By Rebecca Lewis @RebeccaSLewis
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But for Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown, diving with the fearsome creatures was a tick off their bucket list.
The British diving couple, from Manchester, England, have swum with all manner of sea creatures, including tiger and reef sharks, crocodiles and even pigs.
But a car crash a few years ago left 62-year-old Nick with two dislocated discs in his neck, continual pain and paralysis in his left hand.
So the pair decided to fulfill one of their big wishes in February on Bimini Island, Bahamas – diving with the four-metre long sharks – before Nick underwent dangerous surgery.
Caroline said: “This dive was our last dive before coming back to England to get Nick's neck operated on - so we really wanted to do this in case it did not go well.
“It has been a dream of ours to dive with hammerhead sharks and we had just one chance to do so, one tank and everything crossed that they would come close to us and we could photograph them.
“A box of dead fish was put in the water to tempt the sharks in closer and two came towards us and stayed with us for over an hour.
“They came so close that they banged into our cameras on a number of occasions.”
The couple hope to return to diving after Nick recovers from his successful operation.
But the procedure in his neck and shoulders means diving with heavy equipment on his back could be a struggle.
Caroline added: “We are not sure yet if he will make a full recovery, but the operation has certainly helped the nerve pain and partial paralysis of his left hand. So we have high hopes of getting him back into the water with some more sharks sometime soon.
“Diving with sharks is a privilege. They are majestic animals that have evolved over thousands of years to become a top predator.
“Sharks do not spend their day looking for people to attack. Shark attacks are so rare.
“It is a real thrill to be in the water with them, and you have to respect them, but we are never worried about what the shark might do to us, only that we want to get the best photo possible.”