✅ General

• You must be a current member of The Underwater Club to apply, and have passed the knowledge quizzes from our seven core photography courses with a score of 80% or higher.
• Use the same email address associated with your TUC membership when completing this form.
• The application fee is USD 250, which covers the time and attention provided by the Ocean Geographic editorial team.

📁 File Sharing

• Your download link must allow access without a password for at least 7 days.

Acceptable platforms include:

• • Google Drive (set to “anyone with the link can view”)
  • Dropbox (shared link without login)
  • OneDrive (public sharing)
  • FromSmash.com (free, no account required, files available for 7 days)

🖼 Image Preparation

• We recognise that image editing is part of the modern underwater photographer’s workflow. We do not impose strict editing limitations—but your images must remain true to nature. In particular:
  • No added elements or generative AI.
  • Composite images (double or triple exposures), panoramas, and focus stacks are accepted, provided all source images were taken at the same location, by yourself.
• Image requirements:
  • Format: JPEG, 1920px on the long edge, 300 dpi resolution.
  • Quality: Save at maximum quality (e.g. level 12 in Photoshop)
  • Colour space: sRGB or AdobeRGB
  • Filename format: FirstName-LastName-XX (e.g. Jane-Doe-01, Jane-Doe-02, …, Jane-Doe-10)
  • Sequence: Number your images in the order you want them viewed
• Our editors may contact you to request RAW files or full-resolution JPEGs to support the evaluation process, assessing the balance of in-water skills and post-processing skills.

📝 Captions

• Submit a separate caption file (Word, TXT or PDF) containing one caption per image, in the same order as your photos. You’ll also need a to introduce yourself, provide your bio, and tell us why you are an underwater photographer. 
• For each image you must include:
  • A title
  • A caption of 20–100 words describing:
    • The subject and location
    • Any notable behavior or context
    • State if the image results from combining of 2 or more photographs.
    • Why the image is special to you

🔎 What Happens Next

• If there is an issue with your submission (e.g. broken link, file error), we will contact you by email—please monitor your inbox.
• Once your portfolio has been reviewed:
  • You will be notified of the outcome.
  • You will receive written feedback, whether or not you have been granted an Ocean Geographic status.

📉 If your application is not successful, you will be eligible to reapply within 24 months at 50% of the original application fee.