Welcome

Helping beginners to be winners, my life’s passion is to help newcomers to our underwater world, showing them how to gain confidence to take incredible underwater images FAST in an easy-to-understand way with your phone, a compact camera or Go Pro.  Here’s me doing what I love helping beginners believe that they can take beautiful images with an every-day compact camera at the Birmingham Dive Show, NEC, UK from 2005 to 2015.

Who Am I?

I struggled with underwater photography when I started out.  Red Filter or no filter, strobe or video light, what kind of lens or accessories do I need?  Wide-angle, 80, 120 degree or a Fisheye?  Flooded equipment, oh yes, that’s happened too.  I broke a lot of equipment, spent a HUGE amount of money, and still I didn’t get the image I wanted.  And so I vowed back in 2005 at the Dive Show at the Birmingham NEC, to help beginners just like me to share ALL of my knowledge and help them NEVER to make the same mistakes as I did.

And they SUCCEEDED.  Not just one or two, but my tips and techniques created over 20 prize-winning guests in just 10 years.  I linked up with PADI to launch the FIRST ever Digital Underwater Photography Course for Compact Camera Users in February 2006 with Emperor Divers in Egypt, and ever since then my guests kept ACHIEVING incredible images.

My book (the first of it’s kind dedicated to help compact camera users) which I pioneered back in 2010, has gone onto be an Amazon Bestseller and the 12th Best-Selling Book in the World on underwater photography.  I’ve helped over 20 guests starting out in their journey to win prizes across the globe and am the highest achieving female (and probably anyone) with a compact camera anywhere.

Did I have an SLR system at all?  Oh yes and I loved it for it’s speed – wow, you could simply keep your finger on that shutter and it would simply keep going and going, compared to my 3 megapixel Cybershot where I had to pan, fire and hope something sharp and identifiable would pop into the frame a looooong time after taking the picture!

Me Helping to Launch Mexico’s First Ever Dive Show in Cozumel and giving a talk on the incredible work of the Reef Environmental Education Foundation

My course guests have gone on to become compact camera champions themselves, winning so many prestigious awards such as The British Society Underwater Photographer’s Best Beginner, 8 Sport Diver Photo of the Months, Daniel Norwood is now an Editor for Dive PhotoGuide and Erick Higuera, has scooped The Vision of the Sea Howard Hall Award for Outstanding Achievement, toured with the Ocean Film Festival and his work was featured in the Blue Planet II, Planet Earth and is a National Geographic Explorer.  David Smith won Countryfile’s Photo of the Year and graced their Annual Calendar Cover.

So if you feel that I can help you take beautiful photographs, then don’t hesitate to drop me an email at thelittleoceanstudio@gmail.com. I’d really love to help share all my knowledge and experiences with you.

Wishing you lots of amazing adventures and can’t wait to see your photos.

Maria xx