Essential Photoshop Plugins for Underwater Photography: The Pro Editing Workflow

There’s a saying in photography that you can’t fix a bad photo in post; however, as technology develops and AI becomes even more popular, the new programs can do incredible things. I have always been nervous of getting too into Photoshop, though. For me, Lightroom is absolutely essential as the RAW files our cameras generate are very flat and need to be edited to bring all that data to life. Photoshop, however, I have always perceived as for adding and removing components of your photos, something I am not a big fan of, even though I do, of course, use it to remove a stray fin.

As much as we should always try to get the photo right in camera, we shouldn’t let the limitations of the underwater environment stop us from capturing the shot. Sometimes you can’t control the plankton bloom, the surge, or the fact that your perfect composition was disturbed by a diver in the background. That’s where post-processing tools become valuable. Used correctly, they can add real value to your work.

Over recent years, though, I have seen the power of Photoshop become of more interest to my day-to-day photo work. I see the program as a place where I take an edited photo and apply the final polish to it. This can be making the contrast pop, reducing noise on a high ISO shot, or removing backscatter in my images. These final touches can be applied very powerfully in Photoshop, much more so than Lightroom, and almost every photo I edit goes through Photoshop for that final coat of lipstick before I export it.

Over the years, several Photoshop plugins have become essential tools for serious underwater photographers. These plugins don’t replace skill; they enhance the results of good technique. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best plugins currently available for underwater photography and how to use them effectively without losing the natural feel that defines strong marine imagery.

Topaz DeNoise AI

Noise is one of the most persistent challenges in underwater photography. Even in bright tropical waters, light diminishes rapidly with depth, forcing us to shoot at higher ISO values than we’d prefer. The result is digital noise, a grain that is introduced into the image as each pixel is amplified the higher the ISO goes. This is particularly noticeable in the shadows of your images; if you try to boost shadows on a high ISO image, the quality will quickly degrade. Topaz DeNoise AI has become one of the most effective tools for cleaning up that noise without sacrificing image quality.

What sets Topaz apart is its use of artificial intelligence. Rather than applying a blanket blur, the software analyzes texture and detail to separate true image data from digital noise. The result is a cleaner, more natural look where the fine structures of coral, fish scales, or sand grains remain intact. The key is restraint. Overuse can make images appear plasticky or over-smoothed. When I process underwater photos, I apply DeNoise sparingly, often at around 15–30 percent strength. I treat it as a precision tool, something to polish an already well-exposed image, not to salvage a poorly lit one.

It is paramount when shooting high ISO images that you get the right exposure in camera, as increasing exposure or boosting shadows in post will amplify the noise even more than the software can deal with. If you expose correctly, then apply the software, it will remove almost all noise.

Nik Color Efex Pro

Color is one of the hardest things to manage underwater. Even with perfect strobes and white balance, there’s often a slight imbalance between the cool tones of the water and the warmer hues of the reef or marine life. Nik Color Efex Pro, part of the Nik Collection, is a plugin that gives photographers subtle but powerful control over color and contrast. Unlike many filters that push saturation too far, Color Efex offers fine-tuned adjustments that can bring back realism and depth without making the image look artificial.

One of my favorite filters within Color Efex is the Pro Contrast tool. It corrects both color cast and tonal contrast, allowing you to restore balance between foreground and background elements. It’s especially useful for wide-angle shots where ambient blue water needs to be balanced with strobe-illuminated subjects or scenes. With careful use, you can correct that imbalance so the image feels cohesive.

Another valuable feature is Detail Extractor. Used gently, it enhances mid-tone contrast, giving corals, sponges, and sand textures more presence. It’s easy to overdo this effect, so apply it with a light hand; somewhere around 10–20 percent is usually enough. Tonal Contrast is also excellent for giving your images more bite, particularly in black and white conversions or in scenes where light diffusion has softened fine detail.

What makes Color Efex special for underwater work is its ability to add vibrancy without destroying subtlety. Think of it not as a way to make your photos look more colorful, but as a way to make them look more accurate, to bring back what your eyes saw but the camera sensor couldn’t quite record.

One excellent feature in Color Efex is that you can remove the filter from any part of the image. They have selector tools that you can lay over the filter to reduce or remove the effect within the area you select. You can also reduce the overall effect with a slider, allowing you to rein in the changes when you feel it has gone too far.

Backscatter XTerminator

Every underwater photographer knows the pain of backscatter. No matter how carefully you position your strobes, sometimes there’s just too much particulate matter in the water. Traditionally, removing backscatter meant hours of tedious spot healing in Photoshop, zooming in, clicking hundreds of times, and trying not to destroy nearby detail. That changed when renowned underwater photographer Erin Quigley from GoAskErin.com introduced Backscatter XTerminator, a dedicated plugin designed to identify and remove backscatter automatically.

Built with AI-based image recognition, Backscatter XTerminator analyzes the image and selectively removes particles without softening the surrounding detail. It’s surprisingly effective, especially for wide-angle shots with blue water backgrounds. The key again is moderation. I prefer to let the plugin handle the job, then go into the mask it automatically makes for you and paint black any areas I wish to remove the filter from. Sometimes it will pick up some minor details as backscatter, and this masking will add those details back in. I then also go in manually to clean up anything it missed. That keeps the image looking natural.

It’s worth noting that Backscatter XTerminator is not a license to get lazy underwater. Good strobe positioning remains the best prevention. You should still aim to keep strobes behind the port and the correct distance from the camera dependent on the distance to the subject, and avoid lighting the water column. But even with perfect technique, particles are sometimes unavoidable, especially in plankton-rich or silty environments. Using Backscatter XTerminator allows you to present your subject cleanly, focusing attention where it belongs.

I’ve found it particularly useful for black backgrounds in macro photography, and also for inside wrecks where some backscatter is almost unavoidable. With a couple of clicks, the background becomes clean and smooth, letting the subject stand out in full detail.

Silver Efex Pro

While most underwater photographers focus on color, black and white conversions can be incredibly powerful. Stripping away color lets you emphasize form, texture, and contrast in ways that the vibrant blues and reds of the ocean sometimes conceal. Silver Efex Pro, another part of the Nik Collection, is the best plugin for achieving rich, controlled monochrome images.

Underwater, black and white can transform ordinary subjects into dramatic compositions. Wrecks and big topography scenes take on a timeless quality when color is removed. But the conversion needs to be handled carefully; simply desaturating an image rarely gives good results. Silver Efex allows precise control over the tonal response of different color ranges, meaning you can adjust how reds, blues, and greens convert into grayscale brightness.

For example, the red channel often holds most of the strobe-lit subject detail, while the blue channel contains background information. By darkening the blues and brightening the reds during conversion, you can create a beautifully balanced monochrome that maintains subject separation and depth.

The plugin’s Structure and Fine Structure sliders are also excellent for enhancing texture without introducing halos or noise. I often use them subtly to bring out the surface detail in a wreck or textures. The Film Types options emulate classic black and white emulsions, letting you experiment with tonal contrast and grain to achieve a look that matches your creative intent.

Silver Efex Pro isn’t just about making a photo black and white; it’s about using tone and texture to take things to a whole new level.

The Balance Between Technique and Technology

Plugins like these are incredible tools, but they should complement and not replace solid photographic technique. It’s tempting to lean on technology to fix problems that should be solved in the water: poor lighting, incorrect strobe placement, or bad practices that create disturbances in the water column. The best underwater photographers use post-processing to fine-tune their work, not to fabricate it.

However, it’s also important to remember that underwater conditions are never perfect. Even the best divers and shooters can’t control the visibility or the behavior of other divers in the distance. A good plugin workflow ensures that you’re not afraid to take the shot just because the environment isn’t ideal. Shoot confidently, knowing that you can clean up minor imperfections later without compromising your artistic integrity.

Integrating Plugins into Your Workflow

The most effective use of plugins comes from a consistent, logical workflow. After basic RAW adjustments—exposure, white balance, and global contrast—I begin by cleaning the image with Topaz DeNoise. Next, I remove any obvious backscatter using Backscatter XTerminator. Once the base image is clean and crisp, I move into Color Efex to refine tone and color balance. This order ensures that each plugin complements rather than conflicts with the next.

The Final Word

The best Photoshop plugins for underwater photographers aren’t about transforming reality; they’re about preserving it. They help us overcome the limitations imposed by the physics of underwater photography—water density, color loss, and light absorption—but they can’t replace the fundamentals: good exposure, strong lighting, and proper strobe placement.

Tools like Topaz DeNoise, Color Efex Pro, Backscatter XTerminator, and Silver Efex Pro can elevate your underwater photography to a professional level. They allow you to deliver images that are not just sharp and clean, but true to the way the ocean really looked and felt in that moment.

In the end, post-processing is the art of refinement. It’s where good images become great, not through trickery, but through preservation.