How Do You Get Good Fish Pics [Archive]

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maryalice81403

10-29-2006, 9:11 PM

I see a lot of pictures posted here of fish. Can you tell me what settings you use? This may be a dumb question but I can't seem to get a good picture of my betta. Wanted to post a pic to see if you all could help me figure out what the problem is with my bettas fins. I have a Canon Powershot A70 digital camera but every time I try to get a picture it is either blurry or the flash is so bright you can't see the fish.

My betta is in a cycled 2 gal eclipse explorer. I treated him for velvet a couple of weeks ago but I was never sure it was actually velvet, just afraid to let it go in case it was velvet so I treated with Maracide and Maracyn 2. He had/has goldish color to fins and some red in fins that wasn't there in the beginning. Also has some dark (black or blue) spots all over fins. I thought he was doing better as I saw about 1/4" of bright blue new fin growth last week but now the new part has the dark spots on it too. He is eating fine and doesn't seem to be scratching or feeling bad.

I will post a picture as soon as I can get a good one.

Thanks,
MaryAlice

Swiftwind

10-29-2006, 9:53 PM

If you have a macro setting (or 'flower' setting), change it to that - I find that you get more detail that way, and it's easier to focus properly on the fish. Also, I found with the flash that it shows up too brightly and reflects on the glass if you take a shot of the corner of a tank, or right near the surface of the water, so try and take the photo when your fish is near the bottom of the tank, in the middle. You have a good camera so your photos should turn out well. Hope that helps!

plah831

10-29-2006, 9:58 PM

For bettas, if you hold up a little mirror in front of them or at the surface, they will flare out all their fins. I learned that trick from breeders :) That way you get to see every little detail of their beautiful fins. It also helps them hold still for longer :)

CaitxSith

10-29-2006, 10:21 PM

doesn't flaring stress them out? Or make them exhausted?

If you place a mirror near me, I will huff and puff and flare and dance around thinking I am seeing another rival male. I look very impressive when I do that... But it also wears me out so don’t forget to later remove the mirror.
...yeah lol.

i can't seem to get good photos either... but i mean like, always a blurry photo. just can't hold it still. it takes too long for it to take the picture, that's why lol. it works oh so well with my phone though lol.

plah831

10-29-2006, 10:28 PM

It will exhaust them if you leave the mirror there too long. If it's only for a minute or two until you get the shot, it's no big deal. Unless he was so aggressive that he banged the glass immediately!

aardvark1

10-29-2006, 10:30 PM

Cait-

use a tripod!
Try and time the shot so the fish is turning; he'll be "still" then
shoot lots of shots! Digitals are great for this; you don't waste film. Might need to take 2030 shots to get one good one!
I use a the telephoto setting and get back from the tank; up close seems to stress out the fishies...
I normally just use the tank lighting. Turn of the room lighting and snap away!
I focus on a certain spot and wait for the fishie to swim into the spot; might take awhile....
Good Luck!

Rallysman

10-29-2006, 10:42 PM

Bright light, Clean glass, nice Betta, Macro focus, fast shutter, wide aperture, and get this:

http://jpaustin.dyndns.org/gallery/Aquarium%20Project/HCCC/Other%20Peoples%20Fish/Photos%20Taken%20By%20Others/bet%20touchup.jpg

Also, for more tips (and awesome pix) check out www.aquatic-photography.com

CaptnDan

10-29-2006, 10:53 PM

Could also try shooting from farther back, zoomed in, but optical zoom only, not digital. Shoot on a high resolution, then crop to the part of the pic you want. It will still be plenty big enough as a rule.

Brace the camera on something if you don't have a tripod, just use tank lights - not the flash. The built in flash on the camera is too close to the lens, you'll get poor results.

Be sure the glass is immaculate.

You might also try overriding the auto exposure... I usually underexpose by about a half stop, because a tank is usually too contrasty for a meter that is trying to balance everything to a daylight scene.

fballguy

10-30-2006, 12:18 AM

My secret to good pics is the use of my mother's $800 camera. It makes even the worst photographers (me) look like a pro.

The main thing is to have a camera with a fast shutter.

maryalice81403

10-30-2006, 8:26 AM

Thanks for all the tips! I will give it another try and then as soon as I figure out how to post a picture, I will do that! :duh:

plah831

10-30-2006, 11:24 AM

Mary, there are two ways to post pics. First is to add it into the message as an attachment. That way, a link shows up and people have to click on it to view the pic. To insert directly into message, you have to first upload the pic onto another site such as Imageshack.us. That site will give you a url link to that picture specifically for forums. You highlight the entire url and paste it into the message to see it right away :)

It took me awhile to figure it out, too.

Rallysman

10-30-2006, 2:57 PM

My secret to good pics is the use of my mother's $800 camera. It makes even the worst photographers (me) look like a pro.

The main thing is to have a camera with a fast shutter.
I disagree. Without the proper lighting, knowledge, and practice, even the most expensive equipment is worthless for good pictures.

NinjaPirate

10-30-2006, 5:03 PM

doesn't flaring stress them out? Or make them exhausted?

Actually flaring is quite a healthy activity for a betta. But it will stress him out if you do something prolonged like taping a mirror to his tank. My bettas will actually get depressed if they don't have a neighbor to flare at occasionally.
So long as you don't leave the mirror there too long and have someplace where he can escape the view of whatever he's flaring at (Such as bettas in divded tanks. I recommend a bit of plastic plant or something that partially obstructs their view of eachother) you should have no problems at all.

CaitxSith

10-30-2006, 5:29 PM

fballguy

10-30-2006, 5:37 PM

argh... my camera takes like, 2 seconds to snap the pic. no duh it's always blurry. I use my phone and it works like a charm... if only i can find a way to put pics on my phone to the internet... (btw, i don't have a cord thingy so don't ask :D)

Can you email pics from your phone? That's what several of my friends do.

I disagree. Without the proper lighting, knowledge, and practice, even the most expensive equipment is worthless for good pictures.

Well I tried cheaper cameras and never had any success. I never changed how I did thigs when I tried the good camera, and I get good pics now.

Rallysman

10-30-2006, 9:59 PM

This is a $300 camera.
www.brokensmile.org/jagpng.png

maryalice81403

10-31-2006, 11:22 PM

plah831

10-31-2006, 11:24 PM

Thanks...that helps a lot. BTY....I see you live in Monterey...I live in Salinas and work in Monterey.
Cool! I'm actually in Fort Ord and go to school in Moss Landing at the Marine Labs :)

justintoxicated

11-01-2006, 1:08 AM

I have a hard time as well because the lense on my camera is too small (it is a compact), So in order to get the photos to come out I have to set the ISO>100, which leads to image noise.

Digital you want wide aperature + quick shutter, if the lense is large enough...

If you have a compact you have to slow the shutter speed down which leads to blur. Or you can increase the ISO (pixels sensitivity to light) but this leads to imamge noise (unless you own a sony - then it leads to loss of detail due to different image noise reduction algorithms)

So yea I would say using an expensive camera should definatly help quite a bit so long as it has a nice large lense.