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I will be the first person to tell you that lugging around strobes isn't a picnic. I will also be the first person to tell you that you don't have to use them in order to make a wonderful photograph...depending upon the composition and environment. I always have my strobes ready to fire, though I may not use them for a specific shot because strobe use is very shot dependent. Because I am in the water without lighting assistants, it means that I have to manage all lighting from my own rig, which is the fairly common. It also means that when I do use my strobes I have to consider backscatter. For those of you new to underwater photography, backscatter is the reflection...

People get very nervous about underwater photography. Not so much about the actual act of creating the photograph, but about getting it right. I am here to tell you to stop worrying! You can have the most expensive photography equipment and every doo-dad — and goodness knows that I travel with a lot of gear — but you don't have to have all that to create really nice photographs for your own personal memories. The most important thing to remember is to breathe. Literally, breathe. All too often I'll watch newbie photographers trying to get the right shot and they will forget that they are underwater. You have to remember that you need to breathe properly. That means more than...