Creative Underwater Photography: Chad Cannon’s SWIMMER Cover with Outex

Flex your creativity. Explore new environments. Create distinctive images with the camera and lenses you already own.

Creative underwater photography can turn a familiar setting into an unexpected story. For a photo shoot with composer, violinist, and Masters swimmer Chad Cannon, a swimming pool became a portrait studio, bringing his passions for music and swimming together beneath the surface. The resulting imagery featured on the July–August 2026 cover of SWIMMER magazine.

For photographers and filmmakers, the opportunity goes beyond a single cover shot: new environments can inspire new perspectives, portfolio work, and services for clients. Outex camera housings help make those environments accessible without starting over with a different camera system.

From the Swimming Pool to SWIMMER Magazine

Chad Cannon is an Emmy-nominated composer, accomplished violinist, and passionate Masters swimmer whose work includes the Oscar-winning documentary American Factory and the acclaimed video game Ghost of Tsushima.

His two passions, music and swimming, presented an unusual photographic opportunity. At the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, California, we brought those worlds together in a creative underwater portrait session.

Imagine a violinist, fully dressed, appearing to perform beneath the surface. Sunlight patterns cross the pool floor, reflections reshape the scene, and a familiar portrait becomes something unexpected. The setting tells a story about the subject rather than simply providing a backdrop.

The images helped illustrate Chad’s story on the cover of the July–August 2026 issue of U.S. Masters Swimming’s SWIMMER magazine.

Read “The Sound of Swimming” in SWIMMER magazine →

Creative Underwater Photography Beyond Marine Life

Underwater photography isn’t just for marine life and scuba divers. Water offers a different visual language for portraits, movement, fashion, and sport. Reflections, suspended motion, and changing light can make even a pool feel unfamiliar.

Consider how these perspectives could support your next project:

• Portraits and weddings: Create artistic underwater portraits that offer a different perspective from a traditional session.
• Music and entertainment: Develop distinctive imagery for album covers, promotional campaigns, and music videos.
• Sports and fitness: Photograph swimmers, surfers, and athletes at water level or beneath the surface.
• Fashion and advertising: Explore flowing fabrics, reflections, unusual lighting, and the appearance of weightlessness.
• Events and travel: Extend your creative options into rain, sand, dust, mud, and splashing water with appropriately configured protection.

Working in more environments can broaden your portfolio and the services you offer. The goal isn’t simply to get your camera underwater. It’s to choose a perspective that makes the story stronger.

Your Existing Camera, New Creative Possibilities

You don’t need to replace your familiar camera system to explore underwater photography. Outex’s lightweight, modular camera housings provide waterproof protection for compatible camera-and-lens configurations, helping you bring equipment you know into new environments.

Our patented universal system offers:

• Broad camera and lens compatibility: A configurable system for DSLR, mirrorless, and professional camera setups. Choose the components that fit your equipment.
• Professional optical glass ports: Real glass between your lens and the scene.
• Tactile camera control: Access camera buttons, dials, and settings through the flexible housing.
• Modular accessories: Options for lighting, triggers, tripods, tethering, and more.
• Lightweight, compact protection: A versatile approach to shooting underwater and around rain, mud, dirt, dust, and sand.
• Reusable components: Adapt your setup as your equipment and creative needs evolve, rather than replacing an entire system each time.

Before a shoot, confirm compatibility, assemble and test your housing according to its instructions, and plan safe conditions for everyone involved. The right setup supports the creative idea without leaving equipment preparation to chance.

Bring Your Next Underwater Photo Idea to Life

Chad Cannon’s underwater photo shoot is a reminder that a distinctive image can begin with a personal story and an unexpected setting. For your next portrait, campaign, or sports project, consider what a different environment could reveal about your subject.

Whether you’re expanding your portfolio or developing a new service for clients, Outex helps you explore those possibilities with equipment you already know and love.

Explore Outex camera housings and find your setup →

Outex offers worldwide shipping. Nami, our multilingual AI photography assistant, is available 24/7 to help you explore options for your camera, lenses, and creative ambitions.

Where will your creativity take you next?