Let the animal lead.
Underwater macro photography rewards patience. A useful photograph shows something clearly: a feature, a pattern, an interaction or an animal in its surroundings. The subject does not need to be disturbed or repositioned to make the encounter worth recording.
Our guiding principle is observation with care. Completing a collection or earning an achievement should never depend on provoking behaviour, handling wildlife or taking a specimen.
Name what the evidence supports.
Common names help people begin; scientific names help connect records across regions and references. We want to show both, while keeping synonyms linked to the same species where the taxonomy supports that relationship.
A striking close-up can leave important identifying features outside the frame. Supporting views of the same animal can help, alongside the declared location, habitat and date. Colour or a familiar common name alone may leave more than one plausible identification.
Where a species cannot be resolved, a genus, family or species-group identification can still be a useful record. Uncertainty should be visible and open to improvement. We use specialist references such as the World Register of Marine Species when researching accepted marine names.
Keep the encounter useful.
A helpful encounter record connects the photograph to its context. What was visible? Where and when was it observed? Which features support the identification? What remains uncertain?
For the platform in development, we are treating the selected portfolio image and its supporting encounter evidence as related parts of a record. People should be able to show their best work without losing the notes that make an observation useful.
Privacy belongs in that design too. A person may want to share a photograph while keeping their precise location, private notes or future travel arrangements within a chosen audience.
A location needs context.
A destination photograph should state where it was taken when that information is available. An image taken elsewhere can illustrate a species, but it cannot establish that the photographed animal was encountered at the destination being described.
Our guide development distinguishes broad geographic ranges from named-site records. A published report is a starting point for learning, rather than a promise of a sighting. Conditions, seasons, access and the quality of the underlying information all deserve attention.
Keep the photographer in the picture.
Photography is creative work. Images on this company site carry creator and license information, with source links and any preparation changes listed on the image credits page.
Reference photographs introduce the subject of Macro Diving. They do not represent member uploads, competition winners, commercial inventory or an endorsement by the photographers.