HappyGeorge
Fish Herder
Basic Photographic Guide
Part 1
I am writing this following interest from the Marine section on having a basic guide to photography. I am hoping to be able to write something accessible to everyone by keeping it simple and not getting tied up in jargon, if you want to know about the kit and the science behind it then google it and read about it on Wikipedia. If you are already a competent camera operator then there may well be something here for you, but it is designed to generate some interest in photography and to generally improve the photographs that people take, who have previously not had any training or really thought about photography.
Following a request and discussion with Seffie I will try and split it into bite sized pieces and each week we can tackle a subject and I will endeavour to suggest some experiments. Then hopefully those who want to follow along can grab some shots and post them on the thread. We can then critique them and see if we can talk through any problems together and find answers to why they aren’t turning out as you would like.
The first week will be kit and equipment and I will suggest a few things you might want to buy, make, borrow or otherwise acquire that will assist you in taking your photographs.
Basic Rules
1) It costs nothing to capture images and delete them so keep snapping, it may look in focus on the back screen of the camera but keep snapping more shots equals more chance of getting a good one.
2) There is no such word as can’t, there is “not yet able to”, “I haven’t been given the right explanation of how to HG” and other variations on the theme but no can’t.
3) Ask questions, if you don’t understand it’s probably my fault for not explaining properly, and if you don’t follow it, it’s almost certain someone else won’t. So ask me to explain again or differently either on the post or by PM, I won’t disclose who it is there could be many more who don’t want to say anything.
4) Don’t be too critical of yourself, most stock fish images are taken by a Pro using a small tank to contain the fish and expensive kit, don’t expect miracles.
Equipment for Photographing Aquariums
Before we start on any of the nitty gritty let’s look at kit and equipment. All the shots you will see by me are taken with a second hand Nikon D100 with a cheap zoom lens that has a macro feature, but everything I do Macro and fish shots will be achievable with:
- Any SLR with any kind macro (An SLR is a Single Lens Reflex camera a D-SLR is the Digital version, the explanation of what makes a camera an SLR is long and boring, but in general terms it means you have much more control, some have no auto option and you have to choose all your settings and of course you can change the lens on the front to suit the job at hand)
- A Prosumer Camera (google it you will see what I mean) the only real difference without getting technical between these and an SLR is the fact that you can’t change the lens.
- Most Compact cameras, although you may have to read you manual to turn on and off various settings or adjust things via the menu, much of the things we will discuss will not really be achievable with the use of auto settings.
- Camera Phones are a bit of a challenge they have very little macro capablility are difficult to hold steady and have poor flashes and shutter speeds, trying to get decent photos will be a challenge you may get some good shots but the techniques discussed here are unlikely to have any correlation with what your phone is capable of.
Things to do in the following week
- Dig out the manual from the back of a cupboard or your man drawer (you know the one with the spare batteries, leads that you don’t know what they’re for, and chargers for mobile phones you no longer own.) If you can’t find it download a pdf one.
- Fiddle with the camera and get familiar with the controls even if you don’t know what the settings are try and get familiar with the controls.
- Find yourself some sort of support for the camera, this will be essential for macro photos (close ups) later on. A tripod is ideal obviously but if you don’t have one you can use anything that will get the camera up to tank level and keep it stable, an old salt bucket on a stool or chair with a bean bag or cushion on top will do. For information all tripods and cameras have the same screw thread (whitworth thread) and fixing size so you can borrow anyone else’s. Cheap tripods are available at less than £15 delivered (PM me if you want details of where I use) , they are a worthwhile acquisition for tank photography.
- Post on HERE listing what equipment you have so we know what were playing with and I can have a quick look online and see what sort of problems we may have or how I can tailor particular techniques to your particular kit.
- Get a basic editing package for your computer, Photoshop are often running a free trial but there are lots of good programs out there. Picasa is a free editing suite that I have started playing with at work and it is very capable and easy to use.
Next week we will tackle camera control, including a definition and hopefully a basic understanding of Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO setting and also technique for holding cameras and basic shot set up.
A bit about me
I hold no academic photography qualifications but I have been using SLRs since I was given my Dads old fully manual Minolta SLR when I was about 12. My job entails some photography now and previously and awful lot and I was part of the team responsible for running week long training sessions to take people from beginner to a competent camera operator.
I have never done a lot of work with flashes so am not an expert, I have never been someone who gets excited about the spec of Lenses, I do understand what to do in most circumstances to get at least a half decent picture, I do have a reasonable grasp of how to edit and manipulate photos and the general consensus from friends and colleagues is that I can take a reasonable photo.
I don’t claim to know it all or have all the answers if anyone reading this thinks I am way off the mark then please PM me and discuss it outside of this post. It would be useful if this post was kept to just this info I will open a 2nd post each week for people to post pics and ask questions.
Thanks and I sincerely hope this is useful to someone.
Part 1
I am writing this following interest from the Marine section on having a basic guide to photography. I am hoping to be able to write something accessible to everyone by keeping it simple and not getting tied up in jargon, if you want to know about the kit and the science behind it then google it and read about it on Wikipedia. If you are already a competent camera operator then there may well be something here for you, but it is designed to generate some interest in photography and to generally improve the photographs that people take, who have previously not had any training or really thought about photography.
Following a request and discussion with Seffie I will try and split it into bite sized pieces and each week we can tackle a subject and I will endeavour to suggest some experiments. Then hopefully those who want to follow along can grab some shots and post them on the thread. We can then critique them and see if we can talk through any problems together and find answers to why they aren’t turning out as you would like.
The first week will be kit and equipment and I will suggest a few things you might want to buy, make, borrow or otherwise acquire that will assist you in taking your photographs.
Basic Rules
1) It costs nothing to capture images and delete them so keep snapping, it may look in focus on the back screen of the camera but keep snapping more shots equals more chance of getting a good one.
2) There is no such word as can’t, there is “not yet able to”, “I haven’t been given the right explanation of how to HG” and other variations on the theme but no can’t.
3) Ask questions, if you don’t understand it’s probably my fault for not explaining properly, and if you don’t follow it, it’s almost certain someone else won’t. So ask me to explain again or differently either on the post or by PM, I won’t disclose who it is there could be many more who don’t want to say anything.
4) Don’t be too critical of yourself, most stock fish images are taken by a Pro using a small tank to contain the fish and expensive kit, don’t expect miracles.
Equipment for Photographing Aquariums
Before we start on any of the nitty gritty let’s look at kit and equipment. All the shots you will see by me are taken with a second hand Nikon D100 with a cheap zoom lens that has a macro feature, but everything I do Macro and fish shots will be achievable with:
- Any SLR with any kind macro (An SLR is a Single Lens Reflex camera a D-SLR is the Digital version, the explanation of what makes a camera an SLR is long and boring, but in general terms it means you have much more control, some have no auto option and you have to choose all your settings and of course you can change the lens on the front to suit the job at hand)
- A Prosumer Camera (google it you will see what I mean) the only real difference without getting technical between these and an SLR is the fact that you can’t change the lens.
- Most Compact cameras, although you may have to read you manual to turn on and off various settings or adjust things via the menu, much of the things we will discuss will not really be achievable with the use of auto settings.
- Camera Phones are a bit of a challenge they have very little macro capablility are difficult to hold steady and have poor flashes and shutter speeds, trying to get decent photos will be a challenge you may get some good shots but the techniques discussed here are unlikely to have any correlation with what your phone is capable of.
Things to do in the following week
- Dig out the manual from the back of a cupboard or your man drawer (you know the one with the spare batteries, leads that you don’t know what they’re for, and chargers for mobile phones you no longer own.) If you can’t find it download a pdf one.
- Fiddle with the camera and get familiar with the controls even if you don’t know what the settings are try and get familiar with the controls.
- Find yourself some sort of support for the camera, this will be essential for macro photos (close ups) later on. A tripod is ideal obviously but if you don’t have one you can use anything that will get the camera up to tank level and keep it stable, an old salt bucket on a stool or chair with a bean bag or cushion on top will do. For information all tripods and cameras have the same screw thread (whitworth thread) and fixing size so you can borrow anyone else’s. Cheap tripods are available at less than £15 delivered (PM me if you want details of where I use) , they are a worthwhile acquisition for tank photography.
- Post on HERE listing what equipment you have so we know what were playing with and I can have a quick look online and see what sort of problems we may have or how I can tailor particular techniques to your particular kit.
- Get a basic editing package for your computer, Photoshop are often running a free trial but there are lots of good programs out there. Picasa is a free editing suite that I have started playing with at work and it is very capable and easy to use.
Next week we will tackle camera control, including a definition and hopefully a basic understanding of Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO setting and also technique for holding cameras and basic shot set up.
A bit about me
I hold no academic photography qualifications but I have been using SLRs since I was given my Dads old fully manual Minolta SLR when I was about 12. My job entails some photography now and previously and awful lot and I was part of the team responsible for running week long training sessions to take people from beginner to a competent camera operator.
I have never done a lot of work with flashes so am not an expert, I have never been someone who gets excited about the spec of Lenses, I do understand what to do in most circumstances to get at least a half decent picture, I do have a reasonable grasp of how to edit and manipulate photos and the general consensus from friends and colleagues is that I can take a reasonable photo.
I don’t claim to know it all or have all the answers if anyone reading this thinks I am way off the mark then please PM me and discuss it outside of this post. It would be useful if this post was kept to just this info I will open a 2nd post each week for people to post pics and ask questions.
Thanks and I sincerely hope this is useful to someone.
