fish photography

what things work for you when taking pics of your tank? share some tips :)

Clean tank glass inside and out, Turn off all the lights in the room and just use the aquarium light and no flash.

FishVixen wrote:

Clean tank glass inside and out, Turn off all the lights in the room and just use the aquarium light and no flash.

I agree, and play try different exposure and ISO settings to see what makes your picture look best.

If your pictures look too bright and you can't see detail, then lower the exposure and ISO.

If your pictures are too dark, increase the exposure, and maybe the ISO.

Also, if your digi cam gives you the option to change what type of lighting you're using, setting it for flourescent helps keep the color true.

I think it depends of the type of camera too because i used all those tips before and always get either blurry pics or bad quality ones, good luck!

My Kodak Easy share works a lot of the time but its really picky! have to be patient and try out different things.

It is all in quantity, out of quantity you will get a few quality ones.

Check your camera for a mode similar to "detect white balance." It'll really help bring out the true colors of your fish.

cool great info

good topic!!!!! i had the same questions and just learned sooooo much!!! thanks!

Push your lights to the front top of the tank so the fish are not back lit & add as many lights as your fish can stand. I can't get a sharp picture unless my film speed is above 160 as they are too fast so I use an off camera flash to help. On a rare occasion (Seattle) I can get natural sunlight from the window on the tank, but glare is a problem.

If you are shooting right up on the glass using the camera flash, try putting a little tissue paper or tracing paper over the flash (cheap diffuser) so it will not make a shiny spot on the fish... smooth out the light.

Clean tank

Clear water

Good Camera

As long as you love your fish every pic looks goo to ya.

after this post dies down some would you all mind if i condensed all your tips into a "how-to"?

I don't mind.

nikon d90 its all you need

reid429 wrote:

nikon d90 its all you need

nikon ftw! that's my future camera, or a d300 if I can get someone to buy one of my legs.


I've got a point and shoot cannon that so far has done a decent job, but I'm ready for DSLR, i've pushed this cam to the limit.

It does also depend on what fish your taking a pic of. You can also put the fish in a beanie baby box with a background and lights above quite a few betta breeders use this method.

I like the macro feature helps me get really close and catch detail with out blur and aperture priority.

I've heard of people making "camera boxes" out of pieces of acrylic that they put together so that you can actually put the camera "in" the water by at least a few inches to get a top view of fish, etc. (the camera is safely housed inside the acrylic box and you're using it like looking through a glass bottomed boat). But this is mostly used in saltwater tanks for taking those awesome top views of corals! A lot of work, but awesome pics from it!

some of the most beautiful shots are taken top down.

Always knew you were a topless kind of gal Cindy!

LOL - J/k .... what are those bright purple fish?

lol... Anthias