The photograph that won Cruz Erdmann the title of Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Bigfin reef squid, Indonesia. Photo / Cruz Erdmann
The photograph that won Cruz Erdmann the title of Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Bigfin reef squid, Indonesia. Photo / Cruz Erdmann
Cruz Erdmann, a 14-year-old student at Westlake Boys High School, Auckland, won the Natural History Museum's international award for Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019.
As part of our Next Generation issue, we asked Cruz to give us his best tips for underwater photography.
1. Perfect your buoyancy usingonly your lungs
This is by far the most important skill to me as an underwater photographer. By using your lungs you change your position in the water with precision and accuracy. That will prevent you from crashing into the reef, stirring up debris or scaring off your subject.
Fine-tuning your buoyancy in the water will also allow you to get much closer to your subject.
The ocean, and especially coral reefs, have an incredible array of species and environments within even a few square metres. There's always something else to try to photograph.
4. Observe your subject animal, and become familiar with its behaviours
Understanding your subject beforehand allows you to predict its movements, know which habitat to find them in, and any other challenges or quirks they offer.
5. Always keep the eyes in focus
Everything else around could be out of focus but if you have the eyes in focus, it will still look good. I have never seen a good animal photo were the eyes are not in focus.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition showcasing Cruz's winning image and many more is at Auckland Museum from Friday, February 28-Sunday, May 10 2020.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
