Photographing my tank

[Joe Khul]

Hello everyone,

this post is for out photographers out there; how do you get such amazing pictures of your fish I have tried to get good pics with my digital camera and they either turn out to dark, to blurred, or a combo of both. I am a novice when it comes to this so it might be something simple that i am doing wrong.

Thanks in advance!

Mike

[Graeme Robson]

Cut n paste time >>>

There are a few pointers I can give you to try and improve on the pictures that you are taking (which aren't bad, you know!). First of all make sure the aquarium glass is clean inside and out. It may sound a bit much/obvious, but it does help to ensure the camera focuses where you want it to, and not on the glass.

Position yourself so that the camera is 45 degrees to the front glass, as this will prevent the flash from bouncing back and ruining the picture, as it does when you stand face on (90 degrees) to the glass. There is a bit of give and take in this angle, and you'll get to know what does and doesn't work.

Unless the fish are slow-moving or sitting in one place, it can be difficult to focus on them. A trick many people use (including myself) is to focus on an object within the tank that they swim past frequently. If you then lock the focus (this is often done by pressing the shutter button halfway down) then move back a tiny fraction, wait for the fish to swim past, then take the picture. If the fish like to hang about quite near the front glass, I tend to focus on the place where the glass meets the cabinet, lock the focus and carefully move the camera upwards a little, to where the fish is resting on the substrate, and take the picture.

A tripod can help if you tend to get shaky pictures, but they are not easy to manouvere quickly into position, so I tend to rely on steady wrists! If you tend to get blurry/shaky pics, try pressing your elbows tightly up against your body when you use the camera, this can help with taking a sharp picture. Also, some people tend to be over enthusiastic when pressing the shutter button and you can see them press too hard, just a soft touch does the job.

And probably the most important point to remember is that you will end up deleting lots. I probably get about 20-30 keepers out of every 100 taken. It used to be a lot lower than that too, but I am lucky in that I get to take lots and lots of pics at the shop. Practice is the key.

[raving_wayne]

I have found not using the flash makes for a much better pic but does also depend on if your using a good camera, if your using no flash make sure your aquarium lights are on. if not the 45% angle needs to be used, I use a fujifilm s20 pro which has its own enhancers in it and takes a pretty darn good pic with very little effort however as said before I delete about 50% of the pics to get just good ones,

another trick is multi shot my cam has a multi shot setting and I can take about 35 pics at once which then means I get about 25 good ones from it but does also still depend on how fast the fish are moving.

Rave

[Ashleigh]

Lots of pictures and lots of patience Food is also good for encouraging them into an area you want if you fix it to something.


Ashleigh

[mistergreen]

flash is import for taking pictures of fast moving fish but only if the flash is a detachable so that the flash is above the tank.

[Joe Khul]

Thanks for the responses! They are most appreciated!

Love that cut & paste!

[Sea Sprite]

Joe,
I'm so glad you asked this question as I am a complete novice when it comes to snaping nice quality pics...as the pics I've posted here will attest to. I have a Canon PowerShot A720 IS (which isn't the best but I'm happy to have it).

The last photos I posted were not too bad & now I remember taking them at an angle to the glass...good to know what I did right for future pics.

[Joe Khul]

I am pleased that my question benefited others as well as myself