An underwater photograph can be beautiful, technically accomplished and visually arresting. But what makes it real?
HOW REAL ARE YOU?
is not a question of status, experience or equipment. It is a question of authorship.
Many memorable underwater encounters begin with the knowledge and sharp eyes of a dive guide. Guides help keep photographers safe, understand the site, locate subjects and identify marine life that might otherwise remain unseen. That contribution is valuable and should be recognised.
But the photograph itself must belong to the photographer.
During REAL FOCUS, the entrant controls the camera, lighting, buoyancy, composition, timing and approach. Guides may locate and identify subjects, but they do not hold lights or snoots, position animals, arrange the surroundings or otherwise construct the image.
The subject remains where it chose to be. Its surroundings remain as they were found. Its natural behaviour is not interrupted for the sake of a frame.
The same principle continues during editing. Processing may refine the photograph, but it must not rewrite the event. The submitted unedited file and final edited image should tell the same truthful story.
REAL FOCUS is not asking photographers to be perfect. It is asking them to be honest.
That challenge belongs to everyone, from first-time entrants learning to trust their own eye to experienced image-makers refining a distinctive personal voice.
When you press the shutter, the answer should be clear:
GENUINE MOMENTS.
HONEST CHOICES.
AUTHENTIC IMAGES.
The Categories
Participants may submit up to five final edited images in each category. Every edited image must be accompanied by the corresponding unedited RAW file or files, supplied in the required submission format.
Macro Traditional, Macro Creative and Blackwater are open to all eligible participants. They are not professional or advanced divisions, and previous awards or publication experience are not required.
The Newcomer category has separate experience-based eligibility, but it is open to any camera system.
Best of Show
Best of Show is awarded to the single most outstanding image selected from all eligible category entries.
The winning photograph should combine ethical integrity, technical control, composition, originality and visual impact. Above all, it should feel complete: an image in which the photographer’s decisions, the natural behaviour of the subject and the truth of the encounter come together.
Macro Traditional
Macro Traditional celebrates the detail, character and natural beauty of smaller marine subjects.
Images should demonstrate thoughtful composition, controlled lighting, accurate focus and careful observation. Portraits, behaviour, habitat and close studies are all welcome, provided the image remains a truthful representation of the subject and scene.
The aim is not simply to record something small. It is to reveal form, texture, behaviour or personality in a way that draws the viewer closer.
Macro Creative
Macro Creative invites photographers to interpret the underwater world through imaginative in-camera techniques.
Approaches may include intentional motion blur, slow shutter speeds, reflections, unusual lighting, in-camera multiple exposures or abstract composition. The creative result must be produced underwater through the camera rather than created later through digital manipulation.
Experimentation is encouraged, but ethical boundaries remain unchanged. Creativity must never depend on touching, moving, chasing or distressing marine life, or altering its surroundings.
Blackwater
Blackwater celebrates the extraordinary life that rises through the open ocean after dark.
Entries should be photographed during blackwater dives and may feature pelagic larvae, translucent organisms, juvenile marine life and other subjects associated with the nightly vertical migration.
Strong Blackwater images do more than isolate a rare creature against the darkness. They use timing, lighting, focus and composition to reveal form, movement, behaviour or character within one of the ocean’s least familiar environments.
Newcomer
Newcomer is an open-theme category for developing photographers, regardless of the camera system they use. Compact cameras, mobile phones, mirrorless cameras and DSLR systems are all welcome.
The category is intended for photographers who have not previously won or placed in a recognised international photography competition and have not had an underwater image selected for editorial publication by an established print or digital media outlet.
Posting images on personal social-media accounts, having an image reposted or shared online, or receiving informal recognition through a local photography or dive club does not by itself disqualify an entrant.
Entries may explore any underwater subject or photographic style permitted under the competition rules. What matters is the photographer’s own observation, decision-making and ability to communicate something through the image.
Newcomer is not a lesser category. It is a place for photographers who are still building experience, confidence and recognition to show what they can already see.
Your REAL FOCUS Participant Benefit
Every REAL FOCUS 2027 participant will be upgraded to the 3SIXTY World tier for twelve months upon entry, providing preferred rates, early access and additional benefits across Solitude Liveaboards and Resorts.
Benefits are subject to availability and the applicable 3SIXTY programme terms.
EXPLORE YOUR 3SIXTY WORLD BENEFITS
ONE QUESTION. FOUR WAYS TO ANSWER IT.
HOW REAL ARE YOU?
See how each category can be interpreted. Visit BE INSPIRED for a selection of example images designed to spark your creativity.