There is the finished photograph… and then there is EVERYTHING that happens before it! 😂 This is underwater photography at Rainbow Springs—and I’m taking you behind the scenes to show you exactly how we created it!!!
Photographing underwater is part planning, part teamwork, part holding your breath, and occasionally part trying to figure out what the hell to do with approximately 9,000 strings on a dress!
This day at Rainbow Springs State Park in Florida with Shannon Scott was all of that—and SO MUCH FUN!
Shannon is an actress, model and underwater performer, but more importantly, she’s an absolutely amazing person and one of my best friends! We have SO MUCH FUN together!!! Seriously, put the two of us together, add an adventure, some gorgeous water and a ridiculously amazing handmade dress created specifically for my photography, and we’re going to have a freaking blast!
Which makes creating something like THIS with her even better!
And then there was THE DRESS!!! 😍
I personally had ALTYSAN COUTURE handmake this incredible fringe dress specifically for my photography—and from the very beginning, my vision for it was UNDERWATER!
Sure, I can photograph it on land too. But when I dreamed up this dress, I was picturing all of that long fringe floating, twisting and flowing through the water!
I WANTED THIS DRESS UNDERWATER!!!
All of those long, beautiful strands becoming weightless and moving in every direction around the person wearing it? COME ON!!! 😍
I could already see the photographs in my head.
So when it came time to photograph at Rainbow Springs, I asked Shannon if she’d wear it for me.
Of course, before we could make all of that fringe look magical underwater, somebody had to get the damn thing on her! 😂
And THIS is what that looks like behind the scenes!
Approximately 9,000 strings going in approximately 9,000 different directions while I’m trying to get everything where it’s supposed to go. 😂
That somebody wrestling with all of it?
Yep. ME!
Then it was time to grab the gear and head down!
And yes, that giant contraption I’m carrying is my camera! 😂
Inside that beast is my Canon camera, protected by my Ikelite underwater housing—and that housing is freaking EPIC! It lets me take my professional camera underwater and actually control it while I’m down there creating these photographs. I seriously couldn’t do what I do underwater without it!
And because one camera underwater isn’t enough for me 😂, I’ve also got a GoPro mounted right on the housing!
BUT—let me make something very clear.
The GoPro is there for VIDEO. That’s it!
I don’t use it to take my underwater photographs. That’s what my Canon is for, because I want the quality, control and speed of my professional camera.
When something amazing happens underwater, I don’t want to press a button and hope the camera decides to take the photograph when the moment is already gone! Hair is moving. Fabric is moving. Light is changing. EVERYTHING is moving!
I want to rapid-fire the shit out of it!!! 😂
That’s where my Canon comes in.
While I’m photographing with my Canon, the GoPro mounted to the side of my Ikelite housing can just keep recording video. That means I can concentrate on creating the actual photographs while the GoPro quietly captures all the behind-the-scenes craziness happening around us!
And THAT is how I can show you what I was seeing and doing underwater while I was creating the finished photographs!
THIS is the part of underwater photography you don’t see in the finished photographs!
We’re laughing, moving gear around, keeping track of all that gorgeous fringe and getting ourselves down to the water—all so we can turn this idea I’ve had in my head into something freaking beautiful!
And down we went!!!
Walking through Rainbow Springs State Park carrying an underwater camera housing while Shannon is wearing this incredible handmade dress with fringe practically down to the ground is exactly as fun as it sounds!
But then you get your first glimpse of that gorgeous spring water through the trees, and then you remember exactly why you’re carrying all this stuff!
There we are!
Shannon, me, THE DRESS and my giant underwater housing!
LET’S GO MAKE SOME MAGIC!!!
Why I Travel for Water Like This
Living in the Columbia River Gorge, I am surrounded by absolutely gorgeous places that I would LOVE to photograph underwater!
Mirror Lake? HELL YES!!!
And there are plenty of other beautiful mountain lakes around Oregon and the Pacific Northwest with clear water that make my photographer brain immediately start dreaming up underwater portraits!
There’s just one little problem…
That beautiful water is mountain snow runoff.
It’s FREAKING COLD!!! 😂
And while I love an adventure, goosebumps and blue lips are NOT sexy!
Hypothermia isn’t particularly sexy either. 😂
Underwater portrait photography takes time. We’re getting into position, going under, coming back up, adjusting the dress and hair, talking through the next pose and doing it all over again!
I want the person in front of my camera to actually be comfortable enough to enjoy the experience—not wondering whether they can still feel their toes!
THAT’S one of the reasons I travel to places like Florida, Mexico and other destinations where I can find warm, clear water!
Or… I can stay right here at home, throw a gorgeous backdrop into a nice warm saltwater pool and create underwater magic there too!!!
And I LOVE doing that!
A warm pool gives us a comfortable, controlled environment where we can take our time, play with different backdrops, dresses, fabrics, lighting and ideas without anybody freezing their cute little booty off! 😂
But let’s be real…
Getting on a plane, finding some ridiculously beautiful clear water somewhere and turning the whole thing into an adventure?
THAT’S A WHOLE LOT OF FUN!!!
So yes, I can absolutely create underwater magic right here at home—and I do!
But give me an excuse to pack up my underwater housing, grab a gorgeous dress and head somewhere warm with crystal-clear water?
I’M GOING!!! 😂
Getting Into the Water
Once we reached the spring, everything changed!
The water at Rainbow Springs is extraordinarily clear, and once you’re looking through it at the rocks, sunlight and everything happening beneath the surface, you can understand exactly why I wanted to photograph here!
Now Shannon just had to get in there, hold her breath, work that dress and make the whole thing look effortless!
No pressure!!! 😂
This is where the vision I had for this dress finally started coming to life!
On land, it’s beautiful.
But underwater?
THIS is what I had it made for!!!
Underwater Photography at Rainbow Springs: What It Actually Looks Like
THIS is the part I really love showing people!
Underwater portraits don’t happen with one long breath and one perfect pose!
We work in short bursts. Shannon gets into position, we communicate, she takes a breath, goes underwater and starts moving!
I’m underwater with her, watching the light, her pose, her hair, the dress and the composition while photographing with my Canon through my Ikelite housing.
And while I’m rapid-firing photographs, that little GoPro mounted right beside it is recording the whole thing!
Then we come back up, reset and DO IT AGAIN!
And THIS is what I had pictured when I commissioned this dress!
The second we got it underwater, all of that beautiful fringe came alive!
Every long strand starts floating and flowing through the water. Shannon’s hair moves with it. The sunlight changes constantly. The water takes something already beautiful and turns it into something completely different!
Suddenly, the dress I had pictured flowing underwater was right there in front of my camera doing exactly what I had imagined!
And THAT is a freaking cool feeling!!!
On land, it’s gorgeous.
Underwater?
IT’S MAGIC!!!
And Then This Happens…
THIS!!! This is why I love showing the behind-the-scenes!
Because this photograph didn’t start when I pressed the shutter.
It started with an idea!
I envisioned a dress with long, beautiful fringe flowing through the water. I had ALTYSAN handmake it specifically for my photography. I asked one of my best friends to wear it. We hauled ourselves, the dress and my gear down to Rainbow Springs State Park.
And then we got in the water and MADE THAT VISION HAPPEN!!!
The movement of the fringe, Shannon’s hair, the sunlight coming through the surface and that incredible blue water completely transformed everything!
And seeing something go from an idea floating around in your head to something right there in front of your camera?
THAT is freaking awesome!!!
And somewhere between all the laughing, hauling gear, fixing wardrobe, holding our breath and swimming around with a giant camera housing…
WE MADE ART!!!
That’s one of my absolute favorite things about underwater photography!
The finished portrait can look peaceful, effortless and almost otherworldly.
But getting to take a vision I had, bring it all the way to life AND create it with one of my best friends makes it even freaking better!
Because behind these photographs is a day full of laughing, adventure, friendship, creativity and a WHOLE LOT OF FRINGE! 😂
And I wouldn’t have it any other way!!!
Stay wild, make some trouble!
💙 Tobi
Underwater Portraits • Boudoir • Maternity • Weddings & Elopements • Portraits • Adventure • Drone Photography & Video
Based in Hood River, Oregon • Photographing throughout the Columbia River Gorge, Pacific Northwest & beyond!
Follow along for underwater magic, behind-the-scenes adventures and whatever trouble I get into next! 😂
Instagram — Tobi Rose Photography
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Want to see what an underwater portrait session is actually like? Explore The Experience.
Curious about going underwater yourself? Grab my free Underwater Portrait Guide.
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