For Photographers
How do I edit underwater photos?
Underwater photo editing is fundamentally about restoring the color, contrast, and natural skin tones that water has filtered out during the capture process, and it requires a slightly different approach than standard portrait editing. The single most important technical step is to shoot in RAW format, which preserves far more color information and gives you maximum flexibility in post-processing. Before you begin editing, set a custom white balance using either a color reference slate or a neutral gray fabric captured at the same depth as your subject; this gives you an accurate baseline to work from.
The most common challenge is removing the cyan-green color cast that water creates, which can be effectively addressed using the HSL panel and color-grade tools in Lightroom or Capture One to selectively shift the unwanted greens and blues back toward natural skin tones. Our proprietary underwater Lightroom presets, combined with our detailed online course 'How To Edit An Underwater Portrait Photo,' provide a complete, repeatable workflow that we have refined over hundreds of sessions. Frequency separation in Photoshop is often the next step for high-end retouching, allowing you to address skin texture and tone independently for a polished but still natural finish.
Dodging and burning along the directional flow of water and fabric can dramatically enhance the sense of motion and depth in your final image. Removing backscatter and stray particles is best handled with a combination of the spot healing brush, clone stamp, and content-aware fill, working at 100 percent zoom for precision. Always work on a calibrated monitor in a controlled lighting environment, because underwater images are exceptionally sensitive to inaccurate color rendering. Finally, develop a consistent color palette across your portfolio so that every image feels recognizably yours, which is one of the strongest marketing assets any photographer can build.