Split shots, often known as over-unders, are photographs taken half in and half out of the water. These photographs are particularly compelling because they connect our everyday environment with the underwater world, allowing non-divers to glimpse some of the stunning landscape and fauna that can be found just beneath the ocean's surface.
When striving to produce an intriguing and successful split-shot image, several aspects come into play. For best results, you'll need the right conditions, some basic equipment, and a thorough understanding of various camera settings and controls.
First and foremost, you'll need a wide-angle lens (if you are not using a GoPro Action Camera) with the widest possible field of view, which means fisheye lenses a 10 –17mm are great for this. This wide-angle lens will need to be housed under a dome port with the biggest diameter available. The larger the port, the easier it will be to keep the camera stable and set the dividing waterline across the image's center, separating the image into equal sections above and below the surface.
Attempting these shots with a camera with a flat lens with spacing of less than an inch between the camera lens and water is exceedingly challenging and should only be tried in calm conditions. A conventional 6-inch dome port will suffice for most DSLR users, but if you're shooting over-unders in rough seas and waves, you'll appreciate having as much surface area as possible. As a result, professional underwater photographers occasionally construct massive, custom-built dome ports to help alleviate the problem.
Once you've gathered all of the essential gear, the next step is to choose a location that's ideal for this type of shot. For the underwater portion, you'll need a subject close to the surface that's worth photographing, as well as an in-focus and well-lit above-water image. Shallow coral reefs offer some of the best split-shot opportunities, but they're hard to come by because most coral grows at depths below 15 feet because it's too warm for them above that.
Available light and water visibility are other essential elements, and if the weather is foggy or the water is particularly murky, you will struggle to acquire excellent photographs. When the sun is shining brightly and visibility is good, the depth of your composition should be no more than 15 feet, and for the best results, between 3 and 10 feet, so that the sun can illuminate both portions of the image.
The next issue is to create a good overall exposure by balancing the often significantly changing lighting conditions above and below the water. Shooting with the sun behind you will help, but always expose for the upper half of the shot, which is above the water. This will usually underexpose the darker underwater region of your image, but you can repair this in post-production because bringing out details in the shadows is very easy, whereas blown-out areas are impossible to fix.
Another issue is that optical distortions make the image's above-water section appear further away than the underwater picture. Normally, for wide-angle underwater photography, an aperture of f/8 would be a reasonable starting point, but utilizing this setting for splits will likely result in half of the image being out of focus. Close the aperture to roughly f/16 or f/22, which will increase the depth of field enough to ensure the entire image is sharp. Also, make sure your focus point is below the waterline, as while some blur is okay on the topside, the underwater portion of the photograph must be clear for optimum attractiveness.
Because you'll be shooting with a narrow aperture, you need bump up the ISO to compensate. Just be careful not to push your camera beyond its capabilities and introduce unwanted noise. Some cameras are considerably better at dealing with this than others, so it's critical to recognize your gear's limitations. By increasing the ISO, you can utilize a quicker shutter time, which helps reduce camera shake and fuzzy results. When you combine a rapid shutter speed with your camera's burst mode, you'll have a better chance of obtaining at least one successful image.
Tricks and Tips
Once you've located the ideal scene and dialed in the correct settings, there's just one more thing to worry about: watermarks interfering with the image's above-water portion. The truth is that there is no perfect technique for removing water droplets from your dome port's top half. Products designed to remove residue on car windscreens are only modestly successful since they soon lose their efficacy when submerged in seawater. Spread a little saliva on the top half of the dome port, then wash it off, similar to how many divers spit in their masks before a dive to keep them from fogging up. 
Droplets can also be reduced by immediately submerging the entire port, then bringing it up to the desired level and swiftly pressing the shutter. If you don't want to spit on your gear, dunk regularly and keep shooting! This technique results in a thin film of water covering the entire dome port, which will start to condense into droplets after only a few seconds, so dunk constantly and keep firing!
When it comes to photographing successful over-unders, as with most underwater photography disciplines, practice makes perfect. Find a quiet body of water to practice in, such as a pool or a lake, and once you've mastered the fundamentals in these settings, you'll be ready to take your new talents to the wide ocean. It's not easy to obtain the ideal split shot, but the rewards are definitely worth the work when you do.
Excellent quality, distortion free, well designed lens element from a company that actually uses and continually improves their innovations.
The membrane back plate system has been a game changer for me. Swimming in the ocean mainly around sunrises gives me the ability to change settings as the light changes. Being able to adapt to fast changing conditions is when the best work happens
Aloha I just got my trigger, I haven’t used it yet, hopefully tomorrow. I like the build and design, built strong and I know it’ll handle in big shore breaks on the north shore on Oahu Hawaii. The trigger mechanism works really well with my GoPro hero 10 camera. I like that there’s an option to put a little o-ring rubber for recoil on the trigger. The only downside I think of this trigger is that it’s on the heavier side. If you get pounded in big shorebreak, you’re going to have to hold it away from you, or you might get knocked out or seriously hurt if it hits your head. Other than that it’s a sick trigger design. Maybe in the future you guys can make a lighter trigger preferably with a stronger plastic or all aluminum?(same design) Just my thoughts here. Keep up the great work! Aloha Richard 😎🤙🏻
Had a few mobile domes before but all didn't last very long from rumble and tumble of travelling. GDome is super sturdy and its build real tough, so far so good!
Have been using the XL surf housing with the dome and flat port for a year or so now and it hasn't missed a beat. Over that time I've had different camera upgrades and I've not needed to change the housing which has been great. Solid and robust and the flexi back door is invaluable when you need to tweak camera settings.
I really enjoy using my phone under water with the GDome housing. Works very well, easy to use!
This review is a little bit biassed, as I am the cofounder and developer of the GDome XL range. I started using the GDome XL Surf with my 5D iii and am now using it exclusively with the Sony RX10 iv. The XL requires the 80mm extension port for the RX10 IV. I mainly shoot with the flat port on the 80mm extension port; it is easy to keep water droplets off, and I can still shoot split shots due to the gap between the camera lens and flat port. I have seriously pushed the housing in big, heavy waves, and yes, I only use the Flex back door. It is unbelievable how strong and flexible that membrane is! If you want to see more content, I have taken with the XL, or if you have any direct questions, hit me up on Instagram @BrettEagleZA
Good experience from start to deliver, awesome customer service, looking at add ons now !
Thank you so much for this amazing tool you’ve created! I love it and I can’t live without it now !
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