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Aquarium photography 101


CA2OR

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So I am writing this thread to document my journey on becoming a skilled reef photorgrapher....well decent at least...anyway I invite any experts here to chime in with input and I will follow up with the photo's displaying what was taught...I also invite any newb's like myself to follow along and post any tips you may have as well.

 

As we all know the equipment you use will play a lot in the quality of photo's you take. As we all know the high end Nicon's and Canon's are an ideal beginning but then there is the lenses you also have to factor in. With that being said feel free to post any relevant information you may have on these camera's, settings, equipment, and so on.

 

I have seen several threads regarding these camera's but I am on a budget....so I am starting with a $400 P&S Canon SX20IS with a Raynox DCR 250 Macro Lens. I would hope that this thread will help us P&S users. However this camera does have it's limits and I am sure we will encounter those.

 

Equipment being used:

 

Canon Powershot SX20IS

Raynox DCR 250 Macro Lens

58mm Filter Adapter

Tri-pod

 

Topics I hope to see addressed:

 

Aperture

ISO

Modes of camera used and their benefits.

 

I figure with being a beginner what better way to help others learn too and see why things like ISO and Aperture are important and what we as hobbiest can do to improve our secondary hobby skills.

 

I will get more into this in a second but here is the start.

 

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Re: Aquarium photography 101

 

When I first got this camera I was shooting in "Auto" mode for a while and just wasn't satisfied with the results. Then I picked up the macro lens and still wasn't really getting "it". Then I switched over to "Aquarium" mode and was a bit more satisfied but still not completely. So now I am working with "Manual" mode. I will post pics before macro in "Auto" then after, in "Aquarium", and now in "Manual" to show results.

 

Since the changes I have done some reading and found a few links to threads I found helpful, but during this time I started encountering words like "aperture" and "ISO"...apparently these are where the magic happens.

 

Pic's in "Auto" without macro

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Pic's in "Aquarium" without macro

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Pic in "Auto" with macro

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Pic's in "Aquarium" with macro

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Pic in "Av" mode or Aperture priority with macro

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Pic's in "Manual" mode with macro, ISO 80, F stop 8 -2

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There are several modes you can experiment with, I found shooting in sport mode helped with getting pic's of the fish as they don't sit still often, and while "AV Priority" mode gave a bit petter pic's where color and focus are concerned...I really believe that "Manual" is where it's at. Hopefully from these pic's you can see the changes in color and clarity of images....as well as where we are headed.

 

 

Quick tip: shutting off flow really helps with getting good pic's...I specificlly setup my Korellia's up to a seperate surge protector from the main return pump so I can kill the "K's" during target feeding and shoots as it reduces my flow by 80% or so while still allowing filtration to continue to run.

 

 

More to come....

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I'm pretty sure you already know this, but there is a correlation between aperture width and shutter speed...Aperture is pretty much how much light is let in, and shutter speed is how long the shutter is opened. So if you lower your shutter speed, you need to widen your aperture to get a decent picture that isn't dark and blurry. Also when shooting in high light you can lower your aperture to get less washed out colors. You will soon find a sweet spot that gives you crisp, colorful pictures as you play with it.

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Re: Aquarium photography 101

 

Nice...thanks for that.

 

Other things to try and do before shooting is to clean your glass and always try to shoot straight through the glass, shooting at an angle can distort or make focusing almost impossible.

 

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Re: Aquarium photography 101

 

Correction to the lens information I ordered it from www.lensmateonline.com, you will also need that 58mm filter adapter. I did not get the uv filter but am considering it.

 

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Okay, I was thinking about doing this anyway as I've had a few people asking for tips via PM anyway. I'm going to post up a series of replies here that cover some specific areas to hopefully help to understand the roles they play in photography along with some specifics that relate directly to reef tank photography due to the unique requirements. (along with the reasons the requirements are unique) Basically the idea is to help understand what effects the various changes have on the pictures. By knowing the effects it will help to view the pictures you take and see what needs to be changed to make them better pictures. Note that I will just be covering the basics here.

 

Note: Please let me know if I either missed something important or if I stated something inaccurately so I can correct it here. Keep in mind though I'm just trying to cover the basics along with a few tips specific to taking pictures of our aquariums.

 

Here are the areas I plan to cover:

 

Camera Types

Aperture

Shutter Speed

ISO Speed

Auto/Mode Settings

White Balance

Lighting

Post Processing

 

Along with each area of discussion I'll try to post up pictures to help with understanding. (Because of this it may take a few days to cover all of the areas)

 

For those that are curious about my photographic background I started taking photos back in the early to mid 1970's however I didn't really start to study the details until the mid 1980's when I purchased a Canon T90 SLR and a Pentax K1000 SLR. Thus I've been shooting photography as an amateur photographer for about 25 years. I consider my skill level to be somewhere around advanced amateur or beginning professional.

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Camera Types

 

Camera Types: These basically fall into 2 categories. Point and Shoot and SLR (Single Lens Reflex).

 

Point and shoot cameras normally have(had) a general use fixed or zoom lens with a separate viewfinder. I.E. You frame the subject through a separate window from the lens that is usually off to the side and above the lens. While the picture taken will be a close representation it will not be identical to what you see through the viewfinder. Digital versions often include an LCD screen that does actually provide a view through the lens giving an accurate representation. (Disregarding crop factors which usually differ slightly even with SLR cameras) P&S cameras have some limitations however once understood they can still be used to shoot some great pictures. First is of course the lens which cannot be changed. I.E. You are limited to the lens provided. It is often possible to add a lens in front to increase the magnification but keep in mind this increases the possibility that the image will be degraded by poor optics. Second is that the viewfinder may or may not accurately reflect the actual picture. (Even when viewed through an LCD screen the picture may not accurately reflect what the final picture will show) Another limitation is that they usually are limited to the flash on the camera. (I'll discuss this more in the lighting) These also often do not include manual setting modes or the modes are limited compared to what SLR cameras usually include.

 

SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras usually utilize interchangeable lenses (allowing a wider variety of pictures both close up and at great distances) and the viewfinder is set up so that you are actually looking through the lens to see what the lens sees when you take the picture. These usually include a depth of field preview as well to get a pretty accurate representation of the final picture. Newer DSLR's (Digital SLR's) usually also include a live view on the LCD however the image may have some limitations. (For instance the Live View may not accurately show the Depth of Field) They also usually have the ability to utilize an off camera flash.

 

Digital versions of both often have the ability to shoot video as well as pictures however keep in mind that even the best videos shot with a camera designed for pictures will not look as good as those taken with an actual video camera. I.E. I would not use the video capabilities as a deciding factor when making a camera purchase. Get a video camera instead if that is really important.

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Aperture

 

Aperture is basically a set of shutters inside the lens that can be adjusted to a smaller or wider opening to allow more or less light through the lens. Lower numbers equal a wider aperture and therefore more light enters the camera. Due to the lower light shooting we do in our aquariums we either need to shoot at lower apertures or using a flash. (I'll mention the flash again in lighting) Note though that the wider the aperture (the lower numbers) the smaller the depth of field will be. Depending upon the lens used the depth of field can be very narrow (front to back) when taking photos in our aquariums if we are shooting close to the glass. This can be both good and bad. It can be good if it isolates a particular coral or fish with the rest of the photo blurry. It can be bad in that it can be harder to get a good picture of a coral that is larger than the DOF. Keep in mind that aperture is usually adjusted when light permits to adjust the depth of field. I.E. If you want isolate a subject you will use a narrower depth of field (smaller aperture number) whereas if you want the entire picture sharp you will use a wider DOF. Once again though with the low light conditions we usually have to deal with using available aquarium lighting we are usually forced to use a lower aperture (wider opening) to get enough light into the lens to keep the shutter speed reasonable.

 

Here are a couple of pictures to show how the aperture effects the depth of field.

This first picture was taken with an aperture setting of f1.8 resulting in a narrow DOF. Notice how the picture in front and behind of the coral is blurry. (You can even see that only part of the coral is in focus)

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In the second picture the aperture was set at f18 resulting in a wide DOF. Notice that in this picture you can see that the entire picture is in focus and you can even see stuff on the aquarium glass (the small specs seen throughout the entire picture). Even the back of the aquarium is in focus although it is hard to see due to the special lighting I used for this picture.

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Shutter Speed

 

The shutter speed determines how long the shutter stays open allowing the light from the picture to be exposed to the film or camera sensor. It is used in combination with the aperture to allow the correct amount of light to show a picture that is not too dark or that is washed out with too much light. It can be used as well to stop movement due to either the camera or subject moving. Due to the low lighting of our aquariums we usually are forced to try to find the slowest shutter speed we can that still stops the movement of the subject. There are times that slower shutter speeds are intentionally used to convey movement however they go beyond the basics. Most handheld pictures will require a shutter speed of at least 1/60s to keep camera or subject movement from showing. With a really steady hand about 1/30s is possible if the subject isn't moving. Slower speeds are usable by eliminating as many sources of movement as possible. There are a few ways to do this this with some of the pictures we shoot in out aquariums. First is to use a tripod. This eliminates most of the camera shake that occurs when the camera is hand held. This can be taken even further with some cameras by either shooting with a remote shutter release or by using the timer on the camera. In some cameras this can be taken even further by locking up the mirror to keep it from shaking the camera but that goes beyond the basics. To help prevent movement of the subject itself you can turn off pumps and power heads that cause movement within out aquariums. This will be especially helpful for many corals that move with the water flow. It will have very little effect on the movement of the other creatures (fish, etc.). Pictures of fish will usually require faster shutter speeds that make the tripod of little use. 1/125s or even faster will often be required to get a sharp picture of fish that are moving. Unfortunately it may be difficult to get enough light to allow faster shutter speeds to be used without faster ISO speeds and/or additional lighting.

 

In this first picture the shutter speed is set to 1/30s which isn't fast enough to stop the movement of the clownfish as it swims past. It does however add an element of movement to the tank making it appear more alive.

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In both of these pictures the shutter is set to 1/200s which stops the movement of the trigger that is swimming in the pictures.

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ISO Speed

 

ISO Speed is a holdover from film that is still used (although a little differently) with digital cameras. Basically it is a measurement of film speed and how fast a picture develops onto the film. The higher the number the faster a picture will develop. This comes with a penalty though. As the pictures are developed faster they introduce grain into the picture. Therefore a picture taken at ISO 800 or ISO 1600 will be grainy whereas a picture taken at ISO 100 will not (or rather it will not have nearly as much). Today's digital cameras often utilize the ISO speed as part of the automation (not possible with film since the speed is determined by the film itself). I.E. My new Canon T1i can automatically adjust the ISO speed depending upon available light if it is using one of the auto modes. (The amount of adjustment depends upon the auto setting) Understood this has it's advantages with digital cameras however it is a potential source of frustration as well. With the low light in our aquariums we may find that our pictures appear very grainy due to the camera setting the iso to a faster speed. The advantage of course is that it allows us to take pictures in lower light with higher shutter speeds and smaller apertures that would not otherwise be possible.

 

For the ISO comparison pictures I framed in the following picture using a tripod with the camera set to Program AE mode. This allowed me to change the ISO setting only while the camera automatically determined the exposure settings. For the actual comparison I used Photoshop to make 100% crops of the same area of the image to see how the pictures become more grainy as the ISO settings get higher.

 

Full picture at ISO 200:

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100% Crop at ISO 200:

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100% Crop at ISO 800:

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100% Crop at ISO 3200:

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100% Crop at ISO 12800:

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Auto/Mode Settings

 

The various mode settings on cameras today can be boggling. They usually contain at least a few automatic modes and may also include creative modes.

Here is a list that covers some of the common modes:

Auto Modes:

Full Auto

Portrait

Landscape

Close Up

Sports

Etc.

 

Creative Modes

Program AE (Auto Exposure)

Tv (Shutter Priority)

AV (Aperture Priority)

M (Manual)

 

These are just some of the common modes (Check your camera documentation to see what your camera includes).

 

For the automatic modes the camera will make a best guess as to what setting will provide the best picture. A limited amount of control is available by using the various settings. Examples include Portrait which will usually adjust the aperture to a wide setting (lower number) to create a narrow depth of field, Landscape will set the aperture to a smaller setting (higher number) to make the entire picture sharp, and Sports will set a faster shutter speed to stop action. Note that the actual effects of each setting can vary somewhat between cameras. For instance some may lock the ISO to a specific number or automatically open/use the flash. Read the documentation with your camera to find out what effect each setting has. Understood these settings can be good general use settings to get pleasing pictures. For instance using the portrait setting you can narrow the depth of field to isolate a specific coral while sports can be set to stop the movement of a fish swimming by. (Some Point and Shoot cameras may be limited to auto settings only so it may be even more important to understand them)

 

The creative modes allow more freedom. Program AE allows you some flexibility in the settings (shutter, aperture) while some settings are adjusted automatically (ISO may be one of them) to get the correct exposure. Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority allow you to set the respective setting (Shutter or Aperture) and then automatically adjusts the other setting to obtain an accurate exposure. Keep in mind though that setting these too high or low can prevent the camera from taking a picture when it cannot obtain an exposure close to what it thinks is necessary. Manual Mode allows you to manually set all of the camera settings and usually will let you take a photo regardless of whether the exposure is accurate according to the cameras exposure meter or not. Keep in mind that the camera may still prevent a picture from being taken if auto focus is used if either the camera is too close to the subject or the lighting is too low for it to focus properly. Setting the lens to manual focus may be possible when this occurs (SLR lenses usually can be set to either auto or manual focus). Using manual focus will however require you to manually focus the lens which some may find difficult.

 

For taking pictures in our reef tanks it can be a great advantage to learn how to manually adjust all of the settings to compensate for the unique characteristics of our tanks. These include low lighting, shooting through glass, shooting through water, lighting that has a higher temperature than normal, etc. At the very least understanding what effects all of the settings have will make it easier to see what needs to be changed to get better pictures.

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White Balance

 

White Balance is one of the most often misunderstood and probably the most important setting that is overlooked related to our specific type of photos. This is primarily due to the high lighting temperatures (12k, 14k, 20k, etc.) that exist in most if our tanks when using available lighting. In simple terms white balance itself is just what it sounds like. I.E. The colors are adjusted so that whites look white which usually causes the other colors to be close to what they should be. The main problem here though is that our cameras normally are not designed with settings to take pictures using reef lighting. Most of our cameras do include a variety of preset white balance values but once you look at the temperature settings for each you will see that they normally do not cover the temperatures of our lights.

Here are some examples: (Keep in mind that these are approximate values that will vary from one camera to the next)

AWB (Automatic White Balance)-Usually Varies between 4000k and 7000k depending upon the overall picture coloring (I.E. Because our tanks are often cast with a blue tint it will always throw off the white balance when set to auto)

Daylight-5200-5600k

Shade-7000k

Cloudy-6000k

Tungsten-3200k

Flourescent-4000k

Flash-5000k

Custom-Varies

Note: Some cameras include underwater and aquarium presets that may have somewhat higher temperatures for white balance however they will still rarely match our lighting because it varies so much.

 

Because of the odd lighting temperatures of our reef tanks we are left with 2 options to get reasonably accurate colors. The first is to utilize the custom white balance setting in the camera. To do this you normally will take a picture of either something that is neutral and then use it to set the cameras custom white balance (This can be either something white or for even more accuracy an 18% neutral gray card). Check the documentation with your camera to find out specifics for your camera. Once you understand how to set this you can carry a white/gray card or something such as a coffee can lid to set the custom white balance in different aquariums. Keep in mind though that even this can change from the top to the bottom of an aquarium so this is still often only an approximate measurement. The second method is through post processing of the images. Keep in mind that post processing is most useful when shooting raw format photos if your camera allows it (Some cameras will be limited to jpeg or other formats). If you shoot jpeg instead then the camera applies the shot settings to the image as it is saved (instead of just saving the shot setting with the raw data) so any post processing will degrade the image quality.

 

Personally I utilize both methods. Whenever possible I set the custom white balance and I also shoot all of my pictures in raw mode to allow the white balance to be fine tuned during the post processing conversion to other formats (jpeg, tiff, or print). While this becomes subjective it will usually result in a more accurate representation of colors.

 

These 2 pics are actually the same photo.

The first one is shot using AWB without any post processing other than changing the image size to post it here. It is actually closer than many pictures using AWB because it includes some white in the picture. (Without the white it would have had more of a blue cast)

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In this one I used Photoshop to set the white balance using the color temperature which I set to around 14K to match my aquarium lights. While the color isn't as dark and vibrant in this picture it is actually a more accurate representation of the true color of this clown fish.

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Lighting

 

I added lighting to the topics primarily because of the unique lighting we use for our reef tanks. Additionally though it is important to remember that photography is really just opening up the lens and letting light in to create the picture, therefore the more you understand the way light effects the image the more you can do with it.

 

In general most of our pictures are taken using available tank lighting because it tends to bring out the fluorescent colors in many of the corals we have in our tanks and it helps to keep reflections from appearing in our pictures from shooting through the aquarium glass. In the event you find you are still getting reflections off the glass then there are a few things you can do to help prevent them. The first is to shut off all room lighting and shoot at night so the tank lighting is the only light source. The next is to shoot with the camera pointed at an angle in relation to the aquarium glass. Be careful though as this can cause the picture itself to be distorted. The last one is to try to get as close to the glass as possible if the lens permits. (This is one reason Macro lenses are often favored for reef tank pictures) This also can have it's drawbacks though as the DOF gets narrower as you get closer to the subject.

 

In some cases we may find that there just isn't enough light to get a good picture using available lighting or we may want to use the flash to effectively stop the motion in the tank. If so then there are a few tips and tricks that can be used with a flash to add light. All of the same tricks above can be used for flash pictures although it is more important to get close to the glass. In addition to these the following tricks may help. First is to try bouncing the flash off the ceiling rather than shooting it straight at the subject. The result is that the light from the flash spreads out more rather than being focused in one spot and comes from above the tank rather than through the front of the glass. With external flash units this is usually just a matter of rotating the flash head upwards. For built in camera flash though this is a little more difficult. A trick to employ the same method when the flash is fixed is to use a white sheet of paper at an angle in front of the flash to direct it toward the ceiling. Keep in mind though that color of the flash will be reflected back from the ceiling. I.E. If you have a red ceiling the flash will have a red cast to it. (Therefore this method should only be used with a white ceiling unless your intentionally trying to change the colors in the picture) Another thing to keep in mind is that this will be less effective if there is a hood covering the tank. One other way to help prevent reflections is to tape a black curtain(material) to the top edge of the tank and drape it over the camera and shoot from underneath. (Don't bounce the flash if you do this) You can also try a diffuser (white fabric) in front of the flash to help spread and soften the light from the flash.

 

The last section primarily dealt with trying to overcome the limitations of the flash mounted on the camera. You can open up the options even more using an external flash unit that is not mounted to the camera. These can be either connected remotely using a cord or wireless transmitter or you can even use multiple flash units. When shooting with a remote flash you can position the flash above the tank to prevent the annoying reflections that occur with it in front. This tends to create a more natural looking picture with more realistic looking shadows. It can have some other interesting effects as well. First is that it can isolate the foreground and background and it can even add an effect that looks similar to rays of sun shining down through the water.

 

In summary here just remember that photography is all about the light that reaches through the lens. Don't be afraid to experiment with it to try different things. The more you do the more you will understand how it effects the image which will help to take better and more interesting photos. Here are a few ideas to start with.

 

These first two pictures compare available lighting and flash lighting.

This picture uses available lighting using the tank lights (250w MH lights):

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This picture is using two flash units placed above the tank to simulate the effect of the tank lights above the same coral. Using the flash allows a smaller aperture keeping more of the image in focus and also isolates the coral from the foreground and background which are both darker.

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The following 3 pictures are all using a flash unit placed above the tank aimed at a slight angle to give an effect similar to sun rays shining down into the water.

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Post Processing

 

Post processing can be thought of as your digital darkroom and is a normal part of photography. With film photographers will often either utilize special labs to develop their pictures or even use their own darkroom so they can have some control over what the final prints will look like. With digital images this just becomes easier to accomplish. There are many programs available to post process images and most of them have similar features. Which one you choose to use will usually depend more on your budget (anything from free to several hundreds of dollars) and what you feel comfortable using than anything. (All of them can normally provide similar post processing results) Do keep in mind 2 things when post processing. First is that even when you post process you will find it easier to start with the best possible picture you can get from the camera and the second is to always keep the original image intact. (I.E. Always save any changes to an image during post processing as a copy of the original rather than the original) Keeping the original intact allows you to always return to the original and start over.

 

Picture formats:

Post processing should be considered right from the moment you take your photos. If your planning to post process the images to get more control over the final image then try to shoot in a lossless format. Raw format is preferable since the camera saves the raw image data and adds shot setting to it. (Kind of like an extra data set tagged onto the file to instruct post processing programs) Tiff is another good choice if raw is unavailable (I'm not sure if there are still cameras that use tiff or not). Tiff is a lossless format that is common for graphic arts and printing. While tiff is a lossless format keep in mind that changes to the data are permanent. Jpeg is a great web format due to the ability to compress down to a small size however it is a lossy format in that each time it is saved it discards a portion of the data during the compression. To experiment with it you can take a Jpeg image and do nothing to it other than keep saving it (even at the maximum quality) several times and before long the artifacts in the image will become unbearable. Don't get me wrong though, Jpeg has some advantages. One is that it is faster for the camera to post process the shot setting into a Jpeg image and save a smaller file to the memory card than it is to save the raw image data. Another is that it increases the number of images that can be stored on a memory card by a multiple of several times. (A typical Jpeg will take up less than 1/2 of a MB whereas a raw file will take upwards of 15 or 20 MB depending upon the camera megapixels and the colors in the image) Another advantage is that it is often easier to take the photo directly from the camera to another medium. For instance many printers with memory card readers built in will not recognize raw images but can recognize a jpeg. If your new TV has a memory card slot for displaying pictures chances are it will display Jpeg but not raw photos. Basically use it whenever you want to go direct from the camera to another medium without spending the extra time to post process the images. One other note on this is that some cameras will provide an option to save both formats at the same time. You might find this a better option if you want to go direct from the camera to another medium but still want the option to post process the raw data. It will take up more space on the memory card and will take longer to save the data when taking photos but may still be a good option.

 

Post processing features:

Color correction is probably the most utilized post processing feature and one of the most important ones for reef pictures due to our lighting. The programs usually have several ways to correct the color that range from a simple eye dropper where you select a neutral part of the picture and let the program adjust the rest by itself to the ability to selectively adjust the separate color ranges. Some even provide the option to set the color temperature of the image to a specific Kelvin setting which can be particularly useful if you know the temperature of your aquarium bulbs (most of us do). Check the particular program you will be using though to be sure the setting will go high enough. (Canon Digital Photo Professional which is a program that is supplied with Canon cameras stops at 10k whereas Photoshop goes clear up to 50k) If your program doesn't go high enough you can selectively reduce the blue cast by adjusting the colors.

Brightness/Contrast is probably the next used feature that is important for reef photography. This is particularly useful to allow us to shoot a slightly underexposed image and then brighten it up a little to bring out the darker details. This can be helpful to shoot an image in the lower lighting we have to stretch the available lighting somewhat. Just don't overdo it as one that is underexposed too much will not have the details to bring them out. Also be careful not to shoot overexposed images and then try to darken them because details that are washed out from overexposure are gone forever.

Color saturation are image sharpness are features that can also be used to help make a photo more vibrant and colorful however as with the other setting they need to be used carefully. Both can result in images that look unnatural or that show artifacts if used too much.

These are just the most utilized features used during post processing and by no means cover everything that is available. I.E. Using post processing you can actually add missing portions of an image or remove unwanted ones. It can even be used to combine images. Start with the ones listed here first though and then experiment later with the more advanced options after you are comfortable with them.

 

As I mentioned above the programs available range from free to several hundreds of dollars. For free programs start with the software that is often included with your camera. If that isn't available or your looking for more then maybe look at GIMP which is a free image manipulation program that is popular with the open source crowd. If money is no object then it's hard to beat Adobe Photoshop which is kind of the Cadillac of image manipulation programs. Keep in mind though that the full Photoshop package is aimed at graphics artists with many extra features and capabilities that are not necessary for digital photography so it is hard to justify spending several hundreds of dollars just for post processing digital pictures. Adobe does however have a couple of options such as Photoshop Elements or Lightroom that cost a fraction of the total package that may be good options that are more affordable. Before you run out and spend any money though I suggest checking online first for free trial versions (Most of the programs have free 30 day trials). Then try them out for a few weeks to see if you are comfortable with both the included features and the cost.

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Very nice Rick. Would you mind sharing what settings you typically use for coral shots and such....ISO, F stop, so on....

 

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While I use a variety of settings I normally try to start with the following:

 

-ISO between 100 and 400. Preferably closer to 100 if possible since 400 will show more grain in the pictures.

 

-For the aperture I open it as wide as the lens permits. (f1.8 for my 50mm lens or variable around f4 with my zoom lenses) Keep in mind that this creates a narrow DOF though.

 

-For the shutter speed I try to start between 1/60s and 1/125s. If I use a tripod then I'll set it to 1/15s or 1/30s.

 

The above setting are what I normally start out with when shooting using available lighting and then I adjust as necessary to get the exposure right. Something to keep in mind is that a picture that is one or two stops too dark can be lightened up with post processing to bring out detail however one that is washed out cannot be darkened to get detail back. I.E. If I can't get the exposure quite high enough with the above settings but the camera only shows it one or two stops underexposed I'll use it.

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I've still got the Aquarium Photography Powerpoint presentation I put together a few years ago. I'll see if I can post it up somewhere. Hopefully, we can get this thread stickied -- we've had at least 3 or 4 similar threads in the past.

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Re: Aquarium photography 101

 

Today I picked up where I left off yesterday shooting in "Manual" mode with ISO at 80 and F stop was 8 -2 and using macro, but I also am trying the "Manual" focus as well instead of "Auto"

 

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I am liking the results of "Manual" mode much more than before now, and that manual focus seems to be making a difference.

 

 

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

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Lens?

 

Thank u for starting this fine work. I just want to add a small factor. Angels ant most important the type of lens. We been reading about F stop and ISO and shutter speed. Today's cameras have a wide range of processing info. Light,speed and so on. To me the lens and the angel is where the money is at. The info here is great an u guys for sure k ow what u are talking about. Macros is something that I have done and loved for years.

 

So let's talk Macro lens.... U don't need to have a Macro lens to get a close up shot, but having one is like day and night. What type of lens do u need and which one? For me there only two choices. 1. Sigma 70mm macro. It has a F stop of 2.8 and one of the most clear glass lens u can get for the money. I would say it's right up there with the Canon L type lens. The price on this lens is around $500 new.

 

2. My 2nd choice is the Tamron 60mm 2.0 F I love this len. It's fast and sharp. Not as sharp as my number one pick Sigma 70mm.

This lens is fast and it's well built. Had a nice body and a very fast a d quite motor. Note: most of the time u use a macro for taking picture of your tank u will be doing Manuel focus. So motor speed is not a huge factor for this but nice to have for portraits.

 

Final note on Macro Lens: the angel that u choose to take your picture will have lots to do with the end product.

 

Thanks guys and keep up the great work.

Frank

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This would be nice to see, Andy!

Rick's explantion of aperature, shutter speed, ISO, etc. is something that should be a sticky. Good job! One should understand the basics. IMHO.

I've still got the Aquarium Photography Powerpoint presentation I put together a few years ago. I'll see if I can post it up somewhere. Hopefully' date=' we can get this thread stickied -- we've had at least 3 or 4 similar threads in the past.[/quote']
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