Seamera

Why underwater photos look blue or green, and how to fix them on iPhone

Underwater photos look blue or green because water absorbs red light first, and the deeper or farther the subject, the more red is lost. You can reduce it while shooting by getting closer and shallower or adding light, and fix the rest afterwards by warming the colour. Correcting the whole photo the same way often turns people orange, so correct the water fully and people more gently.

Get Seamera on the App Store

For iPhone and iPad with iOS 15 or later. One purchase, no subscription.

What the water does to colour

Sunlight contains every colour. Water absorbs the red end of the spectrum first, which is why the ocean looks blue (NOAA). The light reaching your camera has passed through water twice, down from the surface and across to the lens, so both depth and distance matter. Particles in the water add a green or grey haze.

What the water takes first

  1. Red
  2. Orange
  3. Yellow
  4. Green
  5. Blue

Illustration, not to scale. Water absorbs red light first and blue last (NOAA), which is why a few metres down everything turns blue.

While you shoot

  • Get closer Less water between lens and subject means more red survives. Close and wide beats far and zoomed.
  • Stay shallow when you can Snorkel and shallow-reef shots keep far more colour than shots from deeper down.
  • Add light for close subjects A video light or strobe brings red back, but only within a short range.
  • Keep the original Fixing a well-exposed original is easier than fixing a dark one, so avoid under-exposing.

Fixing it afterwards

In the iPhone Photos app you can raise Warmth and move Tint towards magenta. This works for a single, evenly lit photo, but it applies the same change everywhere. Two problems follow:

  • People turn orange Skin close to the camera lost less red than the water behind it, so the warming that fixes the water overcooks the person.
  • Every photo needs its own setting Depth and distance change from shot to shot.

A dedicated underwater correction estimates the water colour per photo and corrects it. Seamera does that and, when it detects a person, applies a gentler version of the same correction to them so skin stays natural. Detection runs on the device; photos are not uploaded.

What correction cannot do

No app can bring back detail or colour the camera did not record. Very deep, very dark or very hazy shots will improve less. Expect "natural and believable", not "as if shot on land".

Keep your next dive in colour.

For iPhone and iPad with iOS 15 or later. One purchase, no subscription.

Get Seamera on the App Store

Guides

About the Seamera app How to colour correct dive video on iPhone without the colour pulsing

Sources

Reviewed 2026-10-30, o2one