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The Kids

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Luckily my kids are all water babies. They have been swimming since they were a couple of months old and swim every other day. My daughter is pretty amazing at posing underwater and looking natural so I take advantage of that by using her as my guinea pig for testing out costumes, backdrops, video shoots etc. Often we are just having fun in the pool and I feel like taking photos so i’ve ended up with quite a few of them.

We have quite a good fancy dress collection now and I love to use them in my shoots. It just adds another level of interest and the colours really pop.

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I love bubbles and splashes and experimenting with the effects they make for a more abstract underwater image.

Underwater photos are also a great opportunity to do themed shoots such as Christmas, Halloween or Mothers/Fathers Day,

Fashion Collaboration 1 (Feb 2018)

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I had seen some stunning underwater fashion and beauty shots and wanted to have a go at this myself. A while ago I contacted the most successful Hair & Makeup artist I knew of in Singapore, Andrea Claire asking if she’d be interested to collaborate on some underwater ideas, and luckily for me she agreed. Andrea had also noticed the increase in popularity in underwater shots for fashion, beauty and commercial and saw it as a great opportunity to get involved, get some stunning portfolio shots, expand skills and try out some waterproof makeup products to see if they stood up to their claims.

We talked about some ideas and were on the same page and so we moved forward with our shoot. I did a lot of research, which I always like to do if it’s something new or a bit out of my comfort zone. I came up with the concept of someone getting ready for a night out, which would be a good fit for showcasing different outfits and make up looks. I started sourcing props such as an acrylic mirror as it would be too risky bringing glass into the pool and pulling together some different outfits.

Andrea found a model who was willing to participate, Grace Bain from Mannequin models. She had a very striking look and I was so excited to see how this would go.
I secured the pool location for a morning shoot and luckily we were blessed with good weather.

Grace turned out to be an absolute natural underwater and I barely needed to direct her as she instinctively new how to pose and move her head to create movement in her hair as well as look stunning at the same time. It can get quite tiring after a few hours of working in the pool, holding your breath and posing but Grace was a true professional and didn’t complain once. I was thrilled how the photos turned out.

Natural look

All about the lips

Those eyes, that hair:
Who needs hair styling when the water does it for you! A few flicks of the head and you’ve got instant volume and wave. Red hair looks amazing underwater. Grace’s hair looks more blonde on land but the orange tones really came up underwater and in post production.

Before and After:
Good editing is essential for underwater photos, to take out the blue tones and get accurate skin tones. I use a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop.

Behind the Scenes Video

 

My Inspiration

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When I decided to specialise in Underwater Portraits, one of the first things I did was research other underwater photographers and look at their work. Some of the first that I came across are still big inspirations to me today and interestingly most are women. Interesting because photography, especially fashion tends to be dominated by men. A big generalisation yes but I loved the fact that some of the best in the field were women.

These include:
Zena Holloway: Multi-talented, Award winning, British underwater photographer. Zena has mastered babies, fashion, beauty, commercial, ocean, video and worked with many celebrities. A huge inspiration and I was pretty chuffed when she recently liked some of my work on Instagram ; )

Waterbaby swimming on the surface of the water against a deep blue background. Photography taken from underwater perspective with an underwater camera and housing
Caribbean reef sharks cirlcle whilst the model wears colour drenched coats on a sea of grey. On location in the Bahamas. Styled by Damian Foxe and Millecent Simon for The Financial Times, UK
Rita Ora, the famous British singer, poses for an underwater photoshoot editorial, dressed as a Mermaid. Commissioned by the client Sexy Fish

Jenna Martin: Super talented and super lovely, as I had the pleasure of taking part in some online workshops with Jenna. She has become a mentor and offered so much helpful advise on the technical and business side of underwater photography. Jenna is based in Montana, US which has some heavy winters so fortunately she is just as accomplished at land photography in the off season as well.

Lucie Drlikova: A very artistic and conceptual underwater photographer, Lucie’s work has a surreal, fairy tale quality to it and she even creates some of the incredible props and backdrops used in the shots, herself. Based in the Czech Republic, Lucie is a big inspiration as I really enjoy the conceptual work myself and using backdrops and props to create a scene and occasionally Photoshop to create an artistic montage. A long way to go to her level but I can dream.

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Elena Kalis: Based in the Bahamas, my dream destination to shoot and where many of the incredible photographers I follow on Instagram are based. Elena has some stunning ocean portraits, often featuring her model daughter and has also done some very recognisable pool work, such as the Alice in Wonderland series.

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Others are:

Adam Opris: his dramatic work, especially weddings, blows my mind. One of the best!
Ken Kiefer:  Does a lot of cool ocean work with animals and people interacting.
Christi Curtis: Beautiful portraits of mainly kids in pool. Founder of Underwater Kids.
Stephen Binke: A successful Aussie photographer, creating artworks you want to display on the wall.

Underwater Maternity with Dewi

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I think underwater portraits are especially condusive to maternity portraits as you can be weightless and graceful in the water unlike on land, while keeping cool and comfortable. It’s certainly a great way to make your portraits stand out from the rest and even create art pieces that you will display proudly on your wall. I wish i’d discovered underwater portraits when I went through my three pregnancys!

Dewi was a pleasure to work with and as she knew she was having a girl, we played around with pink fabrics. The challenge here was emphasising the bump so she looked pregnant. I usually advise to do the shoot towards the end of the third trimester (which she was) but it was a very neat little bump ; )

 

Henry and Family

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I love an underwater family photo shoot and especially with a little one this cute! There is always a bit of apprehension and uncertainty about how the shoots going to go as there are so many variables eg what the conditions of the pool are like, how comfortable the child is going underwater and how they react to my big scary camera! Not to mention how the parents are underwater, as sometimes they can be the ones to struggle while the child is a natural.

Not in this case though. This family was a joy to shoot and although Henry (14 months) was a bit apprehensive on my camera, he was a little superstar underwater and I loved how the family interacted together. We got some many great shots in our 45 minute session and it didn’t matter that it was grey and drizzly outside (at least in Singapore it’s never that cold!)

I usually get them warmed up with some over under shots so their head is above water. Some of these can turn out to be the best ones. It also helps when father and son are wearing super cute matching board shorts…

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Then we work on getting the family shot, which usually takes a few times of 1, 2, 3 and down for 2 seconds with a break in between. Then we do some different combinations of father and child, mother and child etc.

Then we try some more challenging shots such as passing between each other (a bit like a rugby ball 😉 and coming in for a kiss.

A few more over water shots and then it’s a wrap and I get rewarded with this big smile at the end!

Swish Swimming Video (March 2018)

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How cute are these two? They are swim school besties and have been learning swimming together for almost 3 years. I was super excited for this project as I hadn’t had a chance to explore the video function much on my Canon 5D mark iii, but the quality is amazing!

I have worked for and at Swish Swimming school before, for one of my first underwater photo shoots, doing some of their earlier marketing shots, shooting at a pool party event and using their fab pool for some of my personal work. They have now expanded and have a fabulous new pool venue nearby called Laguna so this became our theme. I also adopted their colour scheme of yellow and turquoise and sourced some props and costumes, including pineapple swim shorts, straw skirt, sunglasses and flowers.

I put together a storyboard which included the kids demonstrating different skills in a fun way, such as diving in, picking up an object from the bottom, blowing bubbles, floating and climbing out of the pool. These two were such superstars and seemed to really enjoy the experience, which makes my job much easier! The main challenge was the clarity of the water which was very cloudy because they had lessons all morning. It is normally very clear so this was a shame and detracted a bit from the final product.

I did my best using the Wondershare Filmora video editing software, which I loved and it was so easy to trim the clips, add transitions, text, special effects and audio. The final Swish Video is a 30 second clip.

 

Fashion Collaboration (April 2018)

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I love a fashion collaboration, especially when I get to work with super talented and amazing people and seeing ideas come to life. This was my second underwater shoot with the amazing Andrea Claire @aclairebeauty who worked her magic skills and products to create stunning looks that hold up underwater… no mean feat!

The model we had lined up from Mannequin had to pull out last minute so luckily my model friend Anna Kirsten was able to step in. It was her first time modelling underwater but after a little practice she really warmed up to it. Posing underwater with open eyes, while holding your breath and looking natural is not easy for most people but with a few techniques it can quickly become easier and everyone always ends up having fun doing it!

Behind the Scenes: outfit prep, makeup, location and shooting.
This fabulous location at a private black & white house provided by Caboodle events. I initially went to the house for a 40th party but had my eye on the pool as it has a smooth surface (as opposed to tiles which can be distracting), clean and a bit deeper than your average condo pool, which have a legal limit of 1.2m in Singapore! I’m slightly pool obsessed these days ; )

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Here is a fun behind the scenes video shot by Andrea Claire.

I love to play around with clothing, accessories, fabrics, props and backdrops in a shoot and this gave me the opportunity to have a play. Some awesome brands also kindly donated product to use as well. The stunning gold jewellery is by Angelina Alvarez, which worked perfectly for a bronzed goddess look. I came across this incredible bolero piece by My Fine Things at the Singapore Boutiques Fair, which is hand made from recycled can tabs and its appearance of fish scales made it a perfect addition to the shoot.

The lovely Kara at The Wyld Shop also kindly donated a swimsuit and kaftan to be used which came up really nicely. Wearing clothes in the pool certainly adds an extra level of difficulty as the fabric moves in an unpredictable way and can weigh the model down but after many tries it is worth the effort.

I had a few other ideas in mind such as a Studio 54 look (hence the disco ball) and also a Marilyn Monroe iconic white dress shot. The disco ball didn’t quite go to plan as it was too buoyant and actually sprung up into my face… ouch! Anyway, we still got some fun and fabulous shots.

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Komodo (March 2018)

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We had some previously unused flights to use up so decided to take a weekend (kid free!) to Komodo in Indonesia. I was so excited to do some diving and ocean photography! A friend had stayed at the Seraya Resort and recommended it so this is where we went. The beach bungalows were simple, lovely and right on a stunning stretch of sand leading onto the house reef. It’s a bit of a mission to get there from Singapore… flying to Jarkarta, then to Labuan Bajo and a speedboat to the island, but it was worth it!

Waking up to a stunning sunrise which called me to take a walk along the jetty, I new it was going to be a magical day. The water was crystal clear and glassy and I saw some baby black tips as well as a few lion fish (noted to look out for these as you do not want to get stung!). We booked a day trip with Aqura Dive, the onsite dive shop and I couldn’t wait as it had been over a year since my last dive.

Of course we had to go to Komodo Island which is one of only a few islands that inhabit the Komodo dragon. I’ve seen Goanna’s and Monitor Lizards but these things are beasts!

Next stop was turtle city. As soon as we anchored, we were greeted by a large loggerhead popping up to check us out. During the dive we lost count after about 20 turtles. I love observing their different characters… some appear friendly and relaxed around the divers and others seem to say, leave me alone and get that camera out of my face (so I did!) Much like humans I guess : )

Now off to the Manta feeding station. I was super excited for this as although i’ve seen a couple of mantas in the distance in the Maldives, I had not been up close with the Oceanic Manats. It’s hard to get an idea of the scale of these majestic creatures but the wing span was over 4 metres. They would swim right over us as and come back around again for their cleaning so it was incredible to sit and watch (and take photos!) Unfortunately the water visibility wasn’t the best so the photos are a bit gritty.

Fortunately my husband enjoys scuba diving too, since I bought him a PADI course for Christmas about 12 years ago! So it’s great having him along as my buddy. However, he also likes to chill out and read a book on holidays (fair enough!) so it’s about finding balance between a bit of adventure and culture and just relaxing. We did a bit of that but I spent most of my time snorkelling on the house reef which was pretty impressive. I also had to drag him away from his book to do some creative shots that I had in mind…

I read my book too! hehe

Diving In!

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It’s probably appropriate that my first ever blog post is about another first for me… freediving! Just like when I discovered underwater photography, I thought, why didn’t I do this sooner?!

I first heard of freediving when I feel in love with the movie (and lead actor) The Big Blue, which I must have seen over 50 times (yes slightly obsessed). I never thought of it as a recreational sport though until recently when I came across a company in Singapore that teaches the AIDA level freediving courses… and so I dived in

First blog post

 

Since I was a kid I had a strange interest in holding my breathe in the water, be it the swimming pool, bath or ocean, I just loved the sensation of it. I must have been about 8 years old when I wanted to beat my PB of 3 laps of our 10m swimming pool and nearly passed out!

I have enjoyed scuba diving over the years but this is something quite different and i’m looking forward to exploring it more, although finding the time for pool training and boat dives might be tricky with 3 young kids!

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