new member looking for tips on aquarium pics

[whaboutbob]

Hi, I recently purchased my first slr (XSi) and I am so glad I found this forum. The wealth of information here is amazing, as well as overwhelming. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can about this camera and how to make great pictures.

One of my other hobbies is aquariums and I find getting good shots of the fish/plants in the tank can be difficult. Below are some of my first shots with the XSi that I thought I'd post to get some feedback on techniques to taking better photos of my tanks. I know that turning the AF off and using a flash above the tank are a few ideas that will help, but I was wondering if there are any other suggestions.

These photos were taken with an ISO of 1600 and AF on and no flash. I was playing around with the shutter speed and aperture on these, so I'm not sure what those settings were.

Anyway, thanks for taking a look.

Electric Blue Jack Dempsey
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/3048349756_e3ff087ff5.jpg?v=0

Congo Tetras
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3028/3048371470_b0d34426df.jpg?v=0

another picture Electric Blue Jack
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/3047555231_d225ddbae2.jpg?v=0

Jacks mate, which is a regular Jack Dempsey
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3217/3048396394_63f21fe489.jpg?v=0

[34Ford]

Looks great to me.;) Do you have to have the room dark?

[whaboutbob]

Looks great to me.;) Do you have to have the room dark?

thanks, I think they're ok, but I know I can get much better shots eventually

regarding the room dark, setting up a dark background behind you when shooting is actually another tip that I forgot about. The room was dark, but I didn't have a dark sheet behind me. I did find on some shots that I would get some reflection of objects in the aquarium glass, so the dark background would help eliminate that.

[jessicainvt]

I agree, these are really nice shots.

[whaboutbob]

well thanks. I found a few posts on this forum with some helpful advice on taking pictures of tanks. so I hope to improve.

[davruns]

if you need some aquarium photo inspiration... http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/

[whaboutbob]

I do love that site. I had actually used some of the displays from the "freshwater 2" pictures for ideas on how to design my current 75g tank. mainly with the large river stones and plants, which is helping to keep my cichlids from uprooting the plants.

one thing about that site though, I'm not sure that those are actual pictures. they almost appear to be enhanced in some way so that they kind of look airbrushed or painted. I guess they just look too perfect.

[Walczak Photo]

Over all I think these look pretty good. As I'm sure you know by now, tanks can be hard to shoot because of the limited light. The first thing I would suggest would be using a high ISO as you did here and of course a fast lens. Since it looks like both of your lenses are EF-S models, I'm guessing they both are probably only f/3.5 or slower (although I could be wrong), so I might suggest picking up something like a Canon 50mm f/1.8 or the "nifty fifty" as it's commonly called...they are really fast lenses and can usually be had for under $100. The build quality of the nifty fifty is a bit poor (hey...it's only a $100 lens), but they are really sharp and I've found that mine does pretty good work on aquariums.

Also, playing with the lighting can help a bit but as I'm sure you are aware you have to be careful with this otherwise the shots end up looking rather unnatural. That said, don't be afraid to experiment either (the beauty of shooting digital!)...you can always try using something like a quartz/halogen light from the side or something as apposed to using a flash. This should give you enough light to shoot hand held if you do it right....just don't freak out the fish :D.

Beyond that the other thing I would mention is simply the choice of fish you use as subjects. Not to be rude here or anything but Jack Dempseys and Tetras are fairly common fish...you might get more impact with the images by shooting something a little more "exotic". Also, and this is a bit subjective on my part but personally when I'm doing shots of this nature, I tend to clone the "bubbles" out of the shot. This is just my opinion of course but I think that in most cases, the bubbles tend to end up looking more like dirt on the lens.

Alrighty, just my $.02 worth,
Jim

[whaboutbob]

thanks for the advice Jim. You're correct about my lenses in that they're slower kit lenses, so probably not the best for these shots. Since I just sunk a bunch of money into the camera and lens kit, it'll be a while until I can justify another lens. I need to get a few other things first, like an external flash and tripod. So I'll work on your lighting suggestions. I have another light that I can bring over from another tank to see if that helps. I know that Jacks and tetra's are common, however the male Jack is an Electric Blue and is considered one of the most beautiful freshwater fish, and they're not that common. The tetra's are congo's, which are called the jewels of the tetras because they are quite beautiful, but definitely not exotic. I understand your point and I definitely don't consider it rude.

regarding cloning out the bubbles, I am guessing that's a photo shop technique that I'll need to read up on. I have noticed quite a few threads on this forum where folks are helping others out with editing, which is something I did not realize was such a big part of photography. No wonder this is such an amazing hobby. There's so much to learn and the possibilities are limitless.

[TheSonofDarwin]

If this is your aquarium where you have control over the stuff, shut off the filters while you are shooting so you don't get the specks of air bubbles. If you happen to have a Vortex diatom filter at your disposal, that also makes a world of difference. When I used to shoot my aquariums I had the normal 6' double lamp lighting on, but I also had 2 more 6' double bulbed lighting fixtures for additional light while shooting. Aquarium lighting can be expensive, but the lighting fixtures from Lowes/Home Depot/etc. are only about $10 each and produce good lighting. Just don't leave them on all the time or you'll boil your fish. External flash from above also produces good results. IMO, the requirement for high ISO is your main issue.

There is a member here that does amazing cichlid photography, but he's more active over at the cichlid forums. I'll find his name and shoot you a PM, he can probably give you great tips :D

Here's one of this threads: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=65322&highlight=fish
Paradise is his username - his site (in the thread) has great tips on aquatic photography. His gallery: http://egfoto.com/gallery/default.html

[Walczak Photo]

regarding cloning out the bubbles, I am guessing that's a photo shop technique that I'll need to read up on. I have noticed quite a few threads on this forum where folks are helping others out with editing, which is something I did not realize was such a big part of photography. No wonder this is such an amazing hobby. There's so much to learn and the possibilities are limitless.


I just wanted to make a few quick comments on that particular statement. Photography, digital or film can be as "easy" or as complex as you want it to be. There are a great many people who simply take the memory card out of their camera when they're done shooting, take it to the local drug store/1 hour photo and are quite happy with the prints they get back. The same was true of film for many many years...remember those old "Fotomat" drive thru's? Of course this is also why so many people who own cameras (you'll note I didn't say "photographers") have the proverbial shoe boxes full of 4x6's! LOL!!!

Of course in "the old days" to a lot of folks this was what separated the real photographers from the snap shooters...most folks who were serious about photography had their own darkroom and processed all their own images. Now a days with programs such as Photoshop (and others to be sure) it's really the same thing only it's easier and more cost effective. After all, in the darkroom if you wanted to "experiment" with different processing techniques and you screwed something up...those chemicals and the papers were usually a tad bit expensive. With Photoshop however, if you make a mistake, you just hit "undo" and try it again! LOL!!!

To me the basic principle is still the same... you don't have to do your own processing, but if you want your images to look their best, it's well worth learning how to edit your own images, even on a basic level. Learning how to properly adjust levels, curves, saturation and even tools such as the cloning/healing brushes, sharpening, noise reduction, cropping, etc., can make all the difference between a "snap shot" and an image worth framing.

Just an extra $.02 worth,
Jim

[whaboutbob]

thanks again Jim, as always tips, tricks and advice is always very welcome. I will admit I used to be more of a point and shoot guy, but liked to think I could try and take a good photo. But now I see the potential to learn how to make a great photo and I definitely have the bug.

and thank you Justin for suggestions and links. I hope to report back at a later date with some improved photo's of tanks.

[hecster]

that electric blue jack dempsey looks amazing!