fish taking??


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longkanghee

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Dec 18, 2006
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any kind doods out there kind enff to teach me???? i love taking pictures of fishes.... within the tank i mean:bsmilie:..... n i just bought my nikon D80 kit... but i just cant get the hang of it taking pictures of the fishes??? any idea to improve or must i buy anything else to improve on it.. cause am just merly a student hahaha.... if there is any pro out there willing to teach i am more keen to learn from u.... help...:dunno:
 

mmm..wat is the fish that u are thinking of shooting?

guppy? betta? arowana? catfish?

For fish taking, a few steps is basic
a) clean the glass tank's inside and outside until it is some sort of "transparent" like dat...meaning cannot see dirt etc...
b) switch on the tank lights at the top. Preferably they are strong so that they can light up the aquarium
c) remove anything ugly in ur tank eg. plastic bowls, or rotten fish, scales of dead worms that u feed ur arowanas.
d) hopefully ur water is the clear type, and not those that is milky and dirty.
e) Turning off ur filter helps too. Because when the filter is off, then won't be messy water splashing or going into ur tank water.

After the above steps is done, just go and shoot ur fish. Btw, it is recommended that u get an external flash. With the D80, it can act as a commander. Get a Sb600 or Sb800. the D80 will shoot head on, perpendicularly to the fish tank, while the sb600 or sb800 will flash at an angle wirelessly. Flashing at an angle helps to minimise unwanted reflections.

i believe adding a circular polariser will also help to minimize unwanted reflections. u might want to try this out if u have the polariser.

For fish like arowana, they swim pretty fast, u might have to shoot quite a number of times to get it right. For catfish, u might have to bend down to shoot perpendicularly to it. Because the fish is always at the bottom of the tank.

For smaller fishes like guppies and bettas, they are quite tricky. U might have to use macro lens.

I think thats about it, all these are what that flies into my mind now. I go sleep liao... enjoy shooting....
 

last time i use inbuild camera flashes.... the fishes tio scare wor...... use SB800 lagi worst....
 

For me, this is how I do it:
1) Clean the glass surface
2) Ensure there is no algae formation on the aquarium glass
3) Switch off all other light source leaving only the Tank light on.
4) prevent any stray light from getting into the room (close the door, shut the window and curtain)
5) Use the fastest lens that you have
6) Use a high ISO setting allowable without pixel noise creeping in
7) I don't use any flash

Shoot away !

Hope that helps.
 

Use to polarising filter to reduce reflections from the fish tank may help too?

If you're able to tolerate the approx. 1½ stop loss of light... ;)
 

thx guys.... seems like i have to invest a little bit more for my fish taking intrest liao... btw i keep wild bettas hahaha.... love photographing them when i am free.. .so i think a macro lens will be my first objective... any idea which lens are more suitable for bettas??? which doesnt cost a bomb... :bsmilie:
 

thx guys.... seems like i have to invest a little bit more for my fish taking intrest liao... btw i keep wild bettas hahaha.... love photographing them when i am free.. .so i think a macro lens will be my first objective... any idea which lens are more suitable for bettas??? which doesnt cost a bomb... :bsmilie:

Maybe you can try www.aquaticquotient.com
Quite a few pros there on your interests.
 

thx guys.... seems like i have to invest a little bit more for my fish taking intrest liao... btw i keep wild bettas hahaha.... love photographing them when i am free.. .so i think a macro lens will be my first objective... any idea which lens are more suitable for bettas??? which doesnt cost a bomb... :bsmilie:

Bettas should be easy. What kind of wild bettas? Plakats? imbellis? Pugnax? etc? Get one of those square glass tanks for bettas. Will be good for taking individiual pics of them.

Do u keep them in blackwater or clear water? Kept individually or community?
If in black water tank, could be difficult because of the coloration of the water.

A simple desktop florescent light above the glass tank should provide enough light. Can consider getting a macro lens. For starters, can get a Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro for a low cost startup.

Extension tubes and closeup filters might be used, but suggest saving up for a macro lens
 

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