Best Way To Photograph Your Fish

[Aqua Tom]

I just draw my fish with crayons

 

[Tonyb111111]

I just draw my fish with crayons

Lol, I tried etchasketch but it doesn't like curves

 

[Tonyb111111]

Well than, I shall make one It's going to take a week or so, I am pretty fed up with work now... But I can promise on till next week!

Well than, I shall make one It's going to take a week or so, I am pretty fed up with work now... But I can promise on till next week!

Hi Tom, how's progress on the video. I've been experimenting with my new camera and the difference is immense, I'll put some pics up soon

 

[TomShootsPhoto]

Well than, I shall make one It's going to take a week or so, I am pretty fed up with work now... But I can promise on till next week!

Well than, I shall make one It's going to take a week or so, I am pretty fed up with work now... But I can promise on till next week!

Hi Tom, how's progress on the video. I've been experimenting with my new camera and the difference is immense, I'll put some pics up soon

Well it's ok, since I don't have a tank I have to go over to my friend to shoot it, and it's really not as convenient. I am thinking of buying a new tank soon, maybe in a week, but for now it's a quite slow process, sorry. Post the pics, I'll see if I can help you and tell you how to improve the shots!

 

[Tonyb111111]

">Right here goes, they are certainly better than before but need more advice

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[Zikofski]

hey tom can you help me out with my settings too, struggling as well I've tried to get close ups i can get some but not all , I'm learning i have a DSLR Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm lens and 55 to 300mm lens i also like the sound of the macro lens you know any gd ones that will fit this camera?

thanx for any help

 

[TomShootsPhoto]

">Right here goes, they are certainly better than before but need more advice

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Your pictures are very good, it's only a problem of light. You don't have enough light in your tank, which doesn't allow you to freeze the fish.
Read this article on how to freeze moving subjects. You freeze motion with a higher shutter speed, which you can read about here.

hey tom can you help me out with my settings too, struggling as well I've tried to get close ups i can get some but not all , I'm learning i have a DSLR Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm lens and 55 to 300mm lens i also like the sound of the macro lens you know any gd ones that will fit this camera?

thanx for any help

Well, I can only tell you one thing: You want to have as much light as possible on your tank, so you can have a faster shutter speed (to around 1/200 of a second). This freezes motion, which you can read about here.

Sorry if I couldn't help a lot...

 

[Mikaila31]

Taking good pictures is more about experience and understanding then anything. While I agree with most things in this thread a 1/200 shutter speed is going to be very hard to achieve in an aquarium unless you have a external flash. Putting lots of light over the tank will help but you won't even get near enough light for 1/200. I use a hybrid/high end point and shoot camera. My Panasonic Fz-28 I have had for many years now. I use the manual mode for the most part as the auto modes never quite do things best.

My general technique has always been a large aperture, ISO at the most is 800 but ideally 400 or less, no flash at all, minimize light sources outside of tank, then lastly pick the shutter speed. I normally shoot with shutter speeds of 1/15 to 1/40. Most my tanks are well lite planted tanks so I just use the tank lighting as the only light source. The shutter speed is slow and you do need to get timing right, but its what works best for me. I have a tripod but I don't normally use it for the fish tanks. Best advice I have is start messing with different things, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, ect and see how they effect the image. I did a little research but basically just started taking pictures and learned from there. Most the time I let the camera auto focus as it seems to be pretty good, but if its struggling you can always use manual focus.

 

[ian]

I agree with Mikaila31 regarding the ISO speeds, i set mine at 800 everytime, my EV is always set at 0.7. I have the F stop quite low aswell when concentrating on the fish. Normally around 2.


Exposure
0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture
f/2.2
Focal Length
50 mm
ISO Speed
800
Exposure Bias
-2/3 EV


Apisto by Ian Holdich, on Flickr


apistogramma cacatuoides double red by Ian Holdich, on Flickr


cpd1 by Ian Holdich, on Flickr

 

[KrazyKuhli]

Wow they're lovely!

That a Galaxy rosabara?

 

[KrazyKuhli]

Did you use the flash when taking these, tried using the setting you posted and its way too dark, tried with the flash and its brighter but doesnt look so natural.

 

[TomShootsPhoto]

Do you have an external flash?

 

[Mikaila31]

Settings will vary depending on situation. If yours is too dark its very likely you are dealing with lower light levels. If that is the case what I would do is make the shutter speed longer. The key to understanding photography IMO is understanding how to work with light. Everything comes down to light in the end. ISO is the sensitivity of the camera's sensor to light, Aperture is the size of the hole that lets light into the camera, and shutter speed is how long the camera 'looks' to take a picture.

Some camera's will have limitations where others will not. Looking at what Ianho posted I agree with everything there. My camera though can not reach as low a F stop. Lowest possible for me is 2.8 and I can not zoom in at all if I want to use that low F-stop. Since I normally use a F stop of around 3 to 3.5 my shutter speed ends up having to be longer.

 

[ian]

The only reason i can get the low F stop is the lens used in those pics, it's the Cannon nifty fifty. One of the best lenses i have got, and the cheapest! It's a 50mm portrait lens and can be bought for about £60 online.

again i agree with Makaila, regarding how i get those pics and how you may not be able to on those settings.

@ Tom, no theres no external flash on those pics, it's all tank lighting.

and thanks for the comments.

 

[TomShootsPhoto]

No, I meant like do you have one that you could use... The 50mm is pretty good, but it's really hard to focus... I tested the Sigma 70-200 2.8 with macro, it was ok, it's not a dedicated macro lens but it does the job pretty good.