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All About Underwater Photography
60 Plays1 year ago
Have you ever wondered about what it's like to do underwater photography? Today on the show Beth answers some of your burning curiosities about all things underwater!
If you like today's episode, have an idea for another topic, or have any questions, we'd love to hear from you! You can contact our instagram @artofintentionpodcast or email us at artofintentionpodcast@gmail.com!
See you next Tuesday!
XO, Beth and Ayla
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Transcript
Beth's Journey to Underwater Photography
00:00:00
Speaker
After many years as an adventure destination photographer, I finally dove into another passion I'd been sitting on for years, underwater photography. It was something I knew I needed to do for years, and it's been overwhelmingly fulfilling to pursue that part of my purpose. However, what you might not have guessed about underwater photography is that it's actually incredibly difficult and can be dangerous, especially if you're trying to do it without being ready and doing the proper preparation. To find out what I'm talking about, keep listening.
Introduction to 'Art of Intention' Podcast
00:00:29
Speaker
Welcome to the Art of Intention podcast with Beth and Ayla. Two best friends turn creative entrepreneurs. This is a place for us to discuss everything business friendships and faith and occasionally more. We're so excited for today's episode. We think you're going to love it. Stay tuned.
Exploring Underwater Photography
00:00:50
Speaker
Hey everyone, this week we are getting into a pretty niche topic that might be interesting for you, even if you're not a photographer or videographer. And like Beth said in the intro, that's the topic of underwater photography. This is going to include some chatting about swimming, freediving, marine wildlife, all the things that come with the territory of underwater photography. And we're hearing from Beth on this as she's a professional underwater photographer. It's so cool to say because
00:01:19
Speaker
You're literally the coolest person I know. She's a professional. She has spent the last couple of years really diving. This is going to be so hard to not keep saying diving. So many puns are going to happen. Diving into that part of her skill set in some pretty unique environments. So let's get into it. Beth, why don't you also just sum up what we're going to be talking about today?
00:01:42
Speaker
Awesome. Well, thank you, first of all. Appreciate it. So excited. Basically, I'm going to cover the lesser talked about parts of underwater photography and that whole world of all those things that includes the misconceptions, the challenges, and even some good things, of course. But it's something that I think is often glamorized, especially in recent years, and it's extremely dangerous for this to become trendy or glamorized.
00:02:06
Speaker
Um, it's something that people need to be informed about beforehand. It's not something that people can just like dabble in or jump into really quickly as you can with so many other trends, especially in the photo and video world. Um, so yeah, and both on the photo and client side, this applies. So yeah.
00:02:24
Speaker
Oh, interesting. Okay, cool. And yeah, so before we get into this, I just want everyone listening to this episode right now to actually quickly pause. You're going to go to Beth Schweitzer photography on Instagram. That's Beth. S W E I T Z E R photography.
00:02:38
Speaker
You're gonna go there and you're gonna check out her underwater photography because it's amazing. I'd die to get to be photographed by you there, literally. And it's been so cool to see you get into that. Like, cause it's so, I'm a big nature documentary kid. So like seeing that it's just like, ooh, it just scratches an itch. So definitely go check her out. Follow her if you're not already. And now we'll focus on my questions. So. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much, by the way. Love that.
Preparation and Gear Management for Underwater Shoots
00:03:06
Speaker
So to start off, can you run down a day of what an underwater shoot would look like? Like when are you doing them? When do you get up? All that in general, like a day of the life of underwater photography, as much or as little as you want to share. Perfect, yeah, happily. So I'll turn out to ramble too much on this, but it definitely starts like there's multiple days leading up to it that kind of contribute because you're checking water conditions and tide and stuff like that.
00:03:33
Speaker
and a lot of preparing for underwater photography has to be in person scouting so the day before typically if you can you want to be looking at water well much before the day before you know the days leading up to it you want to be looking at water predicted water conditions
00:03:50
Speaker
And then the day before, you have to go and scout. If you can, this is the safest way to do it. You want to go and scout the spot physically, which also includes getting in the water. Until you're a lot more practiced, you can kind of eyeball it by just looking and then eventually you know the conditions well enough that you're going to be reading in the stats to know whether or not it's going to be a good day.
00:04:11
Speaker
But especially the first year or more, and by the way, a year or more, I mean, of consistently doing this, not just like from day one of having this idea that year, but like the first year of consistently doing this, you probably want to be going and scouting in person. So there's scouting and researching and doing all that in the days leading up to it. And then when it comes to actually the day of, you want to make sure of course all your gear is charged the night before, and then you're going to clean all your gear.
00:04:41
Speaker
I will say it's also very seasonal. This is probably, maybe it doesn't need to be said, maybe everybody already knows that, but obviously in winter, especially in somewhere like Hawaii, underwater is going to be a lot harder to do. A lot of the really good spots are ruined by bad water conditions, not just necessarily big waves, but also just water clarity isn't as good, the water's choppier, bigger swells, stuff like that.
00:05:06
Speaker
Um, but so yeah, there's also like just kind of keeping track of the seasons and you don't want to like be booking out, especially if you book out foreign advance, you might not want to book a November underwater shoot. Uh, if you're unsure about what the water conditions will be. So there's stuff like that. Just lots of year round preparation. And then, um, Oh, also actually before I get to the day of stuff, just always be, make sure you're keeping up on your fitness and make sure that you're, you know, like the week of, I try to make sure that I've been practicing my breath, breath hold. If I haven't been in the water.
00:05:34
Speaker
You know, but during, during season of underwater photography, I'm in the water almost every day, at least multiple times a week. So that's not a problem, but sometimes the off season underwater shoots, you got to make sure that week you're preparing physically. Okay. And then the day of, yeah, you're, you clean your gear. Usually just make sure you put it all together. It's a lot of work, not a lot of work, but it's more steps putting together the underwater gear. And then, uh, in the beginning of my business, I liked to test it in the bathtub before I went out with it. Um, just out of nervousness, cause a lot of people's.
00:06:04
Speaker
That's something I actually didn't plan on talking about today, but I'll just mention real fast is a lot of underwater housing fails. Statistically, you're very likely to lose your whole setup, and it's expensive, which I'll talk about later. Pretty much every underwater photographer I know has lost an entire camera, and that means everything in it. Of course, because the underwater housing failed, which means you're losing the housing, and you're losing all the camera gear within it, and that's expensive.
00:06:31
Speaker
So I developed the habit personally of testing it in the bathtub every day before I went. So like if I had to shoot, I would either test it the night before and leave it in the housing, which you're not really supposed to leave it in the housing. So it usually does need to be done like the day of, or I'd test it the day of and just like fill up the bathtub with water and you dunk it in and make sure they're in, pull it out and you look and you know, just kind of move it around in the water and just make sure there's nothing, no condensation forming, no leaks, nothing like that.
00:06:56
Speaker
Um, okay. So then, yeah, so we're still a lot of prep. Well, that's good to know. It's not like, Oh, we just buy on the waterproof gear on Amazon and go for it. Like it's a big deal. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And you need to know the warning signs too, of like where, cause there are some places in the underwater housing where condensation building is okay and other spots where it's a warning sign.
Client Safety and Readiness
00:07:20
Speaker
So stuff like that. And yeah, but yeah, making sure, and all I actually, yeah. So anyways,
00:07:24
Speaker
You go, then you go to your session, make sure you have everything prepared. Usually you're going to have to have like your phone and you leave everything at home that you don't need because like everything, if you shoot alone, like I do oftentimes, you have to have everything on your body. So I have an underwater fanny pack. It sounds so funny to say. I sound so nerdy, but it's just the reality that I have my phone and my car key in and I can't fit like a bunch and I think I put my ID in there too. So like you, I can't fit all my whole wallet in there and I don't want to leave it in the car.
00:07:52
Speaker
just like stuff like that. And then anyways, yeah, we do the session. The session itself is hours long and it's very tiring and yeah, but it's fun, you know, love it. So we do the shoot and then after coming out of the shoot, I try to rinse off my gear right away with fresh water if I can find it, whether it's a water bottle or a rent station, something like that.
00:08:09
Speaker
And then going home before I even deal with my images or coal, which is usually my first thing that I do after a session, I actually clean my gear because again, with underwater housing, especially if you're dealing with saltwater in the ocean, like it's just...
00:08:25
Speaker
you want to just take such good care of it. So I will be washing my gear. It takes usually about an hour to fully clean every crevice. You want to get all the salt out because if you miss any, that's what's going to erode it over time. Cause those, a lot of the failings of people's underwater housing that I know, to be honest, it's kind of user error. Um, not just necessarily on that day of, but not taking proper care of it.
00:08:47
Speaker
So yeah, so you want to get all that out all that taken care of it's a bit of a chore But it's worth it in the long run I think I've only ever not done that like once and the next day I just felt so guilty I was like I can't do that like this is just not worth the risk anyway, so then you of course you do all the coaling and then the editing itself is much longer than Normal underwater shooting. It's a it's a very different type of editing like you're not gonna be editing in the same way at all So also there's also relearning that by the way. Um, but let's see what else
00:09:16
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, I did say that's basically the, that's a day of underwater shooting. And that's really great. I didn't expect any of your answers actually. That's all like such a surprise. No, that's so cool. Cause I, I'm such a newbie at it. Like, well, not a newbie. I literally know nothing. So that's crazy. Like the amount of like prep and then aftercare, like.
00:09:38
Speaker
I probably wouldn't do well at it because I'm not very good at taking care of my stuff. Like I am, but if it's something I'd be so easy to be like, I'll clean that tomorrow. And then deal with it later. But that initiative is really good. Yeah. It's definitely something where there's no way around it. You have to take good care of your gear or you will regret it in the future.
00:09:57
Speaker
And also like everything else too, like you have to wash your fins. I wash out my booties, my socks that go in my fins. You have to wash those, hang those out to dry, wash and dry the salt water off your fins, wash and dry your masks and snorkel, like all that stuff to the fanny pack, dry that out. So there's also all that. So if you have to clean after two, that's a lot of, and then of course your swimsuit, you know, it's going to be all wet and gross. So you got to take care of all that.
00:10:19
Speaker
Cause with salt water too, that's like a whole different. Oh yeah. That gets stinky so fast. Um, and then the one thing I didn't mention too in preparation for it, I guess, I mean, we kind of go into this, I guess I'll probably go into this more later, but, um, even checking like how far your clients can dive down and stuff, because, um, also like my underwater, your underwater housing is going to be tested for only certain depths. So you're like, I think mine, my max I'm supposed to take mine at is like 30 feet.
00:10:47
Speaker
Wow. Um, so I, and I thought that would never be an issue, but actually I can get down to 30 feet pretty comfortably. So I have to be careful that I'm not just like hanging out at 30 feet or pushing it with my gear. I think it'd be fine. I think it's one of those things where they sit, they have to say less, kind of like a bridge with weight limits, like a car, like they have to say it's like less tons than it really is. But right. So you don't just like test it. Right. Exactly.
00:11:08
Speaker
Well, cool. Yeah, we'll dive into the meat of this episode, which is like the risks and the dangers and your client safety. Right. But before that, if you could narrow it down to like one thing right off the bat, what was the biggest surprise when you first got into underwater photography? Like what did you not expect the most?
00:11:26
Speaker
Uh, okay. I think I'm honestly, I think I would just say how hard it was and not to be pessimistic, but like, no, not at all. It is super real. Yeah. Like it's so hard and not just like how many things you have to think about and how stressful it is that you're putting so much thousands of dollars in the water, but also just like physically the actual shooting in the water is the hardest thing I've ever done. Like not really. Oh my word. And I'll get into it more later, but.
00:11:55
Speaker
Oh my gosh, there's so many factors you're constantly dealing with and that's why I'm so strict. And again, for the thousandth time, we'll get more into it later, but I'm so strict with how confident my clients are because there's already a trillion things that I'm having to pay attention to at once with underwater photography and there's just no guarantee of anything. You can be in the water for an hour and if one thing is off, you're not guaranteed to get good images.
00:12:20
Speaker
And it's exhausting and it's just so hard having to be like trying to take care of yourself in the water and you're doing it with a bunch of gear and other people and water conditions and always keeping your eye out. It's just, it is the hardest form of photography that I've ever done. Not that I've done a ton of stuff, but like between weddings, like a 14 hour wedding day is easier than this.
00:12:40
Speaker
like just in so many ways. And yeah, and I've done like drone photography, I've done like all different kinds, like done family stuff, done commercial work, like traveling for photos, like it's just not, this is just such a difficult thing that you have to be so strict with yourself and your rules with it and so knowledgeable. I just wasn't expecting it. I definitely was of the mistaken crowd that thought you could just kind of, oh, just I'll just get into it. I'll just try it, just dabble in it. No way.
00:13:09
Speaker
So that's why I wanted to talk about this today. Well, no, even when we were sitting down to put this episode together, I was like, oh, yeah, like you're going to teach people how to like, but Beth was like, no, like they got to know what they're getting into. Like this is a whole thing. And even like what I said in the beginning of the episode, like, oh, you should like shoot some portraits for me would still be fun, but it's good to know you have to be super prepared. I can't hold my breath for very long. I don't know if you know this. I can only hope I I'm like, I said, you know, I can hold it for like 15 seconds. And then I'm like,
00:13:37
Speaker
Growing up though, it's funny because you were definitely a stronger swimmer than me. And like when we would dive down to do our rock diving, which funny thing, that's actually how I train now. One of the ways I train is I go running on the water and I was like, I've been doing this since I was a kid with Ayla. Everyone judged us. Everyone judged us. But I just guess what, folks, it literally, you were training, Ayla has been training me since day one at the lakes in the summers. Yeah, you'd be fine.
00:14:01
Speaker
The only thing, having a good breath hold is great, but I would say it's more important that you know how to dive down, and you do, because you and I spent our whole life doing that. So you just need to be able to get down deep to give yourself time to float up and do the different poses. Because also breath hold, you remember this, breath hold comes naturally with practice, and also even just in a session when you warm up, you improve even by a few seconds. So obviously in the beginning, you might be 15, but I think you have at least
00:14:27
Speaker
25, 30 and you just probably just warming up. Well there are many times where that's stuck at the bottom of the lake with rocks and I withhold my breath. We never doubt. Actually true. Also I've learned, so like you know, you probably already know this, but like I didn't really put two and two together that like the breath you have like if you just like and hold your breath right now, that is not, you can't hold your breath as long doing that as you can in the water.
00:14:53
Speaker
because when your, when your note, it's so weird. Chad told me about this and I'm probably going to misquote it and everything. But apparently when water touches your nose, it's like you all about your nose. Your body has more of a response of like holding its breath that like, Oh, it like, it understands that like you, we can't, because if you just go like,
00:15:11
Speaker
With the air around you, your body probably knows that you still have air around you where I was in the water. They're like, oh, we got to conserve. That makes sense. I could be wrong. And I could be totally misquoting that. And if someone who knows all about free diving or diving is listening to this and you're just like, you're wrong, please correct me because I'll share all my stories that I was wrong. But it's something about that. I don't know. There was a cool study or something. Right. So yeah, OK. That made me ask one more question before we get into the meat. So do you free dive?
00:15:38
Speaker
Then like there's no breath or snorkels or anything like that. Like it's your own breath. Well with freediving, we still have a mask. Yeah. Okay. Because you just want to be able to see for safety. Yeah. Freediving means like no tank. Yes.
00:15:54
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah. I don't actually scuba dive. I only free dive and that was one of the things I will talk about this more today. Okay. Okay. That was one of my preconditions for doing underwater photography. I'm a pretty confident free diver. Well, I need, I have a lot of improvement to go. Um, but I free dive regularly in the summers with Chad, like at least once a week we're out there going on a longer day thing. Um, but being in the water multiple times a week doing free diving. Yeah.
00:16:21
Speaker
That's like my biggest hobby actually I would say. Oh man that's so cool. I keep thinking like I'd love to do that but I guess like we sort of did that it was just in a lake but like but like I'm sure the more and more you're doing it you actually really get to play with like how many minutes you can be underwater and
00:16:36
Speaker
and all that. I don't know if it's minutes, but you know how long you can be there and that's what you can do. But yeah, well, it's just what you see too. It's just fun seeing different things. So just being in the water is so healing and relaxing. I've kind of talked about that before, but yeah, so just, and it's nice, the more confident you are, free to like, I always thought, man, am I going to get tired being out in the ocean for like four hours? Literally no. Like I know, I'm out there all day and it's not because I don't know. It's just, you learn how to just be in the water without taxing your body.
00:17:05
Speaker
Um, obviously by the end of it, you're tired, but you're not like, it's not like, Oh, you're sitting there treading water in a pool for hours. Like that would be different. Um, but anyways, so yeah. Okay. So in the beginning, you had mentioned that there's dangers that do come now that I've hyped it up so much. There's dangers that come with underwater photography. So let's get into those. What are some areas that you would say where you have to take extreme caution with underwater photography?
Challenges and Risks in Underwater Photography
00:17:34
Speaker
Okay. Um, yes. So first and foremost, just overall, you're in another world. You are in the underwater world where you're no longer the biggest predator. And your abilities are severely compromised. And not to be like super scary, but there are sharks and seals, jellyfish, poisonous marine life. Many just
00:17:55
Speaker
other animals and things that can cause you harm. And then on top of that, you have water conditions. So being knowledgeable about surf, swells, water clarity, undertow currents, tide levels, like all of this stuff, um, that need to be heavily understood before getting in, especially before getting in with gear. Cause that's, you know, that's gosh, now that we're talking about it and listing it out, there are so many different levels to it. You need to be a confident with swimming, super strong swimmer, like,
00:18:21
Speaker
not oh yeah I swim in a pool all the time like you need to be a mermaid like so confident um and then you need to be ocean confident like I was kind of just saying you can't be afraid of deep water you can't um be ignorant about the ocean uh then you need to be knowledgeable about ocean life on top of like ocean conditions not just that it exists but how to deal with it avoid it interact with it prevent it how they interact with each other is another good thing to know for example
00:18:48
Speaker
Sharks are afraid of dolphins. So like if you're in an area and you see dolphins, just be aware there's probably not going to be any sharks. And, or if you see like a baby and a mama seal in the water, literally immediately leave, like immediately leave because they're very protective and mom seals are very aggressive or are known to be, I should say. And all of this doesn't even include your gear. Haven't even mentioned the gear yet. It's a whole different deal. Oh, ocean swimming's a whole thing. It terrifies me. Like I want to try it more, but it's so, but yeah.
00:19:17
Speaker
Yeah, well, it's exactly that. It's amazing and it's a gift and it's so cool, but it is another world and you're not anywhere in nature, but I feel like especially the ocean, it's like people get so comfortable in their houses and cities. We own this and then you get plopped where you're not that anymore. It's amazing, but I don't know if I've told you my one snorkeling experience where I was in Indonesia and got to snorkel over this reef. Awesome. Amazing. It was so cool, but
00:19:44
Speaker
the guys who took us on this tour like they said like just start here there's a current that'll naturally take you out and then back in which was true the current did that but they were like you don't need to do anything like you can just float which was like scary it was a cool so i was just chilling like over this coral reef and it was like the opening scene in nemo there's like schools of fish there's like angel fish there's parrot fish
00:20:06
Speaker
beautiful it was so cool i was scared because i'm terrified of the ocean like yeah a lot of people are and and like the depths um yeah or whatever but i'm chilling i'm like this is fine this is fine there was a drop off just like in finding nemo that they failed to inform me on so it's like chill and chill it and then deep blue black sea girl i would kind of see the ground like it wasn't that deep it was it was oh i i could hear it in my snorkel i started to be like
00:20:33
Speaker
Like I got so scared. And then I look out and there is a baby swordfish or a marlin. I don't know what it was, but it was one with like a long pointy nose. That's so cool. It scared me so bad. He was maybe, he was far away. He was maybe like 20 feet away from me.
00:20:55
Speaker
And, but he was like long and sideways and I was just like, I just know what it was. Like, Oh, I got so scared. So I, I turned around, I like popped my head up real quick to see where like our boat is because like, I was like, F this current, like I need to get out. So then I get back over the coral and then I didn't want to touch any of the coral or kick it because coral hurts really bad. But anyway, I get out and these Indonesian like, uh, guides are like, are you okay? And I was like, that was so scary.
00:21:22
Speaker
And they were like, oh, the little like clownfish were scary. And I was like, you be quiet. There was like, there was more. But anyway, like.
00:21:31
Speaker
I think more practice, but also I was suddenly aware that this wasn't like my hometown lake that has trout. There was more going on in there for sure. Sorry, that was a big side story. I love it. I love it. And to make you feel better, this will make you feel better. Years ago, the first time I ever was in the ocean and a big turtle came up on me, which was the biggest, it was the first biggest marine life that had been around me. I hyperventilated, like straight up panicked. And I knew it was a turtle and it was so calm.
00:22:01
Speaker
Anything in that environment that you're not used to coming up to you is going to shock your system. I'm scared when Trump came up to me. And it's not and it's so normal. And that's why there's no substitute for practice and time and water. There's no substitute. There's no thing. There's no videos you can watch. Like also even just using a snorkel.
00:22:20
Speaker
Is kind of counterintuitive if you have never used it before so that's I'm so strict with my clients who get in the water with me like they just It can't be their first time. It can't need to be confident with all their gear So anyways, so that leads me into like I was saying that's everything I was listening doesn't even include the gear yet it's a whole different deal getting in the water with a bunch of gear that's distracting and
00:22:44
Speaker
It fills up your hands and it needs to be operated. And now on top of all that, if you're entering the water with people who aren't equally as knowledgeable and pretty confident, they don't have to be as confident in the water as me, but they need to be confident enough to deal with themselves. That's where things can get really scary. Even if you are good and check all those boxes, the other people need to check those boxes too.
00:23:06
Speaker
no yes straight up like you you know how if you see a shark you're supposed to like steady your breathing and just like redirect it and swim away i'd already fail because if i see anything in the water i'm like like there's divers who say like keep your heart rate low so you're breathing and i'm like well i die i'm sure like like you said you get more comfortable with it later well that always still
00:23:27
Speaker
I mean, I still have yet to have a shark come up to me in the wild. But without being unprompted, without going after, trying to swim with them. But you don't worry as much about breath, but it's more so keeping eye contact is a big one. And then never swimming away, just sticking your fins out. You want to extend your fins first. And then if they come within touching distance, then you extend a straight arm. And you want to push up or down, depending on where you want to go.
00:23:53
Speaker
and on their nose to redirect them and then run your hand along the side so that you can kind of keep your keep them at your distance and then they won't bother you. It's eye contact is actually the biggest thing with them because in the ocean prey does not do eye contact. It doesn't happen and like that's like that was a lot of animals on land too. Yeah. So if the if you look in their eyes, they know you're not prey. They may on occasion
00:24:15
Speaker
Challenge that that's gonna be very rare, but they're also sharks, especially if you swim somewhere like Hawaii where people was moving sharks for generations and generations and they know they the sharks are very intelligent They know what you are. They know what you are. They they're not interested. They don't care about
00:24:35
Speaker
unless you do something out of the ordinary, like splash around, they don't care. They're not, they're not interested. They know who you are. So anyways, that's just a little side. That's so cool. Sorry. I keep like, this is so fascinating. This is like, this is so excited to talk about it. Yeah. Okay. So what you said in the last bit of your question about like your, your clients checking the boxes too. Um, let's expand on that. So like, how do other people affect
00:24:58
Speaker
your own safety in the water, even if you're a really confident swimmer. Yeah. So, um, basically once you've got all your gear on, uh, you can't play lifeguard anymore. And this is where a lot of people I've come to learn. We'll assume that because you're a professional underwater water photographer or a free diver, um, and you do this all the time that you're like, they feel so safe with you in the water cause you can be like their lifeguard.
00:25:21
Speaker
And while it's true that a professional free diver or underwater photographer could in some instances be a great safety aid and be a comfort in the water if you're just friends hanging out, it won't be true during an underwater session. Because between my long fins, my weight belt, my huge underwater camera setup, I have a lot of things to focus on. I can't be barking safety instructions on top of also trying to instruct on posing, keep myself skirt away, take the photos.
00:25:49
Speaker
Something I didn't mention before is that every single pose in the water is like minimum three tries. That's another thing that actually really shocked me. Actually, I'll say that that's another thing that shocked me getting into this. I like the first time I did an underwater session with like people.
00:26:04
Speaker
Like I obviously have been practicing for a long, such a long time. And I practicing on my husband, practicing on marine life, on friends. But like when I did like a real one where like it was like, okay, I got to get these poses. We would like do a pose. And I was like, Oh my gosh. I was just shocked how many times I had to redo it and redo it and redo it and redo it until we were guaranteed to get a shot. Cause you can't check one. You cannot check your shots underwater. I can't just hit the back button and look at what I've done so far. Oh, it's kind of like original film. You just have to hold. Exactly.
00:26:32
Speaker
Oh, that's scary in and of itself. So you have to do things, especially if it's opposed, they requested, you have to do it as many times as you can to make sure you've got it. And obviously the better you are, the less times and the better they are.
00:26:48
Speaker
the less times, but it is, sorry, I know I'm kind of like going off on a tangent here, but that's one of the ways it can be dangerous is one, if they're going to get tired after doing three poses, three times each, they need to know how to regulate themselves and how to just be safe in the water. But anyways, so between all that, I'm not a lifeguard. And if there is an emergency,
00:27:08
Speaker
I'm going to have to be ditching a lot of expensive gear. So obviously I want to avoid that if possible. And the best way to do that is to make sure that everyone is confident swimmers in the ocean because the ocean is like just so different than anything else. And it's unpredictable and kind of like I was saying, checking the boxes before, um, you want to check all the boxes you can check because the ocean is going to have some things that maybe you can't, um, what do you call it? Like count on or count for like, yeah, thank you. Yeah. Like,
00:27:37
Speaker
There you go. Exactly. So yeah, like we, you want to make sure you are not afraid of deep water because we might have to go deep to get clear water because you know, like the worst of water clarity is the further out we have to go. So you can't be afraid of deep water because you don't know where we're going to go and we don't know until the day off. And then, you know, you can't be, you have to be a strong swimmer because there might be some currents that day, you know, you can't be getting tired in the middle of your session because we still have to swim all the way back to the shore.
00:28:01
Speaker
And you can't be afraid of wildlife or panic if you see fish because then you're going to be splashing that causes attractions to other animals. That's dangerous. I can't be having to bark safety instructions at you and tell you to keep your eye on the horizon or on the shoreline to see how far we're going. We need to both be paying attention to that while trying to tell you how to pose. I could go on all day.
00:28:25
Speaker
Obviously, while I'm in the water, I will mention stuff that's safety as that just happens. And I'm sure you're letting it down beforehand, too. Yeah. This is what it's going to look like. Yeah. But the point is there is no it. I've done sessions with good people underwater and I've done them with people who are who are not. And it's it's a nightmare. It's so dangerous. It could almost be somebody's whole job to be like that instructor, to be that safety person. So you can just like
00:28:54
Speaker
get the shot and not have to deal with it almost, but if they were super uncomfortable, I suppose, like you're saying, ideally they're comfortable with all this. I've thought about that and I even have had Chad come out and luckily one time to be the lifeguard, but there's a problem with that. Again, there's just no shortcuts because the problem is they're going to be then having to try to split their attention between two people. And if they're nervous, they're going to be paying more attention to him than me. And so again, won't be able to get the shots.
00:29:20
Speaker
And you don't want to have more than one person barking orders in the water, too, because it's just too much going on. And then also, if they're nervous in the water, they won't be able to dive down and get the shots. If they're nervous in the water, they won't be able to pose. They won't be able to hold their breath. They won't be able to dive down. It just, the pictures won't work. They just cannot be nervous. So, anyways. Wow. Yeah. So, okay. Let's go into what you just said. You said you have had people who aren't very good in the water.
00:29:48
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. Like, cause I can, I can imagine like if they're stellar, goes well, all good, but like worst case scenario, like have you, have you dealt with that? Yeah. Or tell me about it, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Sorry. I should have extended right away on that actually. Um, it's all good. Yeah. So that was, uh, probably one of the toughest lessons for me to learn. I really thought in the beginning of my underwater journey that I'd be able to just take underwater photos of anyone. And, um, yeah, but I only took a couple luckily of really frustrating and one actually really dangerous experiences to like really learn otherwise.
00:30:18
Speaker
Um, and it's actually, yeah, one of my main motivations for us talking about this today, because when you learn just how dangerous it can be, you don't want to just be negligent throwing this out there online and being like, Oh, this is so fun. Like an encouraging people to possibly get themselves into dangerous situations.
00:30:34
Speaker
So my first bad experience with a couple and I don't mean to say bad like in a rude way, but I'm just trying to be honest here. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So my first bad experience with a couple that wasn't really confident in the ocean as confident as I had been led to believe.
00:30:50
Speaker
uh when we got in the water and swam out to the spot they weren't really comfortable diving down deep and i'm it's not like i was asking them to go 20 or even 15 feet like they couldn't even get like their full body length down so like it's i don't know how to describe it but basically leaves no room for photos um it's hard to explain but you need like lot i was kind of saying these two or earlier
00:31:09
Speaker
but you need lots of time to get most, if not all, underwater shots. And time is basically equivalent to depth underwater because you float up naturally, you know, and you can't just like hold still forever near the surface unless you have like a great breath hold and maybe like a good strong weight belt, which most people don't, especially during photo shoot.
00:31:27
Speaker
So in order for me to be able to do my job and deliver great photos, I need the clients to be able to dive down deep enough to get the shots. And they just couldn't. They just could not. I'll leave it at that. So it was really disappointing, but not too bad. And safety was a priority. I think the guy's head was starting to hurt at one point and I was like, what? This is just, I don't know what's happening right now, but they were not obviously experienced in the water as much as I had been led to believe. Okay.
00:31:51
Speaker
However, my worst experience was one time when I took a family out and the mom had sworn up and down that her kids were great in the water. They were great swimmers. They were mermaids. Yes. And I also, from the way she talked, kind of thought they were a little older than they seemed in person. But either way, she swore up and down that they were great and she really wanted these underwater photos.
00:32:14
Speaker
So I guess I'll spare like all the details but the kids could not swim well Let alone dive under the water one of the kids could barely put their head under it The other one was like clearly still in swim lessons and sure she could go underwater. But like yeah, not yeah, and they were pretty scared in the ocean and Another thing that added to it was the dad was over it after like one pose I kid you not we did one pose and then we all came back up on it from the water and he was like Okay, I think I'm done now and I literally was just like you booked a two-hour shoot
00:32:44
Speaker
and you just went down for one try on one pose. Yeah, you're not going to have anything. Yes, which by the way, that's a whole other side topic. But when people are not in a good mood during like when the guy's not into it in a photo shoot or someone's not or the girl, but you did the guy if it serves this problem, it makes my job so it's really stressful.
00:33:03
Speaker
because I am afraid to say certain things, do certain poses. I'm tense now and now I'm emotionally regulating for that person because I'm just a big emotional regulator. So anyways, there was also that then that I was dealing with. Okay. And it didn't help anything that the water conditions were actually pretty choppy that day, which is just unfortunate. It's just how it works out sometimes. And the current was decently strong, not like it was pulling us out fast, but we were definitely drifting.
00:33:29
Speaker
Um, and that's why it's scary to, to be responsible then for kids lives. Like I think, yeah, probably kids can do this and families can have them for photos, but it's just like, I'd be super nervous. Like given all the conditions you've laid out and the risks, and then suddenly you're in charge of like.
00:33:46
Speaker
kids who aren't very confident in the water's lives. Like that would make me nervous. That's why I don't want to be in charge. Exactly. Like it just, I cannot, especially if it's children, you're in charge of your own children and they need to be able to hear me as well. I'll talk more about that too. Like they need to be able to hear me and listen to me in the water.
00:34:03
Speaker
Um, but yeah, so with the, with clients being confident swimmers, it's really important. It's one less thing to worry about. Like I said, the, you can't worry about the things that are outside your control, such as water conditions. Um, so you got to make sure everything that can be in your control is. And I should mention too, that like one of the most difficult parts was the kids being so nervous because there was so much talking going on. Like one of the kids masks, was it?
00:34:26
Speaker
clearly was not something with masks very much because the kid that kept messing with his mask couldn't make it work and kept complaining big oh it's not working and the parents were all constantly trying to deal with that and it's like in between like I said also you have to be ready to go with each shot if you're doing each shot three times you don't want to be in the water all day like you
00:34:44
Speaker
Yeah, because you're still swimming, so during all this fixing and stuff, you're still all keeping yourself afloat. Yeah, and you just also, you didn't book, I'm sorry, but you can't book me to be in the water with you for eight hours. Honestly, sure, if you want to, fine, but you probably didn't pay for that package. Like if someone wants to pay me to be in the water with them for eight hours, I'll do it. But they didn't pay for that. They paid for just a couple hours of my time, or maybe it was like an hour even. And it's like, so let's get the stuff done.
00:35:04
Speaker
Well, eight hours for you in the water. Oh my gosh. Like I know you could do it, but that's, you'd be exhausted. I'm exaggerating, obviously, but yeah, you get more time than it needs to take. It just doesn't help anybody. Yeah, exactly. Like you want to be, we were on a time thing and also like, you know, it's just, so yeah, if you, so they couldn't, they were just constantly talking with each other. So they couldn't hear me.
00:35:26
Speaker
when I would try to say something. Usually granted, I was just trying to be like, okay, you guys, let's, here's the next pose. Let me, let me explain it to you. But I could be saying something safety related and they would not hear me half the time. And that's just so dangerous and honestly downright annoying because again, it's always the time. And I was just the whole time you're thinking like, Oh my gosh, they're not going to get the photos they wanted. They paid for this time and they're not going to get the photos they wanted.
00:35:47
Speaker
And it's just, but of course you feel like it's your fault. So anyways, the whole thing just ended up with, um, that is actually one of the times that I did have Chad come with me luckily. And we're so glad he did because they couldn't make it back. They literally couldn't, they were exhausted. Mind you, I was fine. I was chilling. Like this is again, if they were at the proper level that they led me to believe and that I had told them over and over again, like you gotta be strong swimmers. Like we are going to be swimming out.
00:36:14
Speaker
Like Chad and I, literally the kids brought like boogie boards to kind of like relax on. Oh my gosh. That's another thing too. You cannot bring props. Like there is enough to deal with in the water and it's hard to explain. I can sit here and say like you don't want to be dealing with stuff in the water, but it's no, I get it. I totally get it. Cause the minute that you go to pose, they're letting go of those. They're going to be floating and then it's your problem. No, I, I totally get it. And then of course if they need them in the ocean, it's moving like you can't just let it float there real quick.
00:36:42
Speaker
No, I, yeah. Wow. And the fact that they brought them because the kids needed them to rest on is like a big red flag because then it's like, as soon as they get more, they're panicking trying to find it, not listening. Yeah. They were almost just better doing beach photos and like kind of in the water, you know, like a hundred percent in the shore.
00:36:58
Speaker
Yeah, to be fair, I love the idea of family underwater photos. I've done successful ones. I have seen many people do successful ones, but this is just where it's like there is no shortcut for being confident in the water. Anyway, so Chad and I, yeah, so it started with like, when we were on the way back, the kids were on the boards. Chad and I each were towing a board and the parents were literally dragging behind.
00:37:21
Speaker
and trying to help kick but I think we were honestly pulling them too and it was just so of course that was exhausting for me afterwards and so was for Chad but it was and again the current was pretty strong but it was just like that I got out of the water and I was flabbergasted I was like that was the hardest
00:37:39
Speaker
most stressful thing I have ever done in my life. I actually won't do family sessions anymore underwater. It's such a strong vetting process where if someone reaches out, I'm not going to instantly say no, but we're going to have a long conversation and I'm going to need to see proof that they're really
Misconceptions and Realities of Underwater Photography
00:37:57
Speaker
good. I'm going to need to see some videos and photos that they know what they're doing because that was
00:38:02
Speaker
If Chad had not been there, Chad says that if he wasn't there, he thinks there could have been a tragedy. I don't know that that's true, but I'm glad I didn't have to find out. Yeah, they're literally better safe than sorry. Exactly. Yeah. So anyways, that was my...
00:38:19
Speaker
It did not take long for me. I did have my strict rules and vetting process even before that for clients, but it definitely did go up even just a little bit. And I just kind of removed family sessions from the underwater part. Not fully, because again, if we're out on a boat and they want to jump off the boat into the water, I can get underwater photos of that. Easy. I'll do that with pretty much any family. But going from shore to swimming out. Yeah. I see what you... Yeah.
00:38:44
Speaker
I'm going to have a lot more like it's going to be a little more strict. So yeah, I know. I know it was a really long answer, but there you go. No, that's amazing. That broke it down so well. Like it's it's so funny because I think it's so easy to listen to it and be like, oh, yeah, like underwater set anyone can do it. And sure, if you do the research and whatever, but I think.
00:39:04
Speaker
it's so smart it's well i mean think of like you know nature photography would be my dream job but then like when you think about what you're actually sitting and doing and like what encompasses like everything you're saying is just showing like it's not you just go jump in like it's not like the boat where you just jump in for five minutes and get some quick photos and get out it's a whole like yeah it's a whole day for you no that's amazing and it really sheds light on yeah what can go wrong like the margin of error is and again not to terrify people but it's just to take it seriously and like
00:39:33
Speaker
Again, especially if you wanted to offer it with kids, like I'm sitting here as I've grown up a strong swimmer being like, whoa, could I do this, you know, like, right. I've been not in a discouraging way, but like, I'd want to be confident and I've grown up swimming. So not like not well, like not professionally, but you know, in lakes and stuff, but yeah.
00:39:51
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Well, and that's why, again, I just really wanted to be so brutally honest about this because most things you can dabble in, you can experiment in. But this is just one of those things where you have to have so many boxes checked and prepare in such a deep way before you do this, or it could end in a death.
00:40:14
Speaker
And it's just not serious. Right. And it looks like so fun and sweet. I know I love swimming. I love being in the ocean, but that's not what this is. That's not what this is. And you don't want to have to learn that the hard way. And I just, I noticed in the last few years, specifically I say the last four years, maybe underwater photography, getting more popular. And that's a good thing. But with social media, you never really see the behind the scenes. And I don't want people to misconstrue. It's not like learning. You can't film behind the scenes out there.
00:40:44
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And even if you do, it wouldn't look, it wouldn't be accurate. Yeah. So anyways, it's just, it is just, I, and I worry about, I've seen a couple of people seem like they mentioned, like they want to almost get into it. And I'm just like, I just want to make sure they know what they're getting into. And if you're not living by the ocean, well, I'll talk more about that later, but absolutely not. If you're not living by the place you're going to be doing it, no, just don't. But anyways, whatever.
00:41:10
Speaker
Yeah. No. So you already kind of started with like misconceptions about underwater photography. So let's like keep going with that. Like you said, you know, you said like glamorizing it on social media. It's not accurate. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Like I said, yeah. In the age of social media, it's easy to like, just go like, Oh, that looks fun. I'm going to try it. But like you're contending with the ocean when you do this, you can't just jump in and try it. I don't want to be too repetitive here, but yeah, like glamorizing it puts yourself and others at risk. And kind of along with that, like it's also not as accessible.
00:41:40
Speaker
I think the main ones, like the main like misconceptions are glamorization of it, accessibility and cost. So kind of just covered glamorization, but it's not as accessible as people think either. Someone who is successfully doing underwater photo shoots, even if you think they just started, they've already invested thousands, yes, thousands, not hundreds of dollars in the camera gear, safety.
00:42:04
Speaker
like safety gear such as long fins, weight belts, wetsuit, the best snorkel set up, like underwater pouch for the keys. I mean, I've kind of listed all this stuff already. What you don't see is how many hours they've actually spent in the water. They have to be very confident. I've said it a bunch of times.
00:42:20
Speaker
Um, have a decent breath hold. It doesn't have to be crazy, but like around at least a minute would probably be like wise to start out when you're doing this. Um, and the education about all of it as well. So, you know, and I, like I've participated in, um, shark freediving training and swimming with sharks in the ocean just to be, you're a beast. It's fun. I like it. Um, but just to, just because there's, like I said, it's, it's an investment that's really worth it. Um,
00:42:48
Speaker
Yeah, so as far as the cost goes, honestly, if you aren't doing regular shoots underwater, you're going to find out that it's not smart to buy all this stuff. Just dabble in it. Gotcha.
00:43:03
Speaker
Yes, it's going to be multiple thousands of dollars by the end of all of it. And if you don't really live by the ocean that has good conditions for underwater photography year-round or through most months of the year, I would really encourage you to think twice before investing in this. You might be better off investing in a different avenue for your business or a different hobby. There's just so much. OK, anyway, sorry, I'll keep going.
00:43:32
Speaker
I know I mentioned just a lot of stuff that is kind of like negative. Um, so I want to discount like one more misconception, but on a positive note and that's the underwater photos are super scary or like just unbelievably dangerous. Yes, there are a lot of dangers, but if you follow all the safety rules and you're super confident in the water, um, it's a super fun kind of photo shoot.
00:43:53
Speaker
It's my favorite kind. I have a lot of fun. My clients have a lot of fun. It's exhausting, but it's like, oh, but it's really rewarding. So, um, when I take photos with my fellow free divers or with people who are confident in the water, it's just like, we're having a lot of fun and best, like best photo shoots. So just a little positive note there. Cause I know we just kind of like harped on it a lot. I think I've been kind of negative. Obviously there's a reason I do this. Um, but yeah, so I'll just, that's another misconception. I'll just kind of set to the side. Like it's very fun, but yeah.
Advice for Aspiring Underwater Photographers
00:44:21
Speaker
Well, I bet it's like when you're.
00:44:24
Speaker
When I spent a couple of months, well, I grew up skiing, right? Yeah. I've always been pretty good at that. And when I was skiing in New Zealand, there were some kids who had different skill levels. And if you're not a skier snowboarder, it is not fun. The first time you go up on a mountain, especially if you're snowboarding, that's why I don't snowboard because I don't want to fall all the time. But if you don't know what you're doing up there, it's
00:44:46
Speaker
It's not quite the same danger. I mean, it can be depending on what you're doing and where you are. Absolutely. But the first time you do it, if you're an experienced skier and you're with someone who's never done it, they're going to be on their butt. They're going to get tired. They're going to be falling. They're going to want to... It's very classic for someone to want to quit, but you're on top of the mountain. You have to get back down. So you have to do it again. And it's this struggle versus...
00:45:09
Speaker
people know what they're doing, and you're all just doing it together. You don't have to think about any of that stuff, right? You've already taken the safety precautions with your gear, and then you're up there just hanging out. Probably most extreme things, it's very much like that. When you're worrying about the safety of somebody who's not sure of how to do it versus experienced people,
00:45:29
Speaker
I totally see what you mean. It would be positive. It would be fun. It would just be like, woohoo. I didn't want to say you relax because I'm aware. You have to be aware, but kind of, I guess. You do. You do. When you have checked on the boxes and you're with someone who's experienced and the water conditions are great, when everything lines up,
00:45:47
Speaker
It's exhausting, but it's very stress relieving by the end of it. There's moments where you guys are, especially to catch your breath. There's going to be some time where you just went down four times and for a pose and you need to catch your breath and you're just floating then chatting, relaxing. And it's so peaceful. It's the most amazing thing in the world, especially if you feel like that's what you're supposed to be doing, but cool. So how did you know that then? Like, how did you know you were ready to start offering underwater photography?
00:46:12
Speaker
Um, for me, it was when like I had drastically improved my freediving skills. So I wanted to be able to get down to like 30 feet pretty easily. And I wanted to be comfortable with my new gear. So I wanted my underwater housing. I don't know if this like completely answers your question, but like I wanted my underwater housing and weight belt to be like a part of my body, like just super second nature, because I knew that being distracted in the water is like dangerous. And I also want to make sure that I conquered any lingering fears I had of the ocean.
00:46:40
Speaker
and that came along with education and time in the water, like I've been saying. I was still slightly nervous of sharks up until a couple years ago, so conquered that, obviously, and educated myself on that, and nervous about strong currents. I would say that there's one fear I still have, which is really big waves. I'm not a big wave surfer. I don't like waves. But in general, luckily, free diving, I don't have to really deal with that, and underwater photography, you're obviously trying to avoid waves.
00:47:10
Speaker
Anyways, um, and they're all valid concerns, but they're just ones that I educated myself on rather than lived in fear of. And that was when I was like, once all that's good, I can like, I can really start offering my underwater sessions. That's smart to be like, I want this to feel like a part of me.
00:47:26
Speaker
I want to be confident because that wouldn't be helpful. Like if you're shooting a family and then like a turtle shows up and you're like, Oh my gosh, you're like the person who's supposed to be in charge getting terrified. That makes sense. Exactly. Yeah. And I, I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but like I also just, cause I don't know if you were asking like, how did I know like logistically when I was ready to start or like what made me want to start underwater? I guess either one, like, okay. I don't remember what I meant. I think I meant logistically, but also like if there was a spark in you, like,
00:47:53
Speaker
emotion-wise that you wanted to do that. Yeah, I should just clarify that like I've always wanted to do like this has literally always been something that I knew I wanted to do and like I was considering one of the many career paths I was considering in college was marine biology and had I gone to college here in on Oahu
00:48:12
Speaker
I would have done marine biology. That's, I think, the field that I applied for when I got accepted to the university here. It was going to be marine biology. But obviously, I didn't go to that college and didn't do that field. But yeah, this was always something that I wanted to do. It wasn't just like something I...
00:48:29
Speaker
I'm legit saying you could work for National Geographic. I think you could. Don't tip me, dude. So last question, I guess, then. This is awesome. I've literally been invested in all of this because like, oh, you're just explaining it so well. It sounds crazy. It sounds so cool. What would you say to people considering it and considering getting into it, possibly just starting out last little thing
00:49:00
Speaker
Yeah, to shoot out to them, I guess. Um, look, normally I'm the kind of person, to be honest, who is like, go for it. Just start like you can do it. Or even like I've honestly said fake it till you make it very unironically about a lot of things. But this is one area where I'm going to be so painfully brutally honest and say pause.
00:49:23
Speaker
I just want, like if you are listening and you're thinking about this, I just want to tell you to ask yourself why you are doing it. Are you doing it because you think you have a natural proclivity towards it? A natural strength for it? Or because you think it's cool and you'll get likes on Instagram?
00:49:38
Speaker
Is it your life's passion or do you just think it would be fun to try? Do you think it would make you look cool? Also, can you afford it? The money you're about to spend on it, could you burn it in the fireplace right now and still afford all your bills tomorrow?
00:49:54
Speaker
If the answer is no, I'm sorry. You need to wait. And more tough love time. It is hard. It's hard work. And I'm not saying this to complain because I love it and I'm not ever going to stop doing it. But it's hard to learn. It's time consuming. It's discouraging to spend an hour struggling in the water only to get back pictures that are out of focus, difficult to edit, and you didn't get the poses that you wanted.
00:50:17
Speaker
And also, like I said before, it's a whole new game. You have to learn all of the stuff, the preparation for it. You have to relearn how to take photos underwater and you have to relearn how to edit because editing is completely different with underwater photos as it is with any other type of photo. And the time, you better love detail work because the time spent editing these photos is also atrocious. I love it though. It's fun for me, I actually enjoy it. But whatever you're expecting it to be, make it twice as hard in your mind and you're almost there.
00:50:47
Speaker
And it's just, it's kind of like all those things where like when people say moving, um, you always think you have like less stuff than you really do. And then even though the next time you go to move, it's like you still underestimate how much there is no way for you to really realize just how hard this is. Um, how expensive it is, how dangerous it is. That's why I would say like number one rule, if you are not living where you're going to be doing this all the time, probably just don't try to get into it. Maybe wait.
00:51:13
Speaker
wait until you are living where you're going to do this all the time. So anyways, there's just some, there's some little thoughts. Yeah. Well, that's so good. And like you said, like now that you've put in all that work beyond hours, days, weeks worth of work to get here, like what you said before, how you're at that place where you can relax in the water. It is enjoyable. It is super fun is rewarding all of that. But that came, like you said, after tons of trial and error and it's, yeah. And it disappears anytime I'm not in the water again.
00:51:40
Speaker
So like that's the thing that's why I say you have to live near it because I if I go for a couple months like it's always a little nerve-wracking going from the winter into the summer getting back into this for seasonal because like I'm you're still having to kind of relearn some of the stuff your breath holders crap you are more nervous in the water you're kind of relearning like okay what has anything changed with the with the you know typography how do you how do you say that like the photography
00:52:05
Speaker
Thank you. Is that how you say that? I don't know. What word are you trying to say? Is it topography? Is that the word? I don't know. I'm forgetting what that means. Oh my gosh. How did you know the word? It's so funny. Like the, well between the two of us, I think we got it right. The point is the topographically landscape.
00:52:23
Speaker
Yes, topographically. What? I don't know how that tastes. I don't know. It doesn't matter. Chad knows. Whatever. All of our listeners will know. It's just us who don't know. Anyways, the point is has the landscape changed? Exactly.
00:52:38
Speaker
have the shark patterns changed this year, have so much stuff, so much stuff. For example, one of the places I used to love going for this a few months ago, there was like 12 tiger sharks that were seen right there. Oh my gosh. Just hanging out for days. I was like, that's so interesting. I'm not going there.
00:52:55
Speaker
Not because I'm like deadly afraid of them. If they come, you know, if I'm in the water and I don't expect them, I know how to deal with that. Don't want to. And I'm not going to be stupid and go do that. And I'm definitely not going to drag clients out there and be like, they're sharks, but it should be fine. Yeah. Especially tiger sharks, especially tiger sharks. Okay. Yeah.
00:53:12
Speaker
So the point is, I'm not going to sit here and say go for it. I'm not going to say you should try it, get into it. I'm actually going to say maybe don't. Find other ways to invest in your business. I love it. If you feel like this is my life's passion, this is what I'm called to do, this is absolutely what I need to be doing.
00:53:30
Speaker
Then do your due diligence and it will be rewarding but don't lose Thousands of dollars because you did not prepare right don't put yourself at risk. Don't kill or hurt other people or put them at risk Like one time or just for ya just for you to say you did it because you don't want to say I'm being sued You know because you've got yourself in danger. So yeah
00:53:54
Speaker
There you go. I love this negative episode. I don't think so. I see where you're getting that, but I think that's important. I was just going to actually say, in wrapping up, first off, you're the coolest. It straight up feels like I'm talking to somebody famous right now.
00:54:11
Speaker
And this was so good because it is a topic that's not our usual go for, give it a shot. Like our podcast is usually very like, try this, experiment in this. And we still love that photography and the media industry has so many places to do that. I think it's completely acceptable to be like, here's one where you got to be careful. And it's not even like you're saying like, never, but it's just, it's exactly what you said. Like, is this your life's passion? Okay. Start to like take steps to make that your life. But, but yeah, it's not, um, it's not like,
00:54:42
Speaker
creative studio shoot where you throw paint everywhere. Ooh, that's experimenting. It's gear. It's all this stuff. So no, I loved every minute of this being like, we're actually encouraging you to proceed with caution, do your research. And yeah, exactly.
Closing and Listener Engagement
00:54:57
Speaker
Like you said, it could be twice as much as you think it is. Everything you explain was twice as much of what I knew it to be sitting here listening. And I haven't even done anything like that. So yeah.
00:55:07
Speaker
well thank you so much that's actually so kind of you to say all that and also i'm glad that you were willing to chat about this because i know it's not a normal thing and then so thank you to ayla and then also everyone listening thanks for sticking around for this little topic i hope it was i hope it was inspiring in the right ways and i hope that it was fun to listen to and educational because i also know it's not super a super common thing and so i do often get
00:55:31
Speaker
just questions just people just want to know about it i just get questions about what it's like so happy to talk about that um yeah but at the end of the day you know underwater photography is risky it deserves respect i want you to be safe but i love it yeah amazing for more talk about so many things photography business and just life you already know you can check out our instagram we are at art of intention podcast we share all kinds of resources there each week
00:55:56
Speaker
It's a great way to interact with us, hang out with us, and be reminded of when we drop new episodes. If you're not already, you'll want to follow us wherever you listen. Wherever you listen, we're on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Zencaster. Then definitely leave us your five-star rating and review. It pushes our podcast, so many people out there. It's been amazing to see that happen so far, and we can't wait to just see where the podcast keeps taking us. We're so thankful for you guys already.
00:56:24
Speaker
Sidebar this week. We've had a couple people just like personally tell us on our Instagram that they're listening that they're enjoying it and Oh, it warms my heart. So definitely keep complimenting us if you like the show we have been complimented If you don't mind, but yeah, we love to hear it. We want to keep interacting with you guys. So definitely do all that Yeah, thank you guys for letting me ramble and share my thoughts. Remember there are new episodes every Tuesday So we'll see you again next week. Bye. Bye
00:56:54
Speaker
Bye!