How to Take a Great Octopus Photo [VIDEO]

Featuring Steve Miller

Octopi, or octopuses (both correct), make some of our favorite logos AND our favorite photography subjects underwater. Ikelite Photo Guru Steve Miller has spent the past 40 or so years figuring out how to get the best angle on these intelligent beings. 

Here are his tips for a respectful and fruitful encounter, including recommended camera settings and angles.

If you'd prefer to read, scroll down for the article version of this video.

 

Planning Your Shot

We used to say that if you wanted to see an octopus when you're scuba diving, you have to go out at night, and it's partially true. Most octopuses will come out and be more active at night, that's when they do most of their hunting. But it's not always the case. There's actually a species that we shoot in Yap all the time that's called a day octopus because they are out typically during the day. 

First, when you find an octopus, first consider yourself lucky. Second, think about how you're going to photograph them without disturbing them or getting them off of their home base. Then, come in to do your work. If you're patient, you'll find them very tolerant to a diver and tolerant to your bubbles and even tolerant to the camera. 

Getting a good octopus photo takes more than just dialing in your camera settings. First you'll need to find these masters of camouflage and then approach them with care. © John Brigham

Finding an Octopus to Photograph

Chances are that when you come upon an octopus on a dive, what you're going to notice first is a "rock" that you think is moving, but it's actually a camouflaged octopus because their power of disguise is amazing. They're going to camouflage to the color and the texture of their surroundings, even if it's spiky horns.

Then you'll see something move. You'll see them pulse a little bit. Maybe you'll see them breathe. This is a special time. The octopus knows that you're there, these are highly intelligent creatures. 

Can you spot the octopus in this image? Look closely at the chest on the seafloor. Finding an octopus requires a little practice. Look for subtle changes in movement and/or piles of shells or rocks outside of a hole. © Jean Rydberg

Approaching the Octopus

The first thing you need to do is just pause. Pause, don't do anything. Let the animal settle in, settle in yourself, and figure out how you're going to approach this animal without scaring it away. 

If you ever see an octopus release ink and swim away, you've done something wrong. It's not good for them, they can't do it endlessly. So try to avoid that. Instead, if you're careful with them, you can approach them and actually shoot them from really close distances because once they realize that you're not a threat, what they're gonna do is try to hide from you. And when they try to hide from you, that's when you're in for a real visual treat because they will go through a whole different cast of colors and textures, especially as they slowly move across a coral head. Their shape, their texture, the colors, everything will change and you're gonna be in for a treat.

This is only done by approaching the animal slowly, respectfully, and carefully. If you do that, they'll stay with you for a good while and actually allow you to get into the place you want to be, which is of course very close with your camera pointing up, looking up at them to make them appear larger and more important. 

Approaching an octopus without disturbing them or their surroundings take a bit of patience but the pay off is worth it. If you're really lucky you might even get a behavior shot like this one of two octopuses mating. © Steve Miller

 

Camera Settings and Angles

If it's a macro image that you're shooting, you'll do just like you would on a nudibranch: Stop down the lens, reasonable shutter speed, bathe it in light. 

To get intricate details like this octopus' papillae (the muscular skin structure they use to change their texture for camouflage), eyes, and siphon, use a macro lens. © Steve Miller

If you find yourself with a wide angle lens and you've got an octopus that is cooperative, what you may want to try to do is shoot from the hip. In other words, bring the camera itself in closer to the animal, closer than the animal would let your body get, and shoot. In a situation like this, stop the lens down, use a reasonable shutter speed - 1/125th, 1/160th - then bring that camera toward the subject, tilt it up, get as close to the animal as you can without disturbing it, and shoot them that way. This is going to give you the classic close focus wide angle image. Just try to get that camera close, get the upper angle, and then the wide angle lens will capture a nice background for you. 

Running it into an octopus during any of your dives can make it the highlight of the dive, if not the trip. Good luck and go out and find some octopus.

Get your camera as close as possible to your subject without disturbing them and shoot at an upward angle to get a nice wide angle image with the octopus and its surroundings. © Gary Burns

Additional Viewing

Understanding Octopuses for a Friendly Photographic Experience

Octopus Underwater Camera Settings and Technique

Why You Need Strobes Underwater

The Importance of Hitting the Water with a Shot in Mind [VIDEO]

Shooting the Colorful and Camouflaged Flathead Crocodilefish

 

 

Ambassador Steve Miller has been a passionate teacher of underwater photography since 1980. In addition to creating aspirational photos as an ambassador, he leads the Ikelite Photo School, conducts equipment testing, contributes content and photography, represents us at dive shows and events, provides one-on-one photo advice to customers, and participates in product research and development. Steve also works as a Guest Experience Manager for the Wakatobi Dive Resort in Indonesia. In his "free" time he busies himself tweaking his very own Backyard Underwater Photo Studio which he's built for testing equipment and techniques. Read more...