Question:
How can I take a good photo of my fish?
lisa
2010-08-03 03:43:37 UTC
They are just in a glass aquarium. I just have a digital camera, but I can't get any nice pictures of my fish :( they turn out blury and such.
Any advise on how I can capture a better image? My camera has macro and super macro and all that.

Thanks for any help
Seven answers:
Darin Heinz
2010-08-08 08:28:14 UTC
You can get a very nice shot, and make it look like you were underwater with the fish,

- without risk of electric shock

- without horrid reflections

- without needing to fire a flash off-camera

- using a point and shoot or better camera.



Use a black lens hood (or make one from a $1.00 black toilet plunger: discard the wooden handle and cut a hole out around the center where the threaded bit is). Put it right up to the glass, charge up your flash, and fire. As long as there isn't a clear view of the rear side of glass directly in front of the camera (i.e. obscured by decorations or plants or what-not), the flash reflection won't show up in your image. Use a little care with regard to positioning, and you'll LOVE the results. Give it a try. It works wonderfully...



This is also a usable technique when shooting through windows (either inside looking out, or the "guerrilla" approach of photographing storefront displays)



Anyway, I hope this helps!

Darin
screwdriver
2010-08-03 11:01:54 UTC
They are blurry because the low light available means your camera is having to select a slow shutter speed.



That can be cured by using a tripod or increasing the light level, but with aquariums there is a problem.



If you just make the room lights brighter it will increase the glare you get from the glass, what you need to do is darken the room, even to black, but increase the light inside the aquarium either by continuous light (watch the water temperature) or by flash if your camera has some way of triggering an off camera flash(watch for splashes, water and the high voltages in a flashgun don't mix well). Either way will give you enough light to have a fast enough shutter speed to freeze any camera or fish movement, and flare from the glass will be controlled.



Making sure that the glass is clean both inside the aquarium and outside will reduce any flare you may get from the increased light levels.



If you go to any Sea Life Centre or puplic aquarium the tanks are always in a black painted room with minimal lighting and the tanks are well lit and mounted in the walls. Now you know why.



Chris
Genius Gene
2010-08-03 11:49:33 UTC
I absolutely loved this article on Aquarium Photography by Ashok Kandmalla: http://www.appshyderabad.org/basicsofphotography.php?id=70



Indeed helped me to take some nice pics of fishes..



Few important points from the article:



# The ambient light in the room should be kept at an absolute minimum to avoid reflections off the front glass of the aquarium



# If accessible, cover the backside of aquarium with black non-reflecting paper/cloth



# Clean and filter the water so there are no floating particles in the water, as the flash may illuminate these.



# Turn off the flash in your camera if possible.



# Hold a high wattage table lamp at the top of the aquarium (above water) pointing it downwards with the head parallel to the surface of the water.



# Put a suitable diffuser like tracing paper (or thick plastic sheet) to soften the light. Do not touch the bulb!



# If your camera allows then set the camera exposure mode set to manual exposure and the shutter speed to the fastest sync speed that the camera supports to avoid ghosting. You can keep the aperture somewhere around f11. If the function is not provided, select the mode which allows you to take outdoor photo (Do not select Night mode)



# The front element of the lens should be parallel to the aquarium front glass (that is lens axis should be perpendicular to the plane of glass)



# Mount the camera on a tripod and pre-focus at a plane in the aquarium at which the subject is likely to appear (about at an inch or two behind the front glass). ***If you do not have a tripod, place it on a table and few books to adjust the level. Keep the cam over a towel so that it doesn't slip





Hope this helps!
Ivor
2010-08-03 11:01:36 UTC
You need a fast lens, or higher ISO setting or more daylight from a window. Or flash bouncing off card above the tank. WARNING, be aware of risk of shock using electrical appliances and water. It is safer to move the tank near a window and rely on daylight.
Forlorn Hope
2010-08-03 11:27:21 UTC
DON'T use a flash... but maybe try some more light on the subject... and a higher ISO (800) to use the available light... aquarium photography is a difficult subject...



http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinwalker/4490422828/in/set-72157623643654411/
?
2010-08-03 10:50:24 UTC
grab a mirror and put it in front of the fish to get its attention works grate with betta fish.
The Headless Rider
2010-08-03 10:46:23 UTC
Be a better photographer, practice, learn, forget, and learn again.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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