with a DSLR its about the lens and more importantly the lighting. then you go about the 100 pics for one good one!
how do you take a good picture?
- Thread starter arcanecircle
- Start date
In my opinion lighting is the hardest part of aquatic photography. You can always clean the glass and polish the water but unless the light is good you are going to have a hard time getting a good picture (I'm talking top notch).
Point and shoots are perfectly capable of getting great results. The resources on the internet for getting more from a P&S are near limitless!
That being said now that I have a DSLR and a remote flash unit my life is a ton easier!
Point and shoots are perfectly capable of getting great results. The resources on the internet for getting more from a P&S are near limitless!
That being said now that I have a DSLR and a remote flash unit my life is a ton easier!
Using a P&S camera can result in some nice pics. My son is 7yrs old and has taken some pics with his P&S that blows my mind.
Whether you are taking pics of fish or taking full shots of your tank, they both require totally different ways of using the camera.
When taking pics of your tank you definitely dont want to use a flash. So with that in mind you want to make sure your lighting on the tank is bright enough to see everything in the tank itself. You can always add more lighting to the tank if necessary. Although I have found that stock lighting is adequate enough for a good pic.
When shooting a tank without the flash it is very important to keep the camera as still as possible. If you shake alot then 90% of your shots will be blurry. Using a tripod will definitely make taking these type of shots much easier. Unfortunatly when using P&S cameras there is not much you can do lighten or darken the picture itself. I found by taking a series of pics in the same exact position and changing the function(different settings on your cameras dial) of each pic I could determine the best setting to take FTS shots. On my Kodak this setting was the landscape setting. On my sons Kodak it is the macro setting (flower). Using these methods and finding the right settings will make it easier to get better pics without taking 100 of them.
For taking pics of fish I have found several methods and settings that work well. The most important thing about taking pics of fish is using the flash at the right angle. If you take a picture of a fish with a flash while shooting dead-on you will always get the flash somewhere in the pic. If you take the shot at an angle you reduse the chances of getting the bounce fron the flash in the picture. The functions settings on most P&S cameras are basically the same. You will want to pick a setting that has the fastest shutter speed. I have found that the macro setting (flower) and the action setting (running man) are the two better setting for taking fish pics. Taking pics of slower moving fish is much easier, but taking pics of fast moving fish is difficult. I have found that taking pics of the faster moving fish like danio's the better way is to watch the fish. Most of the time they have a certain patter they tend to swim in the tank. When the fish turns it is generally much slower. This is a good time to take advantage of the slower speed of the fish. I have found that if focus the camera on the closest object where the fish generally turns at, the camera can focus oh the fish much faster. Also the closer the fish is to the glass the better. You will get better color from the flash and the pic will be much clearer. I like to lower my lighting when shooting with a flash.
This way I have less distraction from the background and more emphasis on the fish.
I have also found that moving the camera at the same speed as the fish can result in much better pics as well, but this takes some time to master.
I started taking pics of my fish back when cameras only had one megapixel. I have taken thousands of fish pics and it took some time to get good at it. With the technology in todays cameras taking great shots is much easier.
The most important thing in aquatic photography is to keep at it. Take lots of pics and learn the settings on your camera. Before you know it you will be needing a new camera because you have maxed out on your skills with the current one you have.
Whether you are taking pics of fish or taking full shots of your tank, they both require totally different ways of using the camera.
When taking pics of your tank you definitely dont want to use a flash. So with that in mind you want to make sure your lighting on the tank is bright enough to see everything in the tank itself. You can always add more lighting to the tank if necessary. Although I have found that stock lighting is adequate enough for a good pic.
When shooting a tank without the flash it is very important to keep the camera as still as possible. If you shake alot then 90% of your shots will be blurry. Using a tripod will definitely make taking these type of shots much easier. Unfortunatly when using P&S cameras there is not much you can do lighten or darken the picture itself. I found by taking a series of pics in the same exact position and changing the function(different settings on your cameras dial) of each pic I could determine the best setting to take FTS shots. On my Kodak this setting was the landscape setting. On my sons Kodak it is the macro setting (flower). Using these methods and finding the right settings will make it easier to get better pics without taking 100 of them.
For taking pics of fish I have found several methods and settings that work well. The most important thing about taking pics of fish is using the flash at the right angle. If you take a picture of a fish with a flash while shooting dead-on you will always get the flash somewhere in the pic. If you take the shot at an angle you reduse the chances of getting the bounce fron the flash in the picture. The functions settings on most P&S cameras are basically the same. You will want to pick a setting that has the fastest shutter speed. I have found that the macro setting (flower) and the action setting (running man) are the two better setting for taking fish pics. Taking pics of slower moving fish is much easier, but taking pics of fast moving fish is difficult. I have found that taking pics of the faster moving fish like danio's the better way is to watch the fish. Most of the time they have a certain patter they tend to swim in the tank. When the fish turns it is generally much slower. This is a good time to take advantage of the slower speed of the fish. I have found that if focus the camera on the closest object where the fish generally turns at, the camera can focus oh the fish much faster. Also the closer the fish is to the glass the better. You will get better color from the flash and the pic will be much clearer. I like to lower my lighting when shooting with a flash.
This way I have less distraction from the background and more emphasis on the fish.
I have also found that moving the camera at the same speed as the fish can result in much better pics as well, but this takes some time to master.
I started taking pics of my fish back when cameras only had one megapixel. I have taken thousands of fish pics and it took some time to get good at it. With the technology in todays cameras taking great shots is much easier.
The most important thing in aquatic photography is to keep at it. Take lots of pics and learn the settings on your camera. Before you know it you will be needing a new camera because you have maxed out on your skills with the current one you have.
yeah i have noticed that lighting is very important... i learned to soften the light with some thing... currently duckweeds 
also i completely avoid using flash all together now because the glass reflect it all back, i also press against the glass to prevent the reflection of myself from showing up... so far it worked pretty well but the angles i can take pictures of is limited... and taking a picture of entire tank is out of question using this method.
I really can't afford any expensive equipment so i am making due with what i have. If anyone know some little tricks it would be helpful
here is a lovely new picture i have
also i completely avoid using flash all together now because the glass reflect it all back, i also press against the glass to prevent the reflection of myself from showing up... so far it worked pretty well but the angles i can take pictures of is limited... and taking a picture of entire tank is out of question using this method.
I really can't afford any expensive equipment so i am making due with what i have. If anyone know some little tricks it would be helpful
here is a lovely new picture i have
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