Learn to take pics of your tank with me!

[Cherokee_Dude]

So, I'm only 1 day old with this Camera and I plan on taking mostly shots of my tank, corals and fish {For now}. There is a ton of information out there, but I want this thread to be of the stuff we really care about... Taking awesome pictures of our tanks!

I'm calling on all the experts to guide us through this journey.
To that end; I am willing to try different techniques, exposures, settings, lighting conditions, etc... based on the advice from experts here and will post the resulting image results. Give me a challenge!

I am hoping to document my journey with Reef Photography; from camera purchase, to taking pictures, to making post capture adjustments for THE BEST possible pictures. I'll be posting links to articles that I found easy to follow here as well...


Day 0; Decided on a Camera based on the needs for capturing things in our tank. Here are the baseline requirements as I figured them to be...

1. Fast enough to capture moving Wrasses and other speedy fish
2. Needs to be able to accept nicer Lenses, but also cheaper ones that will do the job for a newbie
3. Has to be within my budget, but understanding that a decent DSLR is not super cheat, {Plus, Can't be spending too much coral money :tongue:}
4. Has to have the ability to accept Macro Lenses and use Auto-focus for the learning curve {If it's too much trouble to get started taking decent pictures, it'll end up on the shelf pretty quickly }

Here's what I decided on for Equipment, cost me about 600 to get started;
Nikon DSLR D-80
Sigma 28-300mm lens
Nikkor 55-200mm Lens w/ VR {Vibration Reduction}
8GB SD Card
Wireless Camera Remote
Tripod
Camera Case
Camera Manual - Download the one for your camera RIGHT AWAY!



Day 1 ; Not much time to read today so I just used AutoFocus and had at it! Been trying to get a representative shot of the last chalice for a loooong time now, It's about the size of a tea saucer and is my absolute Favorite Coral! Throw up some advice or chime in on equipment I'm missing and why it's important.

 

[Cherokee_Dude]

 

[wilfx]

Looks to me like your off to a good start.

 

[FOXYB]

awesome pics man
did you pick that set up used or did it come as a package somewhere with all the above included

 

[dcforester1]

If I could get shots that good, I would be happy, and close the thread right now. I have a point, and shoot, and cannot get decent pictures. This thing wasnt cheap. When I got it I asked for something that would do high speed, and shoot in a variety of lighting conditions. Maybe its the thing behind the camera that is the problem in my case.

delta posted a great site for tips, and how tos called, Ximasphotography.com. Great idea for a thread, and good luck

Derek

 

[Cherokee_Dude]

Looks to me like your off to a good start.

Thanks man!

awesome pics man
did you pick that set up used or did it come as a package somewhere with all the above included

I got the camera used from a member here, but Craigslist had similar body FS for the same, or cheaper

I bought the Nikkor lens for 100 bucks separately. It was pretty much new and is in great shape! From what I've read Unless they're not taken care of, lenses will always outlast a camera.

Here's a review that sealed the deal for me... http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/nikon-d80-guide.html

If I could get shots that good, I would be happy, and close the thread right now. I have a point, and shoot, and cannot get decent pictures. This thing wasnt cheap. When I got it I asked for something that would do high speed, and shoot in a variety of lighting conditions. Maybe its the thing behind the camera that is the problem in my case.

delta posted a great site for tips, and how tos called, Ximasphotography.com. Great idea for a thread, and good luck

Derek

Thanks for the kind words, but seriously compared to some of the great Photos I've seen here, I've got a long way to go! I agree that you can't substitute experience for equipment!

I have a SONY P&S as well... The problem likely isn't the camera itself or user error , so much as it seems to be the lack of the Lens' ability for the various types of shots we want to come out good. The requirements for a FTS with a ton of light pouring into the picture is much different than a Macro shot where we are focusing on color and depth. But what do I know... I've played with this thing all of two days. Hopefully someone else chimes in

Oh, and that link didn't work... Can you check the URL please? I'd like to take a look at the site.

 

[kotu100]

I'm gonna tag along for a ride. I need to brush up on my picture taking skills. It's deff much different without a dslr though.

 

[Miller]

When I got into photography when I was 12 my parents got a photographer in town to mentor me (this was 12-13yrs ago). I don't remember what camera he loaned me to use but there WERE NO AUTOMATIC FEATURES. Everything was manual, focus, aperture, shutter speed, ISO which with 35mm was your film choice.

I really thought it SUCKED having to set everything before being able to take a photo. You might also think this but it really is the way to go. The learning curve will be a little steeper but the end result will be much better!.

Learning on 35mm had its advantages over digital. Digital gives you the instant view of what your photo looked like. You don't have to buy film and pay for developing like 35mm. This creates one problem.....people learn to photography like a scared crazy person with an AK47. Think before you release the shutter! If the object being photographed isn't 100% in focus don't waste the shot, stop take second and adjust your focus. This may should harsh but if the photograph is not in focus I could careless, I am going to skip over and move unto the next or another thread to see photos that are in focus. Doesn't matter to me if the coral in the photo is beautiful, if you can capture that then I can't see it.

I'd suggest never using any of the presets for your camera if you are looking for an artistic/documentary shot. For quick shot of the family the presets will do a decent job while you are learning so it won't take you to long to get that shot of a friend. The fish and corals in your tank are not going anywhere so NO PRESETS. Use manual 100% of the time, later once you get the hang of it and fully understand what certain camera settings like shutter speed, aperature, ISO can do in relationship to each other then you can get a little lazy and use Aperture priority or Shutter priority. Every photo I take is in Manual, Aperture priority or Shutter priority, this way you have control over your image instead of the camera.

Fish that move fast need auto focus....so there is your one allowed auto feature. To get the UBER sharp images of corals manually focusing is CRUCIAL.

If you learn the way I am suggesting you won't become a person that pops off 100+ to get 5-10 good photos. If you truly learn to use your camera and want to get a nice photo of a coral you will be able to get it in ONE shot once you know what you are doing. Fish on the other hand can be a little trickery since they move randomly.

My first challenge for you is.....

FOCUS learn how to get a SUPER crisp image. Focus to me is VERY important, if you can't get that then nothing else you can do with the camera will make the photo worth looking at.

 

[bobbybats160]

Wow!!!! Very nice.

 

[Cherokee_Dude]

Day 7; Decided to switch to RAW format. Which I understand to be a picture where as much original formatting/pixels and and data from the camera to the PC are retained.

Also, a few things have become clearer based on a few test shots...
I've learned that ISO Settings, Flash and Framing {Subject Focusing} are all VERY important for taking pics of our tanks.

Let's tackle these one at a time, using my Purple slimer {on left} and Garf Bonsai {on right}...

ISO Setting is 250 for this example: Think of this as film sensitivity which is important because of the amount of seriously high output we use on our tanks.

The best way to think of it is like our Skin.
You know how some people are slightly allergic to dogs and can hang out in your house for a little while... While some people break out if they grab your jacket by accident?

The camera's sensor, which initially 'Captures' the actual image, is just like that, except we can say how 'Allergic' the film is to light when exposed at shutter release.

Notice how the first shot is grainy in the darker areas {It's easier to see if you enlarge it}? Photography people call it 'Noise' when it appears that you're looking at a picture through a window on a rainy day. That effect, at least for Macro shots, is reduced the lower we set the ISO while still capturing the level of detail we're looking for..

The other thing to note is the affect of a 6500k flash on the corals true color. In this context 'True color' to me is what I see when I have certain lighting on. I probably won't be using a flash for many more pictures since I/we don't have ~6000k lights and the first pic is NOT what any of my SPS corals look like, even out of the water. The second pic is much truer to what I see.

This context will change depending on whether I am trying to capture the color under 14k Phoenix Bulbs, T5HO Actinic Lighting, Blue LED's or a combination of these

These were with the Halides and Actinic supplementation lighting on.

Lastly, I messed with the Auto-Focus/Shutter Release button {aka Prayer button} on the second shot when I was Framing, or using the focusing brackets in the viewer, for the shot I wanted to take. Which caused it to focus more on the Garf Bonsai even though they are right next to each other. I'm going to switch to working with one subject at a time now since that seems like a whole nother ball of wax when it comes to macros.

Here's an example using moving subjects...

 

[Cherokee_Dude]

Here is a pic of my ORA Picasso clown without flash and using a tripod. The whole 'Picture day' thing is working for me. I know they're hungry and will spend more time in the front of the tank/camera Try to look past the Magnavore etchings on the Acrylic for now. I'm still putting together the build thread for the Glass Cages 120... and after all... camera's only capture what is actually there anyways right?

One final point... If you want to take good macros, even of fish. Hop on ebay and get a Tripod because you'll need it for sure...

I thought I'd pose a challenge to the photo buffs on here... I will offer the subject, you will offer tips for a great shot. OK?

I have a Purple with Super Neon Green center Favia. It can be under whatever lighting I have listed as available above, on the sandbed 20" from the main lighting and ~4" from the front of the glass. Post your tips and I'll post the results!

Thanks again for everyone's feedback! This is fun!

 

[Cherokee_Dude]

I found some good tips for macro shots here... Very easy read.
macro photography tips with example photographs and images - SLR Photography Guide

 

[delta]

Barry gave you some really good advice

Try this site is has a better explanation of reef photography and how to deal with the issue of shooting into a glass box.
http://www.ximinasphotography.com/lessons/index.html

Shooting a fish tank = NO FLASH

Also shoot straight on (90° to glass/ no angle) to the glass. Keep the room dark so you have no reflections from the light in the room.

 

[Cherokee_Dude]

Yup, I appreciated his words for sure! It's a super learning curve to taking pictures and every capture I'm learning something...

Reading other's advice, websites, and books are very helpful. But, I'm finding that playing with the controls and learning how a change in ISO here, in shutter speed there, background lighting here, spacing to the tank there... Ugghhh!!! You get the idea.

The pro's are professional's for reason and deserve much respect.

So, I'm planning on sticking to a single subject using Manual next. I've chosen the super neon green centered favia I mentioned above.

Thanks to you both for chiming in... The tripod is up and the room lights are off.. . We'll see what we get

 

[Jim Tansey]

Greg,

I'm a big fan of off camera flash, and from your own link...."Properly used, a flash can yield stunning photos."

Jim

 

[Cherokee_Dude]

I'm finding that by adjusting the ISO to ~100 to ~200 with the camera up close I can control the lighting in the original pic without losing original color I see in the tank itself.

The flash seems to wash out the colors quite a bit on macro shots...

Comparatively, the higher I go with this setting on the camera, the darker the shots w/o a flash. Although I can tweak the white balance later, the 'Noise' mentioned above makes those shots look grainy.

I'll post some sample shots later...

 

[Ronnie]

Were is the KISS method.

Maybe someone should set up a Photo adventure tour and see how everyone does it.

Fish tanks are challenging to shoot. Keep that in mind. All rules are made to be broken and ways around it. Like taking your $600 dollar lens and putting in the water to get the shot.

Great Thread, Love the links.

 

[jimrawr]

What type of lens is better for shooting coral? If you use a macro lens, wouldnt you need to get the coral RIGHT next to the glass?

 

[Ronnie]

What type of lens is better for shooting coral? If you use a macro lens, wouldnt you need to get the coral RIGHT next to the glass?

If you have the room you can shot the hole tank with a macro. Macro lenses lets you shoot close so you can bring small things to full size view. Can also be a great prime. I can explain more if you want. I shot my FTS with a macro and my son.

 

[jimrawr]

I just thought when you use Macro you need to be really close to what you are shooting.. So to get any pictures of coral, they would need to be up next to the glass to get that really crisp and detailed image..

I always thought people used telephoto lenses and just zoomed right up to the coral, then focused