How to Take Stunning Fish Photos Underwater

When most divers think “fish photo,” they envision a driver’s license-style shot: flat light, square to camera, purely for identification. A portrait is different. It’s about character—catching the eye, the posture, the split-second gesture—and using light and background to make that presence clear.

Fish portraits are an interesting class of underwater photography, sitting between the two extremes of wide angle and macro. Capturing this middle ground can be challenging, but there is more than one way to take great pictures of fish. Let’s break down the gear, settings and techniques to capture striking fish portraits worthy of mounting on a wall.

Related Reading: How to Use Snoots to Light Your Macro Photography

Underwater Camera Gear for Taking Fish Portraits

There’s a lot of gear that can be used for fish portraiture, but a few tools stand out. When it comes to cameras, fully manual models will give the most control and best results. That said, if you use an automatic compact, you can still take excellent fish portraits by focusing on other techniques, like lighting and composition.

There are a number of solid choices for fish portrait lenses. Some of the best are shorter macro lenses, like a 50mm or 60mm. These offer a slightly wider field of view compared to longer macro lenses like a 105mm, making them ideal for shooting medium-size subjects at close range. Standard zoom lenses like a 24–50mm or 28–60mm are good for flexibility and framing, while wide-angle zooms like a 16–35mm can work well when paired with a close-up lens or dome port to maintain sharpness.

Companies such as Nauticam offer unique optics like the Mid-Range Focus Optimizer 3, or MFO-3. This is used alongside long macro lenses—think 90mm, 100mm or 105mm—and increases the field of view. The MFO-3 is also tack-sharp and helps with focus, making it my go-to for fish portraits.

For lighting, you’ll want to use a flash, as it freezes motion. A single flash works in most cases because it casts shadows, giving your image depth. A flash that can have a snoot attached is best. A snoot dramatically narrows the flash’s beam, allowing just the face, body or even eyes to be lit. Though they can be difficult to aim, snoots are a ton of fun if you want to get creative with your piscine pictures. I highly recommend trying one.

Best Settings for Fish Photos

There is no single way to take excellent fish photos. Here are some effects to try.

The first style is the classic black background. This can make for great black-and-whites or for hiding the background entirely. This is the same effect we aim for when shooting traditional macro images. To do this, use higher aperture (f/16 to f/22), a faster shutter speed (1/200 or faster) and a low ISO (100 to 200). For the complete opposite approach, you can shoot your fish with a bright background. This typically uses a more open aperture (f/8 to f/2.8), slower shutter speeds (1/125 or slower) and higher ISOs (400 and above). This style will yield a brighter, softer background, letting in a lot of light and color. Just keep in mind that you really need to nail focus on critical features due to the shallow depth of field when using an open aperture.

You can also explore creative motion blur by using a slow shutter speed (like 1/30 to 1/2 second) combined with a narrow aperture and low ISO. This effect gives your subject a dynamic sense of movement. Play with settings and get to know what each combination will do to create unique portraits.

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Tips on Technique

As with any type of underwater photography, fish portraits require planning and patience. Think about the type of shot you want and find a good background. Backgrounds can make or break images. Keep your eyes peeled for interesting surroundings with texture, color contrast, leading lines or more fish!

When shooting your fish, make sure critical features, especially the eyes, are in focus. Eye contact, expressions and even teeth can give the fish character and bring emotional depth, making the image relatable. Be sure to play with your lighting too. Aim your flash from the side, above, inward or even backlight your subject if possible. Experiment with snoots, beam restrictors and diffusers to shape your light and give the image character. Importantly, try to stick with a single subject for as long as possible. After you get one technique down, try another and see how it changes the mood and feel of the image.

I hope you’re inspired to dive into the world of fish portraiture. Take your time, shoot plenty and don’t be afraid to experiment. With practice and patience, your next fish photo might be more than just an ID shot—it could be a portrait worth framing.

Related Reading: 3 Underwater Photo Skills You Should Master