Taking pictures.....

[marinebetta]

By popular request, I'll try to write up something about taking pictures of fish and other aquaria critters. This will be pretty much based on my experiences and is definately not, by any measure, an expert article.:)

Firstly, it helps to have some basic photography knowledge. Much of what I know (which is not that much...) is from reading photography books, magazines and articles. Then with that basic knowledge, applying it to practice. Started off getting thrown into the deep end by starting with a manual SLR and that is an excellent way of learning the basics! Nowadays, with digital photography, things are very much easier but it does help to have some background knowledge.

Secondly, aquatic photography is slightly different and there are many tips and tricks that will help you take better pics. Much of what I have learnt, I learnt from this forum

Most of the pics I have posted are taken with a digital SLR. I use a Nikon D70, usually with a 60mm Micro-nikkor. Most pics are also taken with a flash - I use a Nikon SB 800, sometimes on camera and sometimes off with a cable.

This post is getting long...so I think I will address certain topics individually after this.

Feel free to ask any questions....If I can, I'll try to give an answer....

[marinebetta]

In reality, it is not the camera but the photographer that makes the difference between a good picture, and a great picture.

The new digital P&S cams are so good that they can easily take award winning pics. The thing is to know your camera's strong points and it's limitations. Just take a look at some of the pics at the Aquatic Photography Forum - some a taken with P&S and they look great!

In general, however, it is easier to take a good pic with a digital SLR. Advantages are that you can manipulate you exposure settings, change lenses to suit the situation, and easily use a powerful dedicated external flash.

[marinebetta]

Mainly to do with SLRs but will also apply to P&S that allow you to change exposure settings:

Aperture: In most situations, you will want a small aperture (bigger number). This will allow you to get a wider depth of field. This is especially important if you are taking pics of small, small things. The higher the magnification, the shallower the depth of field so you will need a small aperture. I generally try to get max depth of field so I get sharp pics all around - anything from F22 upwards.

Shutter speed: For fish, I have found that you need to go with as high a shutter speed as possible. Fish move fast! and you have to have a high shutter speed to freeze the movement. Otherwise, you will end up with at best, a soft picture...and very often just the tail end of your subject!

ISO: I generally shoot with as low a ISO as possible (200 on my cam, wished it could be lower...). This is kind of a throwback to film days - lower ISO = less grainy pictures. However, I believe this is not longer that true with digital photography - you can get away with possibly up to ISO 400 with some cameras and still have very little noise.

All the 3 factors above means that to get a good, sharp fish pic, you will need lots of light! Sometimes MH will be sufficient, but often it means you will need a strong external flash to freeze the fish and have it sharp from tip of nose to tail.....

[marinebetta]

Of course, corals and such stuff are much easier to take - they don't move...

I'm sure everyone has experienced the frustration of trying to take pics of fast moving fish. Thank God for digital photography....think of all the wasted film if not for it!

With some fish, you can stalk them...but for most, it is best to observe the habits of your subject first. Most fish have a set pattern of swimming around the tank. Observe carefully and you will find that they will often freeze for a moment at certain spots. Pre-focus at that spot and wait......the next time it does the same, snap!

Easier said than done....it is very tempting to follow the fish around, but usually that's the most unfruitful method! Patience and practice, and you should get the hang of it.

[marinebetta]

Often overlooked, the tank itself is very important to taking good aquatic photos....

In FW, you can often set up a dedicated photo tank to take pics, however in SW you often cannot do that. Thus we are often left with taking pics of fish in their dirty tanks....if you are like me and mostly need to have done maintainence 2 days ago:mrgreen:

Tank glass: Clean you tank glass before taking pics!! Any tiny speck, scratch etc on you tank glass will be highly noticible on a photo! The glass has to be clean outside as well as inside. Do a bit of a scrub and wait a while whilst everyone and everything settles....

Tank water: Old yellow water makes it more difficult to get colors right, and it will require much more light to get a good pic. Particles (whether food, feces, pods whatever) in the water will reflect and scatter light from your flash and make for a picture that's only fit for the trash...If possible, run a filter beforehand.

[cschweitzer]

I have a P&S and I can take decent pictures. My best ones are in supermacro mode, but I take mainly coral pics, which keep movement to a minimum, so I use without flash and with a lower shutter speed(to allow more light to pass). Higher shutter speed darkens the picture and sharpens the quality. It gets more light by allowing the shutter to remain open for longer, but if the fish moves, it will allow all points at which the fish has moved from open to close of the shutter. This is what causes the blurriness on lower shutter speed settings(when I say lower, it means higher in mathematical terms(1/200th SS is higher than 1/5 SS is higher that 3 SS). Smaleest fraction=smallest shutter time=highest shutter speed. The supermacro mode on my camera does not allow flash if I wanted to use it. You can go much higher shutter speed witha flash and I can do this in macro mode.


Hey MB, if my camera goes to 1/1000th SS, could I use that with flash in macro mode and expect to see anything in the pic? I'll try it when I get home and see.

I like my camera because it is 6.1mp, which means I do not need to get close up to still get a good picture. 6.1mp is a lot bigger pixel count than even a computer screen. When my pictures open to full size, they have to be cropped down, unless I use supermacro mode. Check your P&S cameras for macro(some companies call it micro) mode. You can get closer with your zooming and still get clear pictures!!

I'll get a couple pics up so you can see

[marinebetta]

See your own reflection in you pics often?

To avoid the above, it is most ideal to take pictures in a darkened room. External light will be reflected off the tank glass and will show up on your pictures. Difficult to do with our tanks since they are often fixed but ideally you will want to take tank pics at night with no external lights on; just the tank lights. Helps if you wear black.....

Another trick is to take pics at an angle to the glass. This is especially so if you are using a flash mounted on your camera, or the camera's built in flash. Taking pictures in such a position (straight on with flash) will just give you a bright spot on your pic.

You can also avoid reflections by having the lens right up against the tank glass. Difficult to do sometimes especially with lens that are not internally focussing. I've hit the glass many times and spoilt many a magical moment:)

[marinebetta]

Well...this is all I can think of for now. I'm sure I have left big holes everywhere so ask any specific questions and I'll see if I can answer them...

[marinebetta]

...forgot to mention this. Just one word - Photoshop :happy0201:

[cschweitzer]

By the way, how do I make this my avatar? Do I have to resize it outside of the site?