| Author | Thread |
|
|
02/09/2007 02:10:04 PM · #1 |
| I'm wondering if anyone can give me tips on taking photographs of fish in fish tanks? I know a few people with tanks with some really nice looking fish in, but when i try and take a shot of them they move to fast and blur in the shot. Obviously i can't use the built in flash as it just flares back, so i have to have quite a long exposure time which is the reason for the blurry fish. Any ideas and tips would be great cheers. |
|
|
|
02/09/2007 02:14:26 PM · #2 |
Photographing Fish and Tanks
I just read a great article about fish photography this morning in Popular Photography. A quick google search found several sites -- the one linked above looks particularly helpful.
|
|
|
|
02/09/2007 02:16:30 PM · #3 |
| Bright lights or a fast lens with high ISO. Instead of using a flash, try lighting from behind or above. |
|
|
|
02/09/2007 02:25:58 PM · #4 |
They are hard to shoot.
ISO400 to 800 is a must!
Been there a few times, succeeding a few times though:
(ran out of portfolio space - Again!)
|
|
|
|
02/12/2007 09:25:07 AM · #5 |
Thanks for that people, very helpful. Brad what lighting setup did you use for your shots?
Cheers
|
|
|
|
02/12/2007 09:41:14 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by Brad:
|
these are great. i tried photographing a clownfish at the local aquarium and it went horribly wrong. i think the public acquariums aren't bright enough.
i really want to get shots of stingers and jellyfish ...
|
|
|
|
02/12/2007 09:49:28 AM · #7 |
These are from the Camden Aquarium. I used the lighting they had and the fastest shutter speed I could get at a fairly high (for my camera) ISO.
|
|
|
|
02/12/2007 09:58:27 AM · #8 |
I had some trouble in the aquarium as there is *just* not enough light if you are not using a flash. At ISO 800 and speed 1/50s there was just not enough light as my F4.5 kit lens is not that fast. At higher ISO you can turn noise reduction ON, but I did not do that on that occasion, but perhaps that is something to try.
The effort below was my best one:
I was not using a flash here. It actually conned some people into believing that it was taken underwater, but this was not the case.
Walking round the aquarium, I have seen some people with a. ring flashes or b. 2 side mounted flashes pointed in by 45 degrees towards a close subject. I don't own either of these devices but maybe the people who do can share a thing or 2...? I would feel a bit bad using a flash as this must stress the fish out, but many people do and the workers there don't seem to mind.
|
|
|
|
02/12/2007 10:08:03 AM · #9 |
I was lucky to be allowed to take as many photographs that I wanted to in a large fish aquarium store. I took about 80-100 shots of different fish and different tanks, including a floor pond, in a half hour that I had available. Chasing those fish left and right really worked uo a sweat. I was trying to get a side view but as soon as they saw me they would turn to face me.
Maybe trigger the camera with a remote and go hide or at least far enough out of view, then crop as needed.
When I do it again, I'll make sure I have a tripod, since the shutter speed at ISO 100, even with a f/1.4 lens (may have been f/2.8), was too slow. Using a circular polarizer filter eliminated any glare from the glass.
I was worried that a flash would scare them, so I didn't try an flash shots, except maybe one, which glared on the glass. Reflected light from an umbrella or even a white/silver reflector or white foamboard may give enough light, but I'm not sure of the glare. Flash is okay with the fish, but probably glares on the glass, too much.
I'll post a couple more examples this evening.
 |
|
|
|
02/12/2007 10:27:31 AM · #10 |
|
|
|
02/12/2007 10:36:48 AM · #11 |
It is possible to use a flash, you just can't a) be facing the tank straight on (shoot at an angle to the glass) or b) have the flash on the camera (use a cable to hold your flash off to the side, or hang a strobe over the tank). Here are a few of mine:
And the whole tank:
 |
|
|
|
02/12/2007 11:19:28 AM · #12 |
Several issues come to mind:
(a) Specular highlights: get a large black foamcore board or other to block highlights/reflections from nearby windows and lights. When framing the shot, look for these. They are easy to neglect. Best is to photograph with no lights on in the room. However, photographing planted tanks at night means that some of the plants are closed (nichtinasty - their leaves close around the stem).
(b) White balance for an aquarium may be either fluorescent or metal halide. Use custom white balance. Some aquaria use both types of lighting. Fluorescent lights can be anything from 6500-20000 kelvin. Freshwater tanks tend to be under 10000 kelvin.
(c) Ensure your lens is parallel to the front glass of the aquarium; avoid bowfronted or curved glass aquaria.
(d) Use a tripod.
(e) Use an aperture setting that gives you the greatest depth of field possible.
(f) Clean the algae off the glass the day before. Clean the tank the day before and scoop off any tiny bits of floating material on the surface. Do this again on the morning of the shoot. Change 50% of the water the day before.
(g) Don't feed fish on the day of shooting. Food contaminates water clarity.
For more inspiration regarding aquaria, see Oliver Knott's projects: Plantella.
Useful link 1: Cichlid Forum
Useful link 2: Aquaticplantcentral.com forum
Check some of Takashi Amano's nature aquarium worlds. He is perhaps the foremost creator in the area of freshwater aquaria.
Enjoy yourself ;-)
(One of my aquatic gardens).
Message edited by author 2007-02-12 11:31:00. |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 09/06/2025 06:52:57 PM EDT.
