Interview with the photographer who submerged Keira Knightley

A little girl in Jersey once begged her dad to buy her a camera and after some nagging he did: "It was one of those cameras that you pointed at people who were only 3 metres away but in the actual photograph appeared as a dot on the horizon! anyway I always took photos where ever I went," explained Candice.

Several years and many photographs later, Candice pioneered the art of underwater fashion photography and has helped save many lives in the process.

"I grew up near the sea and have always been a water baby so was quick to join a underwater photography course. It soon became apparent that competition was very strong with fellow underwater photographers so I decided to be different and shoot people and fashion underwater."

Before her career in underwater work began, Candice was in love with show jumping and for a while this was her full-time career. For years she was based over seas in Switzerland where she travelled to the rest of Europe. Later she moved to New Zealand, then Australia but at the age of 22 she returned to the UK due to ill health. Candice went back to education and took a place at the Plymouth College for Art and Design where she studied photography.

"I did a 2 year National Diploma in photography followed by  a Higher National Diploma and a PQE, but during my HND I was based mostly in London and was commissioned for fashion shoots at different magazines and agencies."

Somehow Candice managed to persuade Kodak and a travel agency to sponsor her on a trip to the Red Sea where she shot a portfolio of images in five days. She took a model, make-up artist and stylist who helped her create some very unique images that were unheard of at the time.

"I took some photographs of the model half in the water which were unique and on returning home British Airways bought everything I had shot. Soon I was flying on commissions all over the world shooting fashion and documenting behind the scenes in poor areas of Africa and India."

Fashion and beauty, in and out of the water, soon became a trade mark for Candice and  her work underwater lead her to help a charity whose mission is to provide clean water and sanitation to the world.

"Without water we can't survive and through my images and contacts with the famous I felt I could give back to the less fortunate in the world."

Candice had a vision to help save millions of lives which involved photographing the famous underwater. "They were happy to swim around a pool for a few hours to help and they also got a unique portrait out of it."

She produced a series of stunning images which featured international celebrities to highlight the lack of clean water in developing countries.

"The pictures of Keira Knightley have raised a huge amount of money and interest in the project," explained Candice.

The shoots take a lot of planning and a large team is always needed to create and produce concepts.

"Teamwork is always crucial as often you're working with clients and art directors from advertising agencies. You all have to work together to achieve a creative end result which pleases the client."

Her team of people can spend weeks planning a shot which normally only takes a few hours to produce. The celebrities are put into the water for around thirty minutes and they either come up for air on the surface or they have divers that feed them air.

"Sometimes they can be secured 5 or 6 meters down and in this instance it's easier and safer for divers to feed them air. It may seem a little scary but everyone who I've worked with has really enjoyed the experience."

If the model is underwater so too is the photographer and the job can be exhausting. Candice finds the weight of the tanks and weights make her extremely tired and the cold effects her too. An aching neck is also common practise due to her holding the same position with a heavy camera for long periods of time. She always protects her camera with aquatica housing but her choice of camera changes depending on the shoot.

"Each commission has an individual approach, depending on the end result will depend on the format shot on. This could be on 35mm (Nikon) for speed and candid, or for large format the Mamiya 67.  In the age of digital I was one of the first to invest in a digital back for my RZ, clients at first were really worried about the new technology but soon loved the results."

Lighting, colour and composition play a large part in creating her signature style and post-production work can often help with this. Candice doesn't see post-production work as a way to rectify a bad shot though, instead she sees it as a tool to create amazing end results.

"Underwater photography is magical, every time I take a picture I see something new. Every shoot brings out it own set of challenges, trials and excitement and I remember them all. Just remember to learn the rules and technical sides of photography then enjoy breaking them - just like I did."

For more information about Candice or the charity Fresh2O click on the logo.