419 Dive Log Australasia AUGUST 2026

Diver and model photos www.mikescotland.com.au Text and photos by Mike Scotland A good model is so hard to find. I have fortunate to have been able to have a model pose for me about once or twice in a thousand dives. When you get a great model, it is pure gold? Imagine a streamlined talented dive model who knows what to do and can visualise how she might look in the photo and does it effortlessly. Kevin Deacon says A good model is the hero of U/W photo capture.

Above: You construct this image using the foreground, mid ground and background principle of composition. Balance light on the Wobbe and diver. You need to pre plan the shot with the divers in a pre dive photo brief.

A lot of divers cannot do underwater modelling! They do things that ruin the photo. A good diver model is invaluable. Someone who knows how to pose, what to do and how to visualise the photo inside the camera has a rare gift that I for one value greatly. They make it look so simple! The problem is that they are one in a million. The human interest they add is so important. What not to do Some of the classic ways that a diver model can totally ruin photos are worth looking at. The point is to tell your model what not to do.

• The amputee effect. This is when a horizontal diver swims toward the camera. The diver appears to have their legs chopped off • The all neck upside down gaze is never appealing. It is unnatural. • The disinterested or uncomfortable look ruins the photo no matter how excellent it is technically. • The eyes must be pointing at the point of interest. I cannot stress how important this is. A good model will take the viewer to the subject and helps to create the point of interest. The eyes

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Dive Log Australasia #419 August ’26

www.divelog.net.au