Master Underwater Video: The RAID Action Camera Course with Jeff Goodman (Part 4 of 9)

Published 1 hour agoon June 12, 2026

Over the coming weeks, Jeff Goodman shares in part some key sections from his RAID Action Camera Video Course. Jeff has selected 9 extracts from the Underwater Video Course which will be published here at Scubaverse.com.

Part 4: Ambient Daylight Filming

The shoaling fish at the surface were taken in daylight only.

Using cameras underwater isn’t solely the realm of divers. You can also snorkel or freedive and get wonderful results. At or near the surface gives the most ambient light and rich colour. This is where you can set your action camera to full auto and let it do its thing without worrying about settings. Ultimately, this is what they were designed for and a great way to practise.

Auto exposure on action cameras is very quick to react in changing light, so if you are doing a shot that occasionally breaks the surface, the auto exposure will instantly compensate. As the focus is fixed, there are no issues there. In fact, with so much available light, the depth of focus will be at its greatest. The auto white balance will also be operating for best colour rendition.

A few rules apply to this area of filming, just as they do when below on scuba:

Hold the camera as steady as possible.
Keep checking your framing in the monitor.
Get as close as possible to your subject.
Think about the angle of your camera relative to the horizontal when filming half in and half out of the water. Experiment!
In addition, try to have something interesting on the surface rather than bland sky.

The images of a turtle on the deck of a wreck were taken while freediving at 9 metres. Ambient daylight only.

The tarpon shoal near the surface were again taken with ambient daylight only.

Next Week: Filming Other Divers with Lights

Find the full course at diveraid.com/action-camera.

Jeff Goodman

Jeff is a multiple award winning, freelance TV cameraman/film maker and author. Having made both terrestrial and marine films, it is the world's oceans and their conservation that hold his passion with over 10.000 dives in his career. Having filmed for international television companies around the world and author of two books on underwater filming, Jeff is Author/Programme Specialist for the 'Underwater Action Camera' course for the RAID training agency. Jeff has experienced the rapid advances in technology for diving as well as camera equipment and has also experienced much of our planet’s marine life, witnessing, first hand, many of the changes that have occurred to the wildlife and environment during that time. Jeff runs bespoke underwater video and editing workshops for the complete beginner up to the budding professional.