So I got a new camera (Canon Powershot A630). It has manual controls, so I was easily able to take pictures of my stationary corys, but taking pictures of guppies, who never seem to stay still, is impossible. Either my pictures come out to dark because of a low aperture/high shutter speed, or they come out blurry. Any tips?
when I photograph fish I max out 2 memory cards...about 300 pics. if I am lucky I will use 10 of them. usually less. take a ton and see what comes about
This is kind of a letdown... so basically pictures of moving fish = low aperture + fast shutter + many many pictures? But what about lighting? The problem is that I often have to raise the aperture size in order to get enough light... do you guys ever shine extra light onto the tank, like from a desk lamp? And where do you hold the camera? I found that right up to the glass is best - what do you do?
Turn on every light in the room, even if it's daytime. Get as much light going as possible, so they are not backlight by the tank's lights. Set for low ap/high shutter speed, leave your flash on, move in close to the tank so the flash is bouncing above your target frame. Very clean glass helps. If you're using auto focus, turn it off, and focus on a target area. Then wait for the fish to pass through the target area and snap your picture. If you're wanting to track the fish and photograph, stick to manual focusing and try to get him as he crosses the tank, rather than during turns, or other manuvers. Once you set your focus area, move the camera slightly closer or further away rather than trying to dial in or out with the movement of the fish.... Think that's about it.. it's tricky and takes more than a little practice. You'll still be throwing out more than half of your pictures, but hey, it's digital, and you'll improve.
Whoa, that is a beautiful picture! When you say turn on all the lights, do you mean indirect light from a ceiling lamp, or light pointed directly at the tank? Thanks so much for the tips, I've been taking photos without flash...
I mean every light in the room, and every light in the next room if it puts more light in your fish tank room. Open the curtains to let daylight in. Light bends around corners and spreads out in a cone from the emitter. Any light that can bear on your tank helps, and you'll be blocking some of it with your body. More is better.
Set your flash for softer light. You're not really using much of the light from it since your so close, but it'll keep your camera's shutter speed high, because the camera is'nt holding the shutter open according to light conditions. It's running the shutter according to the flash speed. Sometimes, when the flash is saturating my target anyway, I put tape over it. Basicly, you're tricking your camera into using what light is there, while thinking it's using it's own flash.
Thanks Malefic23! I see you already looked at the guppy photos I took in the General Freshwater section... the 6 week old was the toughest since he is always on the move, but hey practice makes perfect. Good thing I bought a 2gig memory card.
