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Here are my fish....can I see yours?


CA2OR

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hmm.....I will have to find this book. I hope it helps. I don't know if my camera has the functions required to get pic's like that.

 

Eric, I'll dig around and see if I can find one of the old books I have. It's pre-digital but the concepts and methods are the same. It describes some methods to trick auto-exposure cameras that are lacking more specific functions into doing what you want along with explaining how shutter speeds, aperture, etc. effect pictures. Once you understand that then you can add a few tricks specifically for aquariums to get some decent shots even without the most expensive equipment.

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BTW, I can pass on a couple of tips that have probably helped more than any others. First is to learn why your pics don't look good. You need to be able to look at a pic and tell if it was simply out of focus, or the shutter speed was too slow, etc. The second one is that you need to take a lot of pictures before you get a really nice one. Digital makes this nice. (I remember shooting entire rolls of 35mm film and only getting a one or two decent shots) Even now after 25 years of amateur shooting I will take 10 pictures or more before I find one that I will post here.

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Rick is spot on about diagnosing the problem. There is no difference between the principals of digital photos and film work, so any older references or books will help.

 

The best tricks I have learned is to use a tripod and dont use your flash. Most of the time the flash will bounce off the glass or will make everything washed out. Without the flash (shooting in auto mode) the shutter speed will typically slow down, so that is where the tripod comes into play. Slower shutter speeds and shaky hands = blurry photos. It can also help to shut off powerheads to get good coral shots, (so you dont get any blur effect from movement). Fish are always the hardest for me. I cant make them sit still. :D

 

The best thing is just to take lots and lots and lots of photos. Eventually you will get it figured out. Try taking a picture of a fixed object and mess with lighting, shutter speed, film exposure and see what effect each one has. If your camera has standard modes like portrait, landscape and macro, try taking the same photo with each setting. That is pretty much what I did, until I found out what worked.

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A trick I've found with fish is to pick an object about the same distance as the fish is from me and lock the focus there. (You hold the shutter button down part way so it will read the distance and exposure and lock on, then swing over to the fish or whatever and finish clicking the shutter button down) I think most of the point and shoot cameras have this feature but I'm not certain. This can also work to trick a p & s camera to adjust the exposure. (If the picture is turning out too dark lock onto a darker area so the camera will add more light)

 

For flash photos there are a couple of tricks as well. One is to take the picture at a slight angle to the glass so the light bounces away from the camera. (Or if you can change the flash angle then point it at a 45 or 90 degree angle upwards) Another is to use a white paper held in front of the flash held at an angle upwards to bounce the flash toward the ceiling. This works best if the ceiling is low and is painted white. (otherwise the light needs to travel too far and/or will add a tint to the picture) Note: I also avoid the flash but sometimes it's necessary to get a pic that otherwise would not be possible. (The pics I have of my new Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish had to be flash since it isn't coming out much yet when the lights are on)

 

If you have the ability to use manual settings I've found that a shutter speed between 1/30 and 1/60 will usually capture fish with the lowest aperture possible. This requires spot on focus though as it narrows the depth of field. Keep in mind though that this assumes strong light in the tank. Less light means slower shutter speeds or underexposing the pictures. The world of digital adds the ability to take slightly underexposed pictures though and then adjust for this using a good photo processing program. (This is also possible in a darkroom with film but it's much harder to accomplish)

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Here are a some better pics I was able to get yesterday. Due to the coloring the Niger Trigger is really hard to get a good pic of but I think these turned out decent. The ones of the Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish were taken without flash as it stayed out in the open for a good part of the day. (The previous pics were at night using a flash as it was staying hidden during the day)

 

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