How to Shoot Half Underwater GoPro Photos (Tips & Gear)

In this post, you'll learn how to shoot half underwater photos with your GoPro. You'll learn about 3 challenges when shooting underwater – and how a dome port overcomes them.

How to Shoot Half Underwater GoPro Photos

Love half underwater photos? Check out this set of my favorite half underwater photos shot with a GoPro.

Want to get half underwater GoPro photos? Trying to do that with just the GoPro is pretty tough, right?

That's because there are many things working against you, including the water line, field of view, and underwater magnification.

In this post, I'll talk about why a dome port makes getting half underwater GoPro photos easier. You'll also see a review video for the Knekt dome.

Summary of GoPro Dome Ports

To even things out, you'll need a dome port. Here are a couple of solid options:

1. Telesin 6″ Dome Port This is an acrylic dome with waterproof hardening material. Comes with the waterproof shell and floating handle. Dive to a depth of about 65 feet.
2. Yoemely 6″ Dome Port: This is the professional version and comes very well reviewed. It also used an acrylic dome and comes with a pistol trigger (one hand operation), float grip, and protective bag. Dive to a depth of around 98 feet.

Learn how to eliminate GoPro lens fog

3 Problems When Shooting Underwater GoPro Photos

1. Field of View

To get a good half underwater photo (also called split-level, half and half, over under, and 50/50) you'll want to push the water away from the lens. When the water level is close to the lens, the field of view is reduced.

With one eye closed, try holding a pen horizontally (like it's the water level) in front of your open eye. You can't see much above or below the pen because it's so close. Now hold it a little farther away. With the pen a few inches away, your field of view is increased. This is similar to what happens when you use your GoPro with a dome port.

The dome port pushes the water line farther away from your lens giving you a larger field of view, above and below the water line.

2. Water Magnification Problems

You'll also notice that when you try to get half underwater shots without a dome port, the water magnifies things. This distorts the look of photos, making the above water objects look normal while the underwater objects look larger.

This can be a cool effect, but not when you want things looking even and balanced.

The dome port normalizes the field of view. This means that things will match up above and below the water line.

Read more about how to use GoPro underwater.

3. Unlevel Water Line

A dome port will also make taking photos easier because you'll be working with a larger lens area.

Trying to get half underwater GoPro photos without a dome port is tricky because the lens area is small. You've got to lean over the camera to make sure where the water is. With the dome port, it's much easier. The Telesin and Knekt models have a water line guide on the back.

Ready for more? Check out my new post where I share 6 tips for shooting half underwater photos with a dome port. (I also include my 31 favorite half underwater photos – I think you'll love it.)

Your Turn

Have you tried getting half underwater shots with a dome port? Please let us know about your experience by commenting on this post.