Yes, You Can Get Underwater Photos — Here Is How It Works
Some moments genuinely deserve proof: your first breath underwater, a sculpture park twelve metres below the surface, fish eating from your hand. On every Side Diving trip, underwater photos and video are available as an optional extra. The service is not automatic — you arrange it, ideally at the moment you book — and the price is quoted on request, depending on what you want. It is a small addition to the day, but for most first-time divers it is the part of the holiday they still show people years later.
Who Actually Takes the Pictures?
Not you — at least not on your first dive, and that is a feature, not a limitation. A beginner underwater has a wonderfully full to-do list: breathe slowly, equalise the ears, watch the instructor, keep track of buoyancy. Adding a camera to that list is how people end up with forty blurry photographs of their own fins. When you arrange the photo option, the pictures are taken for you while you concentrate on the one job nobody can do for you: enjoying the dive.
If you are a certified, experienced diver travelling with your own camera, tell us in advance when you reserve — we can advise what is practical on the trip you have chosen and how it fits the guided group.
The Honest Truth About Phone Pouches
We are asked constantly: can I just take my phone down in a waterproof pouch? Our honest answer: please do not count on it. Those pouches are designed for the pool and for splashes at the surface — not for the afternoon dive at 12 to 13 metres. Down there, three things go wrong at once. Pressure squeezes the pouch tight against the glass, and touchscreens become erratic or stop responding entirely, so even a surviving phone often cannot take a picture. One imperfect seal means a flooded phone and a lost camera roll of your whole holiday. And most importantly, fiddling with a bag of electronics steals exactly the attention your instructor wants you to keep on breathing and balance.
A pouch may be fine for snorkelling at the surface. As a dive camera at depth, it is a gamble with poor odds — which is precisely why an arranged photo service exists in the first place.
The Best Photo Backdrops on Our Trips
- The Side Underwater Museum — around 110 sculptures at roughly 12 metres form the most distinctive backdrop on this coast, and hand-feeding the fish adds genuinely lively scenes. See the Underwater Museum trip.
- Antalya reefs and caves — dramatic rock formations, shafts of light and shoals of fish on the Antalya trip.
- Kemer — this cluster is known for some of the clearest water we dive, which cameras love. See Kemer scuba diving.
How to Look Good in Your Dive Photos
- Move slowly. Slow divers look calm and elegant; fast divers look like they are falling.
- Exhale for the camera. A rising column of silver bubbles is the classic dive portrait.
- Look at the scenery, not the lens. Natural beats posed at twelve metres, and your mask hides half a smile anyway — smile with your posture.
- Sort your mask early. Clear it before the photo moment, not during it.
- Let the fish come to you. Chasing them empties the frame; staying still fills it.
Snorkelers and Non-Divers
Plenty of guests come along as visitors or snorkelers at a reduced rate — a partner watching from the surface, older kids, or friends who simply prefer the deck. If someone in your group would love pictures of the day too, mention it when booking and we will tell you what is possible on your date and trip.
How to Arrange It
Simply mention photos or video when you reserve. Reservations are free, you pay on the day, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours in advance — so asking costs you nothing. We will confirm the price for the option you want before your diving day. Already booked and forgot to ask? Send us a message and we will see what can be arranged for your date. And if you are still choosing where to make those memories, all five full-day trips are on the tours page.
