How do you get good photo's?

[HFBfounder]

I have a point and shoot camera and everything has to be just perfect for me to get a decent shot. How do you guys get great photos? Do you have to have a SLR camera?

[Ellen]

Re: How do you get good photo's?

I know that I can adjust my digital camera, but I don't know anything about that so I don't.  :? I was considering trying to find a class on how to adjust the settings and all, or maybe trying to get a tutor. :)
The way I get pictures of my fish is to make the room totally dark except for the fish light. I also put another strip light on top of my aquarium (it normally has just one). If I don't add another light to the top of the tank, the fish come up to the front begging for food and get in the shadows. I think that if I had even more light in the tank when taking pictures that the pictures I have would be tons better. I usually have to doctor them a little bit, making them brighter.
I also take lots and lots of pictures. My average seems to be 3 or 4 okay pictures for every 100 or so that I take. I still don't get the great pictures that others get. :)

[Smokin_Cache]

Re: How do you get good photo's?

I have a Kodak DX7590 that has a .2sec click to shot time. Although this is not the speed of a good old SLR but its pretty quick.

I make the room as bright as I can not the tank. I want the light on the side of the fish not the top. I will take about 20 shots with the flash and 20 with out. I never take a picture where I can see my reflection in the glass. Stand back and zoom in on the tank. This allows me to "chase" the fish easier.

My grandfather was a camera dealer and photographer. Dark room and all. He put a completely manual reflex camera in my hand when I was about eight. I had to take good picture with that before he would give me a more modern camera. I quit taking pictures when I was about 16 and did pick a camera up until I was about 25. Amazing how much I forgot. Any way I am not an expert, but will gladly give what knowledge I have about all those settings. To tell you the truth I don't mess with them very much, but the "AUTO" just won't do it every now and then.

[Smokin_Cache]

Re: How do you get good photo's?

Quick points off the top of my head.

f-stop
Also called aperture size. The aperture is the thing you see in the end of the lens that open and closes creating a round hole. Usually seen on the lens as f/2.1-22 where as 2.1 is wide open letting the most light in. 22 is closed (as small as the hole gets, though never actually closed) This setting effects the depth of field also. Depth of field is the amount of stuff that is in focus in the picture. In other words say you were taking picture at f2.1 and everything from 34” to 35” was in focus. If you could raise you f-stop setting to f22 you could possibly get everything from 28” to 40” in focus.

Shutter speed
This is the amount of time the shutter is open. Usually expressed as a fraction of a second. For example at a setting of 1/200 the shutter is open one 200th of a second. The high the setting the more motion you can “freeze”. The higher the setting the more light you need to let in the camera.  If you’re not trying to take pictures of things in motion lowering this setting will allow you to close the aperture so you can get more depth of field. I don’t recommend taking freehand picture at any setting below 1/60. Although I have taken some great shots bracing on a door frame with a shutter speed of 1/30 or even 1/15 but the number of good shots decrease greatly. It is very hard to hold a camera still for 1/30 of a second.

[PhishPhreek]

Re: How do you get good photo's?

Start with an old 5g tank.
Clean the glass really good
Select a background that contrasts with your fish (flat construction paper)
Select gravel that contrasts with your fish and wash reall well
Age some water and filter all the floating debree out ot the water.
Get a piece of plexiglass or glass slightly smaller than your front glass.
anchor the new divider about 1" back from the front in the gravel and  Notch a piece of plastic pipe or wood so that it can hold the divider straight up, then remove the pipe and lean the divider against the back wall.
Place your fish in the tank in front of the divider and wait for him to color up.
When the fish is pretty again, check the water for clarity, check the glass for smudges and tilt the divider up to the front and hold in place with the notched pipe.   This will keep him up close and unable to turn around.  Now add light and set the lense on macro (up close) and take your picture.

[charliefoxtrot]

Re: How do you get good photo's?

Good pointers y'all.

I have an SLR but I haven't used it in a while because I'm usually too broke to get film processed.  For color I prefer e-6 (slide film) and for black and white just your standard ilford b/w film like we used in college.

For shots of the whole tank I prefer ambient light with a tripod and long exposure.  The fish are blurry but the shot looks good usually.  For closer shots I like to compose the shot and wait for the fish to enter the frame.  I usually don't follow the fish around.

But all that's academic because I haven't shot anything in a while.  When I get my tax return I'm going to see if I can't get an digital SLR body that I can use with my existing lenses (nikon).  That way I can just shoot, run it through a usb cable or something, and edit in photoshop.   If that happens I'm going to learn how to use it with my tanks and y'all are going to see some jaw dropping photos.  :)

which is not to say you can't get a decent pic with a point and shoot.  Just make sure you've got any red-eye reduction or anything that's going to cause a lag between when you press the button and when it actually takes the picture because the fish will have moved out or your carefully composed frame by time the light hits the film.

[Smokin_Cache]

Re: How do you get good photo's?

Pheek:

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Most photography courses will advise to to lay the picture out so that there is a diagonal line drawing your attention into the subject.

If I have a truely outstanding centerpiece I like to set it 2/3 to the side and 2/3 to the back and arrange the taller plants behind it, the shorter ones in front.    

I prefer to have a open area on the opposite corner so that there is nothing to draw your eye away from the intended focal point.

But then if your focal point is the fish.........


Smokin:

Great point

Don't center you centerpiece