Photographer Breaks the Record for Deepest Underwater Shoot

Photographer Breaks the Guinness World Record (Again) for Deepest Underwater Portrait Shoot

By Regina Sienra on December 10, 2023

woman underwater in maroon dress for for the deepest underwater portrait shoot

Back in July, photographer Steve Haining and model Ciara Antoski broke the Guinness World Record for the deepest underwater photoshoot. At 32 feet underwater, it was a mind-boggling feet. Now, the pair have outdone themselves with an even more daring stunt. Haining and his team went back to the waters of Tobermory, Ontario—Canada's shipwreck capital—and held a portrait shoot at nearly 100 feet.

This achievement was once again awarded the Guinness World Record. “The photoshoot took place at the bow of the Niagara II Shipwreck, which sits at a depth of 30 meters (98 feet),” they write. “The entire attempt underwater including cleanup, equipment removal and safety stop lasted just over 30 minutes, while photoshoot itself was 16 minutes long.”

Having earned worldwide attention from their original attempt, which took place during the pandemic as a tongue-in-cheek response to the closure of pools, they set out to try again. This time they wanted to go deeper with the help of an extra boost. After Fujifilm hired Haining as their underwater DOP, the company asked him and his team what they were up to. “We explained that we were planning on going back to Tobermory one day to do another photo shoot,” Haining told DIY Photography. “We wanted to continue the series. Fujifilm asked us the details and how deep we would go the next time. We picked a number 100 feet (30 meters)… 100 feet, can we do it? The response we got from the Fuji team was amazing, and we knew right then that we had to do it again sooner rather than later. We had our eyes set on a shipwreck that’s at exactly 100 feet.”

But with a deeper setting came new technical challenges. Haining previously relied on AquaTech's underwater housing for his camera, which are only rated for 30 feet. Despite this limitation, he wanted to test out the gear. Lighting company Nanlite also caught wind of the project and provided Haining with lights for the shoot. These were also only rated at 32 feet, but the company was curious if they would still work, or if they would survive the deep climb at all.

In the end, Haining and his team, which include Mareesha Klups and Mario Medarevic, made the most of what they could acquire. They spent several weeks warming up prior to the date of the shoot. And while the summer lighting certainly helped fight the loss of yellows and oranges at such depths, they went with a bright red dress for Antoski, which cuts a dramatic picture over the rusty tones of the Niagara shipwreck and the chilly blue of the water.

You can see more pictures from this breathtaking photoshoot, below. To stay up to date with Haining, follow him on Instagram.