I found Alex and Dive4Photos by coincidence while I was doing my PADI Instructor Exam at Crystal Dive Resort.
Before coming to Koh Tao I had bought at ton of gear and my plan was to learn by myself how to use it all. But when I saw the poster for Dive4Photos and the PADI Dive Centre Pro Photographer Course I knew that was the perfect course for me. I told Alex I had a lot of gear and no idea how to even put it together. Alex showed me how to use it all from Macro, Super Macro, Wide Angel, Strobe, No strobes and even Magic Filters. At the end of the course we were supposed to photograph other divers. We had a great session with two divemaster interns, it was a ton of fun 

If you own a camera and underwater housing, Alex is definitely the guy you would want to teach you how to take better underwater photos :D If you don’t own a camera and are unsure if you want to buy some gear or not you should still take the course as Alex will teach you the basics of the gear (you can rent or borrow gear from Alex) and from that knowledge you can decide for yourself later if you want to buy something or not. If you want Alex could even help order the different pieces for you. My wife Wania and ended up buying a underwater housing, macro and wide angles lenses for her camera during the course :)

We got all the personal attention we needed, all the info and the guiding  Alex is a very good instructor, the course was fun and educational, and we got so much more out of this three week long course than we would ever imagined. Other similar courses that we’ve looked at that have been three times as expensive, shorter and more people per instructor. I am so great full for the course we had with Alex, my camera is now my best friend and no longer a complicated thing I just cannot figure out :) O`happy day :) And did I mention that we learned a lot? My husband and I did this course together and we really had fun, at times there were some competition between us. Macro, wide angle and taking photos of other divers, they were all good experiences; they all have their positive and negative sides. I thought I was just into macro, but now I have learned that all the other stuff has their attractions too. I`ve also gotten so much better in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop after doing the course with Alex. The course even inspired me to learn more general photo and more underwater photography techniques so I have gone wild on YouTube to learn even more about photo. Overall, we had a superb time; we learned a lot and did not spend too much money.
Thank you Alex.

This was my second visit to Alex. Was not disappointed at all. Alex is a true profesional, and has amazing level of knowledge and passion, both on and off the boat. Will be back next year…..

My first experience with underwater photography - one day course (explanations about camera and how to take best shots under water) and Alex made me think of coming back for a 3 weeks course...
He is such an easy going person, relaxed and patient and he is really good in explaining.
It was definitely a good choice to go to him to learn (or to start learning) underwater photography.

I was very impressed with Alex during my DUP course. He clearly knows cameras and how to make and adjust great shots underwater, as well as teaching beignet like myself how to do it. I've learned a great deal and had a wonderful time doing it, the result and photos I've taken during the course was way better than I'd imagined!!!



Thanks Alex for being one of the most professional and patience instructors I've ever seen. Will come back and do more with you soon!

Alex was an excellent tutor over the course of the 1x1 photo workshop I did with him. Right from dive and camera preparation to the technicalities of shooting underwater and the post processing workflow - very detailed and meticulous insights and am glad to say that I benefited tremendously from it.

I had 6 dives in 3 days including plenty of discussion and feedback time regarding my gear, techniques & photo shoots. The course was very much tailored to my needs and Alex was a mindful of information. He was patient and understood what i wanted and how to explain it effectively. He prioritised what was necessary to get the most out of my 3 days relative to what i was aiming to learn. It is a very different learning curve to standard photography and a large investment in equipment, so this private course was worth the investment in order to use the equioment effectively and maximise potential.

I've done a lot of scuba courses and also a 4 week long videography course and while all of these courses have been great I must say that the PADI Dive Centre Pro Photographer distinctive speciality I did with Alex Tyrrell have been the best! With his passion for photography and diving I learned so much! No question were to big or to small for him to handle which I think is one of the most important attributes you can have as a teacher.

During the 3 weeks of the course I learned more about photography than I could ever imagine, but also diving. Being a PADI Divemaster from before I thought I was a good diver but when holding a camera system with strobes and trying to do super macro in a slight current I found out that that was not the case! But with Alex's help I learned how to control myself in the water, not only buoyancy wise but also dive safety and eco awareness.



I highly recommend this course and any photography course with Dive4Photos to anyone who has a passion for photography and the sea.

Alex, was extremely professional and helpful. Right from our first correspondence via email, I realized he knew my camera well. He was able to give me exactly the right settings, I need for each diving experience, where I could make notes and then put this into practice during our dives, with his helping me underwater as well.

I've just come back from a week spent with Alex on Koh Tao. I'm a beginner diver and I have a compact camera in an underwater case. I have taken photographs diving but was disappointed with the quality of them and wanted to find ways to improve my pictures.

I contacted Alex by email beforehand and explained my situation to him, he recommended I get a bit more practice diving and do the Peak Performance Buoyancy course with him before doing the PADI digital underwater photography course and then having some follow up sessions. This was very good advice as one of the key skills, I know now, for any underwater photographer is buoyancy control. Alex was very flexible in his teaching style, we covered all the basics of underwater photography and I had the opportunity to use some of his equipment eg a wide angle wet less. Once we'd covered the basic theory we spent time reviewing my photographs before going out again diving. Alex is an enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable photographer, I felt it was an invaluable experience to be taught by someone with his level of expertise.



Problems such as a crowded dive boat one day were dealt with promptly and Alex even answered some questions I had once I came home.

I participated in Dive4Photos macro photography workshop/trip to Anilao, Philippines from 26 Feb - 7 Mar 14. It was amazing! The resort Alex selected was great--good food, totally relaxing atmosphere, great dive sites, fabulous service in the dive shop, and a room dedicated to u/w photographers. The class sessions Alex led each afternoon really helped me improve my underwater photography skills and my Lightroom processing knowledge. I took copious notes in each class so that I could remember everything next time I get to go diving! He also introduced our group to fluoro diving--which was very interesting. I hope I have the opportunity again to participate in one of Alex's future workshops!

I really enjoyed the diversity of the dive sites and individual subjects to shoot. A bit more underwater instruction would be helpful for those of us that are still learning : ) it was a wonderful experience that I would absolutely repeat.

I met Alex at a dive photo workshop at Anilou, Philippines at the Crystal Blue dive resort, Feb/Mar 2014. From the first moment I met him, I was very impressed by his enthusiasm. He was very motivated to share his knowledge and experience. It was pouring out of him every moment on the boat, every moment on land. Alex is extremely approachable on any topic, there is nothing you could ask him that would give him pause or erase his smile. Even when we were working on our own gear, if he overheard a conversation about this or that not fitting or how is this supposed to work, he would drop what he was doing to dive into our midst to make himself available and helpful. Never pushy, always aware of our personal space, Alex was the most smiling enthusiastic person that we could have ever wished for. Absolutely no question was too small, too silly, too technical for him to tackle. In a very friendly way he was always asking to see my images, offering positive feedback, no matter how shy I was about offering my efforts for inspection by such a seasoned professional. We achieved significant benefits from the morning image review from the previous day. Always laughing, joking, smiling, a real pleasure to be around. Even during surface intervals Alex was there for every diver, no matter how experienced at photography or (in my case) not. Even the outstanding experience of host Mike and his staff at Crystal Blue was enhanced by the presence of Dive4Photos. If there was a rating above 5 stars I would gladly award it.

This workshop with Dive4photos was the trip of a lifetime! I've been an underwater

"picture taker" for 20 years, starting with a sea and sea MX10 film camera, and gradually moving up to digital point and shoots. I have a pile of books on underwater photo by my bedside that I always review before each trip. It has never quite sunk in.



I went to this workshop with Alex Tryrrell and Mike Bartick with the goal of finally feeling like I was a photographer, not just a picture taker. I bought a new better camera, and wanted to have a sense that my photos were more a result of skill than luck.



The workshop was incredible. It was small and the group spent meals and relaxing time together while not diving. Every morning we had a photo review where Alex and Mike would review photos from the day before. Included in the review were positive aspects of each picture and suggestions on how to improve. Photo reviews were always done in a supportive and encouraging manner. Each day we had a presentation on composition, animal behavior, or ways to improve our photos. We also spent a little time learning some Lghtroom basics to edit our photos.



Alex was always around and always delighted to answer questions and make suggestions. He was also able to recognize an error in the new camera manual and get my camera to work correctly. He is a great teacher and made confusing concepts (like f stops) easier to understand. He is passionate about the ocean and protecting it's inhabitants.



My photo abilities improved dramatically on this trip. Between my new knowledge and the new camera, I'm ecstatic about so many of my pictures. Pictures I never dreamed I could've gotten have filled up my computer. I look at them everyday and continue to say WOW!!! I really took that picture????



I'm excited about taking future workshops with Dive4photos. I would totally recommend Divd4photos to anyone , of any level, interested in improving.

If you like to learn about underwater photography, I can highly recommend you to get in contact with Alex at Dive4photos.