Taking photos of fish is not easy, but try
Pictures will also come out better if you take them at night. If you must take pictures during the day, and want good quality shots, close any, and all, curtains or blinds. If you have a window that is in the room, and uncovered, throw some fabric over it; the darker the better. The only light you want on, to avoid unsightly glare, is the overhead tank light. Which brings me to my next point…
Having sufficient over tank lighting. If all the lights in the house are out, how can you possibly get the camera to take a good picture? That’s easy, but you’ll need to have strong lighting over the inside of the tank. If you need to, drag a lamp or two over, and shine it over the tank. Light it up as much as possible, in order to ensure crisp, clear shots. Having “bright white” daylight simulation bulbs are best, to obtain true to color shots.
Taking photos of fish
Don’t use the flash! Using the flash can make a real mess of what could have been a decent shot. If you must use the flash, don’t shoot the picture straight on, turn the camera so that the glare on the glass will not be the focus of the picture. Using the flash can also cause portions of the fish to shine like a diamond, while causing other parts to cast into deep shadow. Much of a fish’s natural coloring will be washed out, or lost, by using flash photography. Macro is your friend. An often overlooked part of a digital camera is the macro function.
fish photography
Taking photos of fish
For aquarium photography, this can be very useful. It allows you to take very close up shots, and still have them be crisp and clear. The macro feature can be found on most digital cameras, and is often represented by the picture of a tulip. Having a very steady hand, or a tripod, will be a great help in ensuring that your macro shots turn out well. Macros are very useful for diagnosing a sick fish, as you can focus on only the affected part of the fish. It can often be the best hope of getting the quickest, and most accurate, diagnosis possible. Here are a few examples of macro vs. non macro photography. Macro: Macro: Macro: Non macro: Here’s an example where not having a good shot can hinder the diagnosis process.
This fish has a secondary bacterial infection which resulted from the bite of an overzealous parasite. Scroll up to see this fish shot again in macro. Finding a good background! A simple, yet very effective way of making sure your photos look their best, is choosing a flattering backdrop. Try to use a color that causes your fish to *pop*, rather than blend into the background. For example, If you have a tank full of black fish, maybe a black background isn’t right for you. Changing up your background color is also a quick, and inexpensive way to give your aquarium a whole new look.
Use photo editing software! The use of a good photo editor has saved many a great shots from the recycle bin. Use it to fix color problems, to straighten a photo, or to change a photo’s size for use on a forum. A great photo editor, which is also FREE, is called “Gimp”. You can easily download it on the net. In short, the key to taking great aquarium photos are: *Take lots of photos *Turn off all but the over tank lights *Use Macro *Don’t use the flash *Find a good background *Use a photo editor *Practice makes perfect I hope that you enjoyed this, and I hope that you learned a lot. I can’t wait to see those photos!
Taking photos of fish