<p>I had my first encounter with underwater photography on a cruise back in July, I found a waterproof case for my phone and ended up getting a few good shots, but the cover was clunky and hard to use (I missed about half of the shots because my phone wouldn't register my touch through the case underwater.) So when I had the chance to use a real underwater camera on a few different trips over the last couple of months, I realized how much fun it was to have a dedicated camera that could take really good shots underwater.</p><p>If you're on the fence about the purchase of an actual waterproof camera, here's a few of the shots I got from snorkeling in the Caribbean, the beach, and a pool in the Outer Banks, NC. It gives you a whole other option when it comes to vacation photos after all, when you're vacationing on the beach, most of the fun is in the water anyway.</p><p>When shooting underwater photos there's a few things to remember first, it's darker under there. Unless you've got white sand below you and a bright sun above, your pictures may come out darker than what you'd like. You can solve this by either turning up the ISO or simply lightening them in post-processing. If the camera has a dedicated underwater setting, use it because it takes into account the differences in shooting underwater automatically.</p><p>The second thing to remember is that things underwater are in a different place when viewed from above the water, if you're simply snapping photos underwater without your eyeballs underwater looking through your viewfinder there's a chance you'll end up getting a toe, a fish tail or maybe nothing at all. *insert a bunch of scientific stuff about water and refractive index here* Take this little nugget into account when shopping for an underwater camera: is the viewfinder bright enough to see underwater and through goggles?</p><p><a href="http://www.babble.com/travel/20-underwater-photos-to-inspire-your-next-beach-vacation/">Keep reading...</a></p>