How to shoot through glass with flash?

[grado]

If lets say I need to take shiny fishes in a fish tank, how do I take a picture that does not have reflections on the glass/harsh lighting on the fish?

 

[dbcs]

You could use an off-shoe cord or wireless flash and flash into the tank from above if it's not covered.

 

[tomcat]

If lets say I need to take shiny fishes in a fish tank, how do I take a picture that does not have reflections on the glass/harsh lighting on the fish?

To minimise reflection of the flsh by the glass, shoot at an angle to the glass wall so that the light from the flash is reflected away from your camera. If you shoot directly ie perpendicular to the glass wall, the light of the flash will definitely be reflected back to your camera and affect its exposure measurement.

However, do note that shiny fishes are notoriously difficult to photograph with flash especially if they are very big (or are photgraphed closed up) and are very shiny.

Another consideration is reflections of flash off the back wall or glass bottom of the tank. If these walls are bare, diffused reflections of the light from the flash off these surfaces can cause the photo to look foggy. So to minmise this, ensure that the bottom of the tank is covered with gravel or sand and the fish is photographed against a non-reflective background of plants, driftwood, or other tank decorations, etc.

 

[toasty]

bounce the flash onto a white surface above the fishtank. You get rid of the direct harsh light and avoid the problem of reflections on the glass.