Fashion Trends in Underwater Photography: Why They Matter and How to Use Them

When we think of the word “fashion,” our minds often jump to clothing, catwalks, and glossy magazines. But photography, especially underwater photography, is equally subject to fashion. Just as in the art world, what is considered fresh, innovative, and popular can change dramatically over time. Styles that once dominated competitions and magazines can fade into obscurity, while new techniques or destinations suddenly become the talk of the community. For underwater photographers, understanding these trends is more than just keeping up appearances. It’s about knowing how to ride the waves of creativity, how to stand out while still being relevant, and how to balance originality with awareness of the visual currents sweeping through the industry.

For me, as someone who teaches photo workshops, it is absolutely critical to be aware of trends, to have mastered the techniques behind them, and to be on top of all advances in technology. These are the subjects I get questioned about the most, as they are at the forefront of people’s minds.

The Nature of Trends in Underwater Photography

Underwater photography exists in a fascinating space between art and documentation. On one hand, it's our duty to show our non-diving family and friends what we see and to document it for them. On the other, we are artists, framing the ocean in ways that resonate with our fellow underwater photographers and divers. This dual role is precisely why trends emerge. As photographers innovate with techniques, equipment, and approaches, their work influences others, who then experiment, refine, and expand upon the style. Before long, an idea becomes a recognizable movement, and images start to share a common visual aesthetic.

Trends also spread quickly because of the way underwater photography is consumed. Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, as well as dedicated magazines and competitions, amplify new looks almost instantly. What one diver captures in the far corners of the earth can be viewed worldwide within hours, and if it resonates, it is copied, adapted, and refined by countless others. Trends are cyclical too. A technique might dominate for a few years, then fade, only to be rediscovered and reinvented later with new technology or a different approach.

Techniques That Define Fashion

Slow Shutter Photography

One of the most enduring and fascinating trends of recent years is slow shutter photography. Instead of freezing action with fast shutter speeds, photographers deliberately drag the shutter, often combining it with strobes to freeze certain elements while blurring others. The result is a sense of energy and movement that static images lack. Backgrounds blur out to soft and appealing blues, while the main subject remains sharp and dramatic. This technique rose to prominence because it broke the mold. For decades, underwater photography had been about sharpness, clarity, and freezing motion. Slow shutter challenged that orthodoxy. It allowed photographers to inject dynamism and emotion, creating images that felt alive rather than clinical.

Often, a trend becomes a trend because one individual absolutely commits to and masters the technique. In the case of slow shutter images, that individual was Nick More. Competitions rewarded him, magazines featured his works, and soon, slow shutter images by others were everywhere. Unlike Nick, however, their execution was often poor, and an incredible technique for powerful images was often fudged without the delicate touch it needs. For me, if you want to be at the forefront and current with a trend in underwater photography, you need to absolutely master the technique before you begin publishing your training images. By only publishing top-quality work, as Nick did, you will stand out from the crowd. Today, while perhaps less novel than when it first surged, slow shutter remains a powerful tool and a fashion trend that refuses to disappear. Often today, though, with these images, the technique overrides the story.

Shallow Depth of Field

Another trend that has surged in popularity is the use of an extremely shallow depth of field. Traditionally, underwater photographers sought as much depth of field as possible to capture detail throughout the frame. But with advancements in optics, diopters, and high-quality lenses, many photographers began experimenting with wide-open apertures. The result is images where the subject pops against a dreamy, blurred background.

This style has particularly dominated macro photography. Nudibranchs, shrimp, and gobies are often isolated against abstract backdrops of color and light, giving them an almost studio-like feel. It’s easy to see why the fashion caught on. The images are striking, clean, and very different from the busy, detail-heavy shots that once ruled macro competitions. Of course, like all trends, shallow depth of field is sometimes overused, but in the right hands it can transform an ordinary subject into something extraordinary.

Filters and the Rise of Creative Optics

Most recently, we’ve seen a rise in the popularity of creative filters, with vortex filters being a prime example. These optical attachments bend light and create swirling and repeated patterns around the edges of an image. This “technique” is nothing new; these filters have been around for years. But when Alex Mustard broke one out of his kit bag a few years ago, the trend began again.

Vortex filters allow photographers to break away from the conventional look of underwater imagery, which is often dominated by either clarity or motion blur. Instead, they add a layer of surrealism. Suddenly, a simple fish portrait can look like it belongs in a fantasy film, with the environment warping into patterns around the subject. This trend is still in its infancy compared to slow shutter or shallow depth of field, but it gained traction quickly, especially in online spaces where novelty grabs attention. This trend is more of a gimmick, though, so I would expect it to die out as quickly as it came around and likely make an appearance again in another 10 years.

Technology as a Driver of Fashion

While creativity and destinations often push trends forward, it’s important to recognize that technological advances in equipment are just as influential. Every time a manufacturer introduces a breakthrough lens, housing, or accessory, it expands what’s possible and that new capability often sparks a wave of fashion.

One of the clearest examples is the Nauticam SMC (Super Macro Converter). Before its arrival, super macro photography underwater was a challenging niche. Photographers were limited in how close they could focus, and achieving high magnification often meant stacking diopters or wrestling with impractical setups that created poor image quality. The SMC changed everything. With a single, finely engineered lens, it became possible to achieve crisp, high-magnification shots that were previously out of reach. Suddenly, the tiniest of subjects, eyes of shrimp, textures on nudibranch rhinophores, the iridescent scales of fish became accessible in stunning detail.

This opened up an entirely new trend: super macro photography. For a period, competitions and magazines were awash with extreme close-ups of subjects that most divers would have never even noticed. Photographers competed to push the boundaries of detail, to the point where some images looked almost abstract. Like slow shutter, the style caught on because it was fresh, visually impactful, and only made possible by a leap in technology.

The SMC also set the stage for further innovation. Other manufacturers began creating their own high-quality diopters, and today super macro is a recognized sub-genre within underwater photography. It demonstrates how gear is not just a passive tool, but an active driver of fashion. Without the SMC, super macro might still be a fringe experiment. With it, it became a global movement.

Over recent years, the new Nauticam EMWL lens has allowed shooters to capture wide-angle shots of macro creatures. This has had a smaller impact on the trends of underwater photography than many thought would happen. This is due to two factors, in my opinion: the ultimate end image quality and the prohibitive price of the lens, which comes in at around 10,000 USD when all is said and done.

Destinations as Fashion Drivers

It isn’t just techniques and technology that set trends in underwater photography. Destinations themselves become fashionable, and with them comes a flood of imagery that defines the visual culture of the time. When a new or previously under-the-radar location opens up, photographers rush to capture it, and soon the dive community is flooded with shots from the same place.

A prime example is Magdalena Bay in Mexico. Once relatively unknown to the global diving scene, it has recently exploded onto the stage as a hotspot for striped marlin encounters. The combination of dramatic hunting action, bait balls, and cinematic water conditions has created a boom of images shared across social media and competitions. Over recent years, it seems you can’t open a diving magazine without seeing a shot from Magdalena Bay, and its aesthetic became a trend in itself. Other destinations have gone through similar waves of popularity. But one destination has also spawned a whole new type of photography.

Blackwater photography

Blackwater photography has also emerged as one of the most fascinating and fashionable trends of recent years, and nowhere has it taken hold more firmly than in Anilao, Philippines. By venturing offshore at night and drifting in the open ocean with lights suspended beneath the boat, photographers capture the surreal world of larval fish, pelagic invertebrates, and other creatures rising from the deep.

What was once considered a niche, experimental pursuit has become a major draw, with Anilao now regarded as the global capital of blackwater diving. The location’s unique currents and biodiversity provide a steady stream of bizarre and alien-looking subjects that consistently dominate competitions and magazine covers.

In many ways, blackwater photography epitomizes how trends develop: a handful of adventurous photographers began experimenting, word spread, destinations like Anilao tailored services around it, and before long the entire underwater photography community was buzzing with ghostly squid portraits and translucent larval fish. It shows how a destination, a technique, and a sense of fashion can converge to create a movement that reshapes the creative landscape of underwater imagery. The rise of Anilao as a blackwater destination also forced the hand of other famous macro destinations, such as Lembeh, to start doing this type of diving, as macro shooters were choosing Anilao due to offering day-time traditional macro and this new blackwater addition.

Blackwater photography is in decline in popularity, mainly because there is really only one way to shoot it. You get to the point where everyone has seen all the images and subjects before, and all you can do is a slightly better version, but inherently they are the same, so the popularity of these images declines as they lose impact. This type of photography shows more than most how important it is to be in the right place at the rise of a technique, and to master it early for your images to have the most impact.

The Importance of Awareness

So why does all this matter? Why should an underwater photographer care about fashion trends? The answer lies in balance. Being aware of trends allows you to understand what resonates with audiences, judges, and editors. It gives you the tools to stay relevant and ensures your work doesn’t feel outdated or disconnected from the current visual language. At the same time, blind imitation is a trap. Simply copying what’s popular leads to predictability, and predictability is the enemy of creativity.

Awareness means you can make conscious choices. You might decide to adopt a trend, but with your own twist, bringing originality to the familiar. Or you might choose to reject it deliberately, carving your own path and standing out precisely because you are different. Both approaches are valid, but both require you to understand what the trends are in the first place.

Competitions, in particular, are heavily influenced by fashion. Judges are human, and they are affected by what feels fresh. An image style that won everything five years ago may now feel dated, while something experimental might catch attention simply because it breaks the mold. Being aware of these dynamics is essential if your goal is to compete and be published.

As I said at the start of this article, as someone who teaches photo workshops, it is absolutely critical to be aware of trends, to have mastered the techniques behind them, and to be on top of all advances in technology, as these are the subjects I get questioned about the most, as they are at the forefront of people’s minds. As a teacher, what I think of the trend is largely irrelevant, as with all fashion, some will love it and others will hate it, but awareness and knowledge of all of them is key so you can decide on how to integrate them into your work.

Making the Most of Trends

The key to navigating photographic fashion is to treat trends as tools, not rules. Slow shutter, shallow depth of field, filters, and destination booms are all opportunities to experiment, learn, and refine your craft. But the best photographers don’t stop there. Ask yourself, “How can I make this mine? How can I push this further? How can I blend this with my own vision?”

One of the most effective ways to use trends to your advantage is to ride the wave early. If you notice a new destination or technique starting to get attention, get there before it’s saturated. Early adopters often reap the rewards of novelty. At the same time, there’s also power in returning to forgotten trends and reinventing them. Imagine taking an old-fashioned technique, like split-shots or black-and-white, and reimagining it with modern gear and your own artistic approach. Suddenly, what’s old becomes new again.

Networking within the community is another way to stay ahead. By paying attention to conversations among other photographers, whether online or at dive expos, you can sense where the winds are shifting. Following influential competitions and magazines also gives you insight into what styles are gaining traction. But perhaps most importantly, always remember that trends are temporary. Your personal diving and storytelling should always remain the heart of your photography no matter what trends are doing.

Conclusion 

Underwater photography, like all art forms, is shaped by fashion. Techniques such as slow shutter photography, shallow depth of field, and creative filters like vortex lenses each represent moments when the community's vision collectively shifts. Technological breakthroughs like the Nauticam SMC opened the door to super macro and completely reshaped what photographers thought was possible. Destinations like Magdalena Bay become epicenters of imagery, producing booms of content that define an era.

For photographers, being aware of these trends isn't about chasing popularity for its own sake, but about understanding them and using them to boost your portfolio and stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape. Trends are simply short-term hits; some will fade, others will return, and new ones will inevitably arise as technology and exploration push us further. Some you will love, and some you will look at with disdain, but understanding them is the key.

For the photographer, the challenge is not to be a slave to fashion, but to embrace it with awareness and use it as inspiration. In the end, the best images are those that feel both fresh and deeply personal, reflecting not just the trend of the moment but telling the story of what you see.