Wiseman reviewed the Fisheye FIX LIGHT HG20DX in December 2004, noting the challenge that “digital cameras, and especially consumer cameras, have difficulty acquiring autofocus lock in dim lighting” and that “very few underwater flashes” had a focus assist feature (^[9]).

Mustard later described the FIX range’s impact in his 2010 SOLA 600 review: “the big revolution in focus lights came with the introduction of Fisheye FIX light range,” which he cited as having been “highly recommend in James Wiseman’s Wetpixel review in 2004.” The FIX lights “caused a mainstream switch from small diving torches to dedicated focus lights among serious shooters.” They produced “a really wide, soft beam meaning basically meaning there is no need to re-aim them during a dive” and “the wide pool of light also seems to be less shocking to subjects.” The FIX lights also “raised the financial stakes, taking focus lights from the sub $100 USD realm to that of several 100” (^[10]).

Auto-cutoff innovation

A significant early innovation was the auto-cutoff feature, which automatically turned off the focus light when the strobe fired to prevent hotspots in the final image. The 10Bar Ultra Compact Focusing Light, reviewed on Wetpixel in 2007 by Jeff Mullins, featured this function at just US$45. Mullins had previously tried his UK Light Cannon as a focus light but found it “far too bright” — “Even with the diffuser fitted this light showed hot spots in the final image, and I am sure I saw one particular nudibranch squinting when I got a bit too close.” The 10Bar light solved this: “the strobes fired, the light switched-off and the image appeared on the camera LCD” with no hotspot visible (^[11]).

INON later refined this concept with the LF1300-EWf focus light (announced September 2017), which included a shutter-linked AUTO-OFF function where the light cut off for 0.2 seconds when it detected a strobe firing. INON described the purpose as avoiding “exposure of the light itself on an image or backscatter by not illuminating suspended particles” (^[12]).

Red light mode

Another significant innovation in focus lights was the introduction of red light modes, which reduce disturbance to marine life. The Light & Motion SOLA 600 and iTorch Pro 3 were early adopters of this feature. Adam Hanlon’s 2011 comparative review concluded: “The availability of red light modes on both these torches is a huge plus. When using them as focus lights, there is no doubt in my mind that this minimizes (not eliminates) reaction from subjects to light. I conducted some (more) ad hoc testing on this, by starting off shining red light onto subjects and then switching to white. Different creatures showed different degrees of perception of the red, but they all showed a marked reaction to the white. Red light is the macro shooters friend!” (^[13]).

The INON LF1300-EWf also included a bundled Dome Red Filter to “change LED light to red not to stimulate shy marine lives” (^[14]).

Wetpixel Live produced a dedicated episode on buying a focus light in August 2020, with Mustard and Hanlon providing “guidance about which models to choose and the features to look out for” (^[15]).

Nocturnal Lights

The company Nocturnal Lights, run by Tim Lau, became a notable supplier of focus and video lights for underwater photographers. Eric Cheng covered their booth at DEMA Show 2006, noting they offered “a spread of dive and video lights with housing adapters and tray adapters for all of the major housing manufacturers” (^[16]). They later released the SLX Focus Light and Tray combo package designed for compact camera housings, featuring “a 5500K, 3W three-LED beam with up to 15 hours of burn time” (^[17]). In 2010, Nocturnal Lights became the official North and South American distributor for Keldan Lights, connecting Swiss lighting technology with the Americas market (^[18]).

Strobe settings for night diving

At night, with no ambient light to balance, the photographer has complete control over exposure through strobe power, aperture, and ISO alone. As forum contributors discussed, any strobe will overpower a modeling light in the final exposure, eliminating hotspot concerns from focus lights. However, night diving also demands attention to strobe positioning: one contributor pointed out that using the strobe’s built-in aiming light forces the photographer to point the strobe directly at the subject, which limits creative lighting angles (^[19]).

Forum user Steve Williams described his typical night dive lighting setup: “my focus light with a red cover, my YS 250’s led target lights (usually one on) and a small backup in my BC. If everything is on it looks like the spaceship from Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind is cruising the reef.” He also praised diving “by the light of a full tropical moon” in clear water over white sand as a sublime experience (^[20]).

Subject Behavior at Night

Nocturnal marine life

Night diving reveals an entirely different cast of marine characters. As Eric Cheng and Tony Wu described when promoting the first Night Safari Lembeh in 2010: “When the sun goes down, critters of the night take over the waters of the Lembeh Strait, and the party begins. Octopuses, bobbit worms, stargazers and much more come out to hunt, fight and reproduce. The action is non-stop, and photographic opportunities abound” (^[21]).

They noted a key insight for photographers: “Visitors to Lembeh usually only have a chance to catch part of the show, with perhaps a single night dive after a long day of diving, which means that few people have seen what happens late at night” (^[22]).

Russ Sanoian of Backscatter filmed a hunting octopus during a night dive at Little Cayman, describing the encounter: “Once I entered the lair of the beast I was cornered and my only way out was to shadow his every move.” While filming, the octopus would stop and come over to touch his hand and then go right back to hunting before returning again (^[23]).

Spawning events

Some of the most dramatic night dive photography opportunities involve spawning events. Ned and Anna DeLoach documented a striated frogfish spawning during a night dive at Blue Heron Bridge, West Palm Beach, Florida. The dive required careful planning: Phil Foster Park was “closed for night time activities” so they accessed the site by boat, and prior planning with “local critter experts with regards to timing and tides” was essential. They found a gravid female “as round as a grapefruit” with “a smaller golden-brown male” resting against her side (^[24]).

Coral spawning is another major photographic event. Mike Veitch photographed a mass coral spawning event with manta rays feeding on the spawning material: “Tons of stuff in the water column and at least 12-15 mantas going to town on it. Pretty cool experience as they just lined right up and went back and forth” (^[25]).

During the Wetpixel Ambon Night Safari, Eric Cheng witnessed and documented reproductive behavior during a midnight dive, spotting a pregnant harlequin swimming crab that “extended her brood pouch — a sure sign that she was about to release eggs. After 4 minutes of gentle egg aeration, she sprang into the water column without warning, releasing all of her eggs in a few seconds of spastic gyration” (^[26]).

Animal behavior documentation

Night diving has been particularly productive for documenting behavioral photography. Marty Snyderman photographed hermit crabs engaged in a 20-minute tug-of-war and mating poison ocellate octopus during dives in Alor, Indonesia, as part of his broader focus on animal behavior documentation (^[27]).

Night Safari Concept

Origins at Lembeh

The “Night Safari” concept — dedicating an entire dive trip to nocturnal diving rather than treating night dives as an afterthought — was pioneered through collaborations between underwater photographers and dive operators. The first Night Safari Lembeh was organized for February 27 to March 6, 2010, by Scubacam (Singapore) and FiNS (Bangkok), with photographers Tony Wu and Eric Cheng as featured participants. During the safari, Kasawari Lembeh Resort converted entirely to a night schedule, “allowing photographers to dive well into the night (and sleep late into the morning)” (^[28]).

Wetpixel Ambon Night Safari

The concept was extended to the Wetpixel Ambon Night Safari in November 2010, organized by Eric Cheng. The trip journal described the concept: “The idea behind the trip is to eschew daytime diving in favor of a nocturnal existence, diving up to three times each night to sample the weird and wonderful night life in the area” (^[29]).

Cheng reported that the group was “immersed in a soup of the bizarre creatures that inhabit the waters of Ambon.” The group experimented with unconventional gear including INON insect eye relay lenses. Cheng used one to capture both macro subjects (anemonefish eggs with visible beating hearts) and their wider environment in a single frame. He noted: “They can be incredibly frustrating to use, but successful images often describe scenes that have never before been seen” (^[30]).

The Ambon expedition was announced earlier in 2010 and also featured Tony Wu. Cheng promoted that the trip would visit “one of the best critter spots on the planet,” noting that the Maluku frogfish (Histiophryne psychedelica) had been found in the area “a couple of years ago” (^[31]).

Manta Night Dives

The nightly manta ray attraction dives in Kona, Hawaii became one of the most celebrated night diving photography destinations worldwide. The technique involves placing powerful underwater lights on the seafloor at sites like Garden Eel Cove and near the Sheraton hotel, attracting plankton which in turn draws reef manta rays (Manta alfredi) to feed.

Ellen Cuylaerts joined Howard and Michele Hall aboard the Kona Aggressor II for a dedicated manta night photography trip, where “a big light used while filming the IMAX feature ‘Deep Sea 3D’ by the Halls was attached to the Aggressor” to attract mantas feeding on plankton. Images were taken at Garden Eel Cove and close to shore at the Sheraton (^[32]).

Filmmaker Michael Maes shot footage of reef mantas feeding on plankton at the Sheraton site in Kona at night, using a Canon 1DC in 4K with ambient lighting only. He described how “late night, after all the operators left the site at the Sheraton in Kona, bringing their customers to the world famous ‘Kona Manta night dive’ site, we went in the water with those magical creatures on our own. We attracted plankton, the favorite diet of the reef manta, towards our boat, the Kona Aggressor II” (^[33]).

Douglas Seifert, World Editor of DIVE Magazine, produced what he considered his most ambitious night dive photography project at Kona. He used “a 500 watt movie light powered by a generator to produce the intense, focused beam of light that would mimic moonlight,” designed with his lighting coordinator Jesse Andrewartha. Seifert was inspired by David Doubilet’s earlier manta ray images at night made “back in the era of color slide film” but wanted “to see what I could create with the elements of manta rays, darkness and light.” His resulting image of two reef manta rays feeding among Hawaiian flagtail was deliberately framed for a double-page spread. The shoot took place over three nights, one cut short by a violent electrical storm. Work began only “in the late hours after the other boats had left” because “the ‘campfire’ is a shared resource among a dozen plus operators and belongs to no one” (^[34]).

Creative Techniques

Long exposure and light painting

Alex Mustard’s image “Night Moves” demonstrated the creative potential unique to night dive photography. The 3-second exposure showed bar jacks hunting over a coral reef, “the long exposure rendering the fish like swirling phantoms against the inky, black sea.” Mustard used a tripod, continuous lighting (a Sola light), a Nikon D700 with 16-35mm wide-angle lens, Subal ND700 housing and Zen 230 dome, and no strobe flash. He described it as “a very novel technique in underwater photography, as it was taken at night, using continuous lighting and a tripod.” The image won GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013, becoming “the first underwater photo to be named overall winner” of that competition, selected from 16,500+ entries (^[35]).

Snooting and light shaping

Night diving’s pitch-black background makes it ideal for light shaping techniques. The Light Shaping Device (LSD) was developed by Slovenian photographer Oskar Marko Music using a lens system to project a focused spot of light from a strobe onto a subject from a distance, creating dramatic black-background macro images. As reviewer Borut Furlan explained, the device “would enable one to illuminate objects selectively from a greater distance — and thus avoid scaring them away.” The LSD consisted of three modules: a light collector attached to the strobe, an aperture for shaping the light spot, and a lens for projecting the light spot from a distance. Interchangeable 70mm and 100mm lenses allowed projection at different working distances. Furlan noted the pilot light was easier to see in darker conditions (^[36]). The LSD was developed through Retra Underwater Technology, which later became a significant strobe manufacturer.

Low-light video at night

Advances in camera sensor technology opened new possibilities for night dive videography without artificial light. Gates Underwater Products released a housing for the Canon ME20F-SH ultra-low-light camera in 2016, capable of filming at up to 4 million ISO. The system was “designed to push the boundaries of underwater motion imaging, revealing natural bioluminescence, moonlit reefs, dark caves and other light challenged scenes without the aid of additional, artificial lighting” (^[37]).

Canon featured footage from this camera system in their “See Beyond Darkness” campaign, shot by Andy Casagrande in the Solomon Islands to capture biofluorescence (^[38]).

Filmmaker Martin Dohrn created a specialized camera, the Ammonite Starlight Camera, specifically for filming bioluminescence, having specialized in the subject for 25 years. He described “dolphins swimming in bioluminescent waters” as “probably the highlight of my career” (^[39]).

Fluorescence photography

Fluorescence photography is a specialized night diving technique that uses blue excitation lights and yellow barrier filters to capture the natural fluorescent glow of marine organisms. See Fluorescence photography for detailed coverage.

NightSea founder Charles Mazel published early scientific work on underwater fluorescence photography techniques in 2005, with Alex Mustard also publishing in the same journal (^[40]).

Alex Tyrrell began shooting fluorescence underwater in 2010 in the Philippines, using NightSea fluorescent filters. He described the effect as “transforming dull coloured marine creatures into vibrant green and yellow hues, as if they had just been plugged into the mains electric!” — caused by “the absorption of light at one wavelength and it’s re-emission at different wavelength” (^[41]).

Jeff Honda spent an entire week “on the night shift” during a Backscatter trip to Lembeh in 2012 to capture fluorescence video using Sola Nightsea lights, utilizing a tripod exclusively “as the amount of reflected light is much less than that of white light” (^[42]).

Norbert Wu demonstrated that fluorescence could also be captured with ambient light alone at depth. His image of fluorescing coral in Palau, later featured on Microsoft Bing’s homepage, was shot on 35mm film at 80 feet depth using “a wide aperture and slow shutter speed.” At that depth, “nearly all red and yellow colors have been removed from sunlight,” allowing the fluorescence to show. When he photographed the same coral head with strobe light, “the strobe light overpowers it so you don’t see it” (^[43]).

Equipment for fluorescence photography expanded in 2011 when Dyron launched the Solaris 4200 UV light with a 120-degree beam and 4200 lumens, supplied with gel filters for masks and housings (^[44]). Light & Motion later announced a fluorescence filter for GoPro cameras, further democratizing the technique (^[45]).

Night Diving with Sharks

Night diving with sharks produced some of the most dramatic encounters documented on Wetpixel. CeeDave shared images from a night dive with whitetip reef sharks at Cocos Island, describing “the frenetic pace” that made it “hard to keep up.” Forum member davephdv echoed the sentiment: “I always tell people ‘be sure to make the night dives at Cocos.’ Many divers don’t find out until half way through their trip how wild these dives are.” Mike Veitch recounted his own Cocos experience: “I had one of the white tips rip the Nik V and 15mm out of my hand! Was scared of a flood more than the thought of being bit.” Forum member kelpfish credited this community advice with inspiring him to make 15 night dives in Lembeh on a single trip: “someone on this list said, ‘DO NOT MISS ANY NIGHT DIVES’. I took it for what it’s worth…and was glad I did it” (^[46]).

Photographer debersole documented night diving with tiger sharks at Tiger Beach, Bahamas aboard Jim Abernethy’s Shear Water. What was planned as a 30-minute dive lasted 90 minutes. His daughter, age 16, joined the dive while his wife and son “showed better judgement and stayed onboard.” Jim Abernethy arrived via Zodiac 15 minutes into the dive and “immediately suited up and joined us” (^[47]).

A 2011 documentary project by All Fins On Productions claimed to capture “the first ever planned and filmed dive with multiple Oceanic Whitetip Sharks at night and without the protection of a shark cage” in the Bahamas. The project’s producer Robert Cantrell described it as following in the tradition of Peter Gimbel’s 1970 documentary “Blue Water, White Death,” in which Gimbel “shot all of their nighttime sequences from within shark cages, a decision Gimbel is quoted as saying he regrets.” Adam Hanlon noted in comments that while the “planned” qualifier was accurate, it was “not the first cage-free oceanic whitetip footage at night” (^[48]).

Equipment Recommendations

Based on Wetpixel community discussion and editorial coverage, night diving photography equipment typically includes:

• Focus light: A wide-beam LED focus light with red mode is considered essential. The Light & Motion SOLA series, Fisheye FIX lights, INON LF series, and iTorch Pro were all recommended on Wetpixel at various times (^[49], ^[50], ^[51]).
• Strobes: Standard underwater strobes serve as primary illumination. The strobe overpowers the focus light in the exposure (^[52]).
• Backup dive light: A separate dive light or backup in the BC is recommended for safety and navigation. Canister lights with hand-mounted heads allow free hands while providing illumination (^[53]).
• Macro lens: Night dives favor macro photography, as many nocturnal subjects are small and approachable (^[54]).
• Tripod: For long-exposure techniques and fluorescence photography, an underwater tripod (often a Gorillapod) is valuable (^[55], ^[56]).

Wetpixel Coverage

Wetpixel Live, the YouTube channel hosted by Alex Mustard and Adam Hanlon, produced multiple episodes specifically relevant to night dive photography:

• “Buying a Focus Light” (August 2020) covering model selection and features to look for (^[57])
• “Underwater Photography at Night” (October 2020) covering gear setup and techniques (^[58])
• “Night Dive Image-Making” (July 2021) covering creative and subject-finding strategies (^[59])
• “Fluorescence Photography Primer” (August 2020) covering the specialized night technique (^[60])

See Also

• Blackwater photography — Open-ocean pelagic night diving over deep water
• Fluorescence photography — Specialized night technique using excitation lights and barrier filters
• Macro photography — The primary photographic discipline used on night dives
• Strobe/flash photography — Strobe techniques essential for night photography

References

Wetpixel Live