Where a tail comes alive

Out of the water a tail is something you wear. In the water it is something you move, and the moment it starts answering you, you stop wearing a costume and become the mermaid.

In the studio, the first frames come up on a screen while you’re still in the water, and watching yourself turn into one of these pictures is usually the moment the nerves go.

Justin and Abbey are both in the water with you. Abbey, a PADI Mermaid Instructor and a freediver, coaches your breath-hold and your movement, and Justin talks you through every frame.

A mermaid with a pale pink tail rests on the bow of a sunken ship in deep blue water, sunbeams falling from above.

Two mermaids, one in a green tail and one in a pink and orange tail, swim among sunken stone columns in blue water.

A mermaid with a blue and copper tail reaches an arm up as she rises through a sandy canyon between reef walls.

A mermaid in a flowing blue tail swims beside a whale shark through open blue water with small fish around them.

Justin Lutsky is a total professional. Always responsive, on time, with great follow up, he is also extremely talented, creative and super easy to work with. His calm and thoughtful manner makes the day fun and stress-free. I would recommend him to anyone!
Hannah Mermaid Fraser
I did my first underwater shoot with Justin this past year at Mermagiccon! He is very easygoing and makes the photoshoot process a fun and comfortable experience. Not to mention his photos are AMAZING!
Jordan McEachin, MerMagic Con
Shooting underwater can leave even the most experienced model feeling like a 'fish out of water'! Submerge is a pleasure to work with — patient, humble, and most importantly, they get the shot!
@OrangeCountyMermaid, Professional mermaid

Learn to move like a mermaid

A tail changes how you move, so movement is the first thing we teach. Your body becomes one flowing line from shoulder to fin, and every movement rolls through it like a wave. A frame takes a few seconds underwater, and you come up whenever you want to rest.

A person in a gold harness and a red and white tail floats head back through a kelp forest, sunbeams and their reflection above.

Choose your tail

Realistic tails and tops from our own collection are yours to rent, and we’ll talk through which one suits the picture you have in mind. Already have a tail of your own? Bring yours, and we’ll build the picture around the tail you love most.

A mermaid in a pearl and pastel tail floats arms out beneath the surface with a light glowing behind her, in black water. A woman with long locs in a turquoise shell top and a pale green tail floats with her eyes closed and one arm raised in sunlit blue water.

Where we shoot

A pool, a spring, the open ocean, or the rocks at the water’s edge. Wherever there’s water, the tail comes alive.

A mermaid in a red tail and red top reaches up between flower-draped swing ropes in a bright pool, seen from above.

The studio pool, Fullerton

Heated to 90°F, so you stay warm from the first frame to the last. Your own playlist plays underwater while you work, and a screen at the edge of the pool shows the frames we just shot. Watching yourself become one of these pictures is usually the moment the nerves go. A second feed runs to the living room, where whoever came with you can watch. There’s a private changing room and a bathroom. See the studio.

This is the most predictable water we work in: the same conditions every session, whatever the weather. The most stylized sessions happen here: high fashion, fine art, and any picture with a lot to get right in one frame. If you haven’t done this before, this is the water to start in.

A mermaid with a purple and pearl tail rests on a rock in a dark cenote, her head just above the surface, jungle palms overhead.

Springs and cenotes

Springs and cenotes hold the clearest water we ever work in. Limestone walls and cavern mouths stand behind you, and light comes down through the opening in beams with crisp edges. Some drop away into the deep. Others are shallow enough to capture the floor, the surface and the trees standing above them in one frame.

A spring is the hybrid. It looks like nowhere you could build, and the water behaves like the studio: the temperature holds, the visibility holds, and the water stays calm. Choose a spring when you want the natural version and a day you can plan.

A mermaid in a magenta tail floats upright with one arm raised among nurse sharks and yellow reef fish over white sand.

The ocean

Kelp forests run up toward the light. A reef opens out behind you, sunlight breaks apart as it comes down through the surface, and fish move through the shot while we work. Out here an animal can swim into the frame and change the picture entirely. We have photographed people in the water with sharks and with mantas, close enough that the animal is the second subject.

An ocean session is an adventure. Conditions decide what the day looks like, and a large part of what we do out here is read the water and build the shot around it. The frame nobody planned is often the one you end up printing.

An open water session runs somewhere we have already dived and scouted, which out here is a safety decision before it is a creative one. We bring a team of safety divers, sized to the location, and every client rehearses the session in the pool before it goes anywhere near open water. Choose the ocean when you want the pictures to feel wild.

A mermaid in a flower crown and a rainbow tail lies on a rock at the water's edge, green trees behind her.

On land

We shoot on land as well, and what matters is choosing a place big enough for the character. Laguna’s coastline puts surf breaking white over black rock behind you, in a forest the light comes down in shafts between the branches, in the desert at the end of the day the ground goes gold, and at a lake’s edge at dawn the mist lies on the water.

A mermaid with long purple hair and a purple striped tail reaches toward pink-lit surface water above a coral reef.

Start to finish

A mermaid with a purple tail hangs in front of a tall bookshelf in a ruined brick room, one hand at her chin.

Plan it

Get in touch to book a consultation. We get to know you and your project, then plan the session with you down to the creative details, including the best time and place to shoot, anywhere in the world.

A mermaid in a white and violet tail floats head back above a sandy floor lit pink and blue.

Shoot it

Our goal is to transform you into a stunning work of art, and to make the day itself fun, collaborative and safe, so you can be at your best. You should leave having created images that make you feel great about yourself and about what you can accomplish.

A mermaid in a teal and orange tail floats on her back on black water, arms out, the surface rippling above her.

Deliver it

We share previews of every image captured during your session. You pick your favorites, and every one you choose goes through our creative editing process.

The water is warm The pool is heated to 90°F, so you’re comfortable from the first frame to the last.
Coached on the day Justin and Abbey are both in the water with you. Abbey coaches your breath-hold and your movement, and Justin talks you through every frame.
A few seconds underwater A frame takes one short breath-hold, and you rest at the surface in between.

After the shoot

Your digital gallery

Your private proofing gallery goes up within a week of the session, and the finished images follow four to six weeks after you’ve made your selections.

Art for your wall

We believe every image is a piece of art, one-of-a-kind and made to hang proudly on your wall. They hold up at gallery size because the frames were shot and finished for it, on canvas, on metal, or framed behind glass. Tell us where you want to show your work, and we’ll work out which printing options fit it. We can also show you what a piece will look like in your own space before you order.

A mermaid with dark hair and a blue, violet and pink tail lies on white sand beside a coral reef, her chin on her hands and a wrasse nearby.

Safety

We’ve been water people our whole lives, so safety gets planned before the pictures do.

Abbey and Justin are both certified lifeguards. Justin shoots, and he’s been photographing underwater for over a decade; he’s also a PADI Dive Instructor. Abbey coaches, in the water beside you the whole time: how to go down, how to make it look easy, when to come up. She’s a PADI Mermaid Instructor and an experienced freediver who spent years teaching children to swim.

Everything runs at your pace. You go down when you’re ready, you come up when you want to, and you rest at the surface as long as you like in between.

Extras for your session

Mermaid tails and tops
Realistic tails and tops to rent from our own collection.
Hair and makeup
We book a professional artist for you on request, one who works in waterproof makeup and hair that holds up underwater.
Gowns and fabrics
Gowns and lengths of fabric to rent from our own collection, chosen to flow underwater.
Couples and groups
More than one person in the frame, coached together.
Behind the scenes video
Your session, filmed from above and below the water: raw clips, an edited reel, or both.
Fine art prints
Canvas, metal or framed. They hold up at gallery size because the frames were shot and finished for it.