Been playing with my iPhone picture skills

[BriDroid]

I’ve been trying to practice taking pics with just an orange lens and my iPhone. This is probably the best one I’ve got so far. I have no idea what this acro is other than “acro”. The main trick is holding the lens flat against the glass. It seems to help the most, at least for me.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Love your tag-line ("I glue animals to rocks.")

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Photos look good!

 

[VintageReefer]

Turn off any ambient lighting to prevent glare and reflection. My best pics are at night when I can make the room dark, aside from the tank lights

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Definitely have to have the lens parallel the glass to prevent distortion from the glass.

Does your iPhone have a "pro" mode? I know it's probably not the same as the Pro mode on my Samsung, but I can actually modify the white balance enough that I don't need a lens filter to get the same effect and can lay my phone perfectly flat against the glass, preventing glass distortion.

 

[BriDroid]

Definitely have to have the lens parallel the glass to prevent distortion from the glass.

Does your iPhone have a "pro" mode? I know it's probably not the same as the Pro mode on my Samsung, but I can actually modify the white balance enough that I don't need a lens filter to get the same effect and can lay my phone perfectly flat against the glass, preventing glass distortion.

Unfortunately no. Not without downloading a 3rd party camera app. That is probably my next step. There are just so many settings on them. That is the reason that I've stayed away from them this long.

 

[VintageReefer]

Unfortunately no. Not without downloading a 3rd party camera app. That is probably my next step. There are just so many settings on them. That is the reason that I've stayed away from them this long.

You don’t need anything more than an iPhone and clip on orange lens. I don’t even alter any settings

Try combining orange and yellow lenses if your tank is heavy on the blues

 

[gkprevite]

Nice shots and corals.

 

[BriDroid]

You don’t need anything more than an iPhone and clip on orange lens. I don’t even alter any settings

Try combining orange and yellow lenses if your tank is heavy on the blues

Those are gorgeous pics too!

 

[VintageReefer]

Those are gorgeous pics too!

what issue do you struggle with most? Color accuracy or clarity ?

 

[BriDroid]

what issue do you struggle with most? Color accuracy or clarity ?

Focus is so hard! Putting the camera flat on the glass helps a ton though it’s not always possible. I do the a lensport that I can use to take top down pics with. Sometimes I stack the orange and yellow lenses too. I also have a CPL lens, but it honestly doesn’t seem to make that much difference. It’s mostly focus and getting nice, sharp images.

 

[VintageReefer]

Focus is so hard! Putting the camera flat on the glass helps a ton though it’s not always possible. I do the a lensport that I can use to take top down pics with. Sometimes I stack the orange and yellow lenses too. I also have a CPL lens, but it honestly doesn’t seem to make that much difference. It’s mostly focus and getting nice, sharp images.

good close up pics will come from items in the front half of the tank, and the biggest hurdle I had was remembering there is a focal distance for the camera. You would think getting the camera close, would be logical, but not always. Instead try this.

Zoom out all the way, Hold the camera 6” away from the glass and point straight. Tap the screen to tell it where to focus. The coral should be small but sharp. Then, slowly move Closer and closer until the coral is blurry or fuzzy. Then back away a little bit so it’s focused and sharp again. Might have to tap again to retell the camera what to focus on. You are figuring out the minimum distance you need for the camera to be able to focus. It’s an invisible measurement between the coral itself and your phone camera. Once you are as close as you can be, then let zoom handle the rest. Then, remember these cameras take huge pics and we have a small screen. Last step is to crop the image around the coral, and that will make it full screen on the phone

 

[BriDroid]

I found another setting. If you hold on the place you want to focus on for a few seconds, you can put it in AF lock mode. That keeps the camera from trying to grab everything to focus on.

 

[Reef Jedi]

Love your tag-line ("I glue animals to rocks.")

It’s so true though! Haha

 

[Brickz]

I’ve been trying to practice taking pics with just an orange lens and my iPhone. This is probably the best one I’ve got so far. I have no idea what this acro is other than “acro”. The main trick is holding the lens flat against the glass. It seems to help the most, at least for me.