Taking photos

[Topfish]

Evening all

I have borrowed a digital camera of a mate to have another go at getting some decent pictures of my fish, and as my first attempt left a lot to be desired I thought I'd ask if any body had any tips?

The first time I tried I ended up with the reflection of the flash in most of the pictures so I ended up not using the flash, but as a result...... well they were a bit dark!

I have fiddled around with the settings and I can get reasonably good pics but being new to digital cameras there are some things I am not sure about. On of the settings is for 'EV' and the option go between -1.2 and +1.2 but I'm not sure what this means, any ideas?

Any other tips appreciated.... like how to get them to sit still!

PS.... also wish I'd done a better job cleaning the tank out at the weekend!

[jonah]

Make sure the glass is as clean as possible inside and out, and take the picture at an angle so the flash is less of a problem. I finally figured out how to crop my pictures and that's helped get rid of the excess glare that does make it into my shots.

Here's my album:
www.cichlidgallery.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=cichlids

The pictures with glare are the ones I posted before I figured out cropping. I've heard some people take pictures in dark rooms of lit tanks without a flash, but I haven't been very happy with my results that way. Mine tend to come out more blurred that way.

[finz]

The +- EV settings are to force the camera to overexpose or underexpose what the light meter thinks should be the correct setting. You probably don't want to set any exposure compensation while photographing your fish. If the camera has a zoom lens, set it for telephoto. If it has a macro setting, chose that too. If the camera allows you to use both settings in combination you will be zoomed in enough to get the flash reflection out of your picture and yet close enough to see details on your fish.

[img:9a28ebbd3b]http://home.earthlink.net/~jimkphoto/ornatus.JPG[/img:9a28ebbd3b]

[merlyn2221]

Hi, Finz!

Wow, what a beauty. I am rather new to the cichlid world, so can you tell me what the name of that fish is? The photo is excellent.
My husband and I take digital pics, too, but usually get the glare. Thanks for the tips on using the camera to photograph such terrific creatures! :D

Eileen

[Overawed]

Topfish and Merlyn

Its best not to use your on-camera flash for fish photos because the flash almost always reflects on the glass. Most all aqaurium florescent lighting is too weak to acheive nice results. Your best bet for nice light (with a digital camera) is to open the top of the tank and place an incandescent light (or two or three) from above and light the tank from the top. This might freak your fish out at first so let them get used to it.

If you are using film (like I like to do) then it gets a bit more complicated. You can check out my website below for info on film.

Hope that helps.

[finz]

[quote:2721cfb23e="merlyn2221"]Hi, Finz!

Wow, what a beauty. I am rather new to the cichlid world, so can you tell me what the name of that fish is? The photo is excellent.
My husband and I take digital pics, too, but usually get the glare. Thanks for the tips on using the camera to photograph such terrific creatures! :D

Eileen[/quote:2721cfb23e]

Hi Eileen, The fish is a Julidochromis ornatus - a rock dwelling cichlid from Lake Tanganyika. Thanks for the kind words. My digital camera has the ability to use an off-camera flash which takes care of the glare problem altogether. :)

[ReesaPie]

now that would be handy to have. I need to eventually get an off-camera flash for my SRL. i try to set up lamps and other sorces of lighting off to the side of my tank so that, while it lights the fish it doesn create a glare in the viewfinder. an off camera flash would still be best though, as i usally have to take my pictures with a shutterspeed no faster then 1/30 sec to get them exposed nicely. usally the fish come out blurred. all well. i guess i could use some advice as well :)

[SnowBirdy6]

Finz..

Can you please let me know how you put the picture on like that for others to view? I have been trying but keep coming up unsuccessful.. please help me figure it out!!

Snowbirdy6

[Ekliptix]

if the camera has manual options, I'd go to shutter priority.

Use the flash (not straight on w/ the glass), and make the shutter speed as fast as possible, while keeping the resulting picture bright enough.

Make sure you're in Macro mode too.

[Boilermaker]

Great shot Finz, check this one out I'm starting to get the hang of this digital camera, this was taken with Kodak DX3600 pretty basic digital.

[img:69be56bd4c]http://cichlidgallery.com/albums/album09/DCP_0409.sized.jpg[/img:69be56bd4c]