Studio Lighting Under the Sea: Why I Keep Coming Back to Michael Muller's Sharks

I want to share an amazing book I've been studying for the past few months: Sharks by Michael Muller. That's probably not what you'd expect from a sports and portrait photographer, and even less so if you know how scared to death I am of these magnificently terrifying creatures. But I have good reasons for loving this book.

If you don't know Michael Muller, get to know his work as quickly as possible. He's been crushing it for years, and if you've seen a movie poster, you've probably seen his work. He photographs the biggest names in Hollywood and has made some truly amazing images for Marvel movie posters.

I was already a big fan when I noticed he was posting a ton of shark photos. My first thought was, "What? He isn't a Nat Geo photographer, he's a celebrity photographer." I was right and wrong. A cage dive left him fascinated by the animals circling him, and he made it his mission to photograph the ultimate predator in a way nobody else really has.

He brought his studio process below the surface and somehow made it work with subjects far more concerned with figuring out what he was, and whether he was edible, than with posing for the camera. Lit whenever possible, the photographs are amazing, and they blew my mind about what's possible with lighting in places it shouldn't be possible.

I love pushing what we can do with light, using it to shape the world we see into something more creative and extreme. Muller has done the ultimate version of that with this body of work, and Sharks is worth your time. Paging through its blue pages again and again keeps showing me things I missed the first few times. It's also fun to watch somebody else go through it and react to different images and intensities.

It's a must-have for any fan of Muller's work and a great source of inspiration for any photographer.

Originally published on the Ruddock Visuals blog, November 2016. Lightly edited in 2026.