I’m happy to see your responses to my questions and the wonderful feedback you have received.
I had specialized in black and white land photography before I became a diver. Once I saw the beautiful underwater world I knew I needed a camera and needed to switch to color. My first camera was an Aqua Shot that takes throwaway cameras.
Now they have throwaway underwater cameras.
Please do not spend any more money than that as a beginner diver. As already mentioned – you will loose a few.
Absolute minimum you need to know to shoot underwater. Your flash will not travel more than 5’. Everything looks bigger and closer than it is – so you must get close – very close – to your subject. Do not shoot down. Most critters are colored so that they blend in with their background.
Use the mantra: Get down – get close – shoot up.
I think you will be surprised at how well you can do with a throwaway and you will not be worried all the time about loosing or damaging an expensive outfit.
For a lot of people it takes many dives to get your buoyancy controlled. The reason so many divers get angry with u/w photographers is that they (we) tend to damage the environment while struggling to get THE shot. Please start out being a conscience diver by not touching anything.
Good luck.