1.   Read lots of reviews of cameras used by keen amateur underwater photographers before deciding on the model of camera to purchase, making sure that it has features such as manual white balance. (Learn how to use this feature in the next article.)

2    Unless you intend to dive only in shallow clear blue waters, consider buying a camera that has a housing to which you can attach an external strobe.

3.   Buy the largest memory card that your camera will take – not only for its storage capacity but for the speed of processing, to avoid frustrating delay between shots.

4.   Read the manual thoroughly and get to know your camera on land, with and without the housing, until the positioning of the essential buttons and navigating between functions becomes automatic.

5.   Practice with different settings – automatic program or manual, switch between flash on and off, shift between macro and regular distance photographs until you understand the benefits of the different modes in varying conditions and can navigate with ease.

6.   Prepare your camera and housing in a clean indoor area, making sure that the O ring is lubricated and properly sited to form a perfect seal.

7.   Don’t expose the housing to hot sunshine before diving as this will cause condensation inside the case.

8.   Don’t subject the camera to sudden pressure changes that can disturb an O ring. Get someone to pass you the camera once you are in the water, and similarly pass it out of the water at the end of a dive.

9.   If possible dive with a buddy who is also into underwater photography. (Or one who has a lot of patience!)

10.  Dive frequently and regularly to learn the limits of your camera, improve your skills, and increase your chances of getting that magical shot.

11.  Choose sites that are easy to dive and concentrate on one small section of the site.

12.  Try to fill the viewfinder with your subject by getting as close as you can, thus reducing the thickness of water column between yourself and the focal point as much as possible.

13.  Take your time. With a bit of patience, shy subjects will become accustomed to you and will let you get closer.

14.  Avoid placing the main subject in the middle of the frame. Move it slightly towards the side of the image.

15.  Try to get at least one eye of your subject in the shot, rather than take from above or behind, to make your photos more engaging.

16.  Check the composition of your shot, not forgetting unwanted bubbles in the background. Try to position yourself so that the background is uncluttered.

17.  Practice with sedentary subjects before trying to capture fast moving targets. Scorpionfish are great for sitting still while you snap away and anemones and nudibranchs make good macro subjects.

18.  If you use an external strobe, position it as far out as possible so that its axis points away from the axis of the lens to reduce back-scatter

19.  Information is automatically saved about the aperture, shutter speed, and white balancing in every photo document. Analyse this when you download to your PC, to help you learn what works best for different shots under different conditions.

20.  Most of all – just experiment and have fun. The beauty of digital underwater photography is that you can snap away and learn quickly through trial and error!