Help!!! Any advice on photographing fish in a tank

[Nathan W. Bingham]

I was at the Melbourne Aquarium yesterday, and not having much experience yet, I used auto most of the time. However, once I came home I was impressed with many of the shots. Do they have special glass at the aquarium to help better shots be taken? I was expecting all the shots to have a lot of flash-glare.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3367/...340c62b5_b.jpg

[irieness]

I would guess the lighting is better at these fish tanks, so your camera has an easier time picking a good exposure on your point of interest and snapping away.

[ChrisF79]

I'm loving the smile on the fish. You should focus on that guy in particular as he's a great subject!

[TDrag27]

Originally Posted by Nathan W. Bingham

I was at the Melbourne Aquarium yesterday, and not having much experience yet, I used auto most of the time. However, once I came home I was impressed with many of the shots. Do they have special glass at the aquarium to help better shots be taken? I was expecting all the shots to have a lot of flash-glare.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3367/...340c62b5_b.jpg

Saltwater tanks will have better lighting than freshwater - so that's part of it. And a glass tank would be better than acrylic since acrylic tends to scratch with cleaning, etc. Higher quality tanks will be glass...

I *think* I have been getting pretty good shots in my tank. When I use flash, I try to angle the shot so that the reflection is out of the viewfinder. Or I skip flash and bump up the ISO. It also depends on what fish I'm shooting. My lionfish will sit and literally pose for me so I can use a slower shutter. But my triggerfish - nope, he's a swimmer so he's much harder to get...And my puffer...He puffed today and by the time I sprinted to grab my camera, he went back to normal...

The OP's tank is fresh, the biggest challenge will be getting light "in" the tank. Maybe take the hood off and put a stronger light over it focused on your subject? Not sure what you have available...The standard lights probably will be hard to work with. Oh - and make sure you turn off your filter and any other current creating mechanics to reduce gravel and debris fields...Good luck.

If you're interested in seeing my fish shots, hit my flickr.

[NIX74]

I would say, don't use your build in flash to photography the fishes. Turn off the flash, pump up the tank light, the one above the tank. it look much better and natural. Also place the lamp toward the front of the tank. you want light to shine on the fishes, not behind the fishes or on top of the fishes.

If you really want good and sharp colour, use white color light, such as 10K color.

You should able to get quite good short of it.

Another thing, if you have a remote trigger, use it as fishes just don't sit still and pose, u need to be on stand by all the time.

Once you got your short, try to trim it with photoshop, It will look much better.