HiddenReef
New Member
Hi and thanks in advance. I look at all the awesome pictures on reef2reef and am wondering. How do people take such amazing pictures of their tank and corals?
Photo taking (Technique) Please explain?
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swannyson7
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+1 on shutting off the flow and it's also important to use a tripod. If you invest in a DSLR and a macro lens, you can take great pictures with a bit of practice, but even a cheap digital camera and tripod will give you good pics with the right techniques. I also recommend using the timer or a remote if possible so that you don't shake the camera when you hit the button. White balance should also be adjusted to a custom setting by putting something white in the tank to show true colors. Try different ISO, aperture, and exposure settings in manual mode to see what gives you the best results.
CoralBandit
Well-Known Member
good tips, what if the camera simply wont take the shot is that b/c of ISO or the lens or the setting im using. I dont know anything about the different settings just try to use auto w/o flash (nikon D3000 with stock 18-55mm lens)
OCREEFMASTER
Community Member
I don't really know anything about taking photos...lol. But these were shot with a Canon T1i DSLR with the stock lens.
ISO: 1600
F-Stop: f/8
Aperature: 1/160th-ish....lol.
W/B: Cloudy setting or about 7,000k
ISO: 1600
F-Stop: f/8
Aperature: 1/160th-ish....lol.
W/B: Cloudy setting or about 7,000k
OCREEFMASTER
Community Member
No problem... Good luck with your shooting! Also, just as everyone else said... Take as many photos as you can and you are bound to get a couple good ones. For me to get 81 quality photos like these, I shot over 400+ pictures yesterday if that gives you an idea!
On a side note: Post editing will help you ensure that you capture what your camera alone can not. Every single picture I have, I use photoshop to retouch. Everyone always gives me **** until they -- 1. See the final picture and the specimen next to eachother, or 2. try to take photos under 460nm super blue LEDs themselves. It is then that they understand why I edit my photos. Most cameras (unless you buy one that is $5,000+) won't allow you to capture the white balance, aperture and details that you can see with the naked eye.
To close, always remember this: It is a combination of seeing a shot; taking the shot; and being able to manipulate the photo to correctly represent what you actually see with the naked eye. To me that is what seperates the good photographers from the mediocre ones.
Have fun shooting!
I agree with this-retouching pictures is needed to get a realistic pop for most pictures taken. Now those who jack the contrast up, or do other unrealistic touches-their photos take a different form of appreciation as a photo, more than a representation of something actual. I don't mind it, i just look at is as art instead of showcasing something in particular.
As for shooting-I still take lousy photos, but the main reasons are:
-lack of experience
-using no fancy cameras or lenses-my latest photos are taken with a basic point and shoot olympus that's waterproof
-not using a tripod nor a remote clicker, so most all the bluriness is my hands moving the camera, especially when pushing the button to take the shot
fixing those will all go a long ways towards taking better pictures.
OCREEFMASTER
Community Member
Absolutely! Most of the photos I automatically throw away are because my hands are shaking or someone bumped me. I think the level you are refering to was saturation and this can take a regular blahh coral and make it "BLING!"... One thing about my photography (AND I TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY, and have credit to vouch) is that ALL my photos are realistic as to what I see live. Anyone who believes differently can come and look at my subjects and they will be proven wrong. With photography it's all about street credit. As I said, anyone can take pictures. It is the key pictures and getting that WB just right and getting the aperture just right and the ISO just right to make the shot. As I feel I did here...
HiddenReef
New Member
wow thats what i'm talking those and all your other pictures are awesome.
CoralBandit
Well-Known Member
what program do you use to modify I just use the cheapo picassa "im feeling lucky" lol I wont have time for another week to try messing with iso and ap but I think thats what really makes the dif. Thanks for your help, and I also have a tripod but never felt it would make a diffewrence but I guess I gotta give it a try. I was more concerned with my camera not willing to take the pic but thats probably b/c I have it in auto. like i said im ignorant to photography and thanks for the pointers those are awesome pics by the way and corals 
OCREEFMASTER
Community Member
Thank you... I am actually going to be putting all of my photos on a few stock photo websites. I have had about 25 people say they would like to use my photos for misc stuff, so I am going to let them.
Coral - a good amount of people have inquired as to what my setup is and how I get photos like these... So for those of you asking the same questions, here it is...what program do you use to modify I just use the cheapo picassa "im feeling lucky" lol I wont have time for another week to try messing with iso and ap but I think thats what really makes the dif. Thanks for your help, and I also have a tripod but never felt it would make a diffewrence but I guess I gotta give it a try. I was more concerned with my camera not willing to take the pic but thats probably b/c I have it in auto. like i said im ignorant to photography and thanks for the pointers those are awesome pics by the way and corals
Right now my current set up is:
Camera: Canon T1i 15.1 MP
Lens: Canon (Stock) 18-55mm IS
Macro: Secret.... ;0) PM me if you really want to know.
Computer: Macintosh iMac 24" 2.8gig Intel Core 2 Duo processor w/4 (soon to be 8 gigs of ram) <--- this helps me render large photos and soon HD Video!
Editing Software: Adobe Creative Suite 2 (Illustrator, Photoshop, Go Live!, InDesign)
Further, a tripod will definitely help you cut out the blur that you get from holding the camera. If you have a canon DSLR, Image Stabilization Lenses will help you with this! All the photos were all hand shot as I don't have a tripod yet and it is quite hard to lug around a tripod in the middle of a busy show. Always remember a few simple things... don't get discouraged if most of your photos don't come out, remember that small adjustments to a camera can go a long way, never shoot with flash. None of my photos were shot with flash, try and use aperture and F/stop to compensate, always make sure you take more photos than you think that you will need. For example, out of the 400+ photos I shot at CFM, 95 pictures were worthy to move on to editing. From there only 81 made the final grade.
As for retouching, don't get discouraged if you don't know what you are doing. Time will teach you, look at some tutorials on YouTube they will help you tremendously. Also, don't listen to the people who say, "You should never photoshop your photos, thats BS...blah blah blah." If you want credibility use it responsibly. Obviously everyone knows that Nuclear Greens are green, everyone knows they are not highlighter green. I am one for editing photos in PS to make them appear exactly how I see them with the naked eye, in the display. Those of you who went to CFM will vouch for me. That Orange/Blue Fungia looks exactly as it did under Actinic lighting in WWC's display. One last word of advice, there will always be haters on the forums... Let your pictures do the talking!
I hope this helps, if anyone has any specific questions PM me and I will answer them for you the best I can.
For those of you who missed my other thread... A little EYE CANDY for this one! Enjoy!
regards,
~OCREEFMASTER~
Last edited:
agent462
I like my tanks wide
I'm not a professional by any means. This is what I've learned over the past few months of snapping lots of pictures in my tank. I'm still learning everyday.
There are some base fundamentals I'd like to get out of the way first.
If you really want to take phenomenal photos, you should at minimum use a DSLR camera with macro lens. This is not to say you can't take some decent pictures with a point and shoot. This post is geared towards a DSLR but it doesn't mean you couldn't translate certain things to a P&S.
You must use a tripod.
You must use the timer on your camera.
You must have patience and take lots of pictures.
You SHOULD shoot in RAW mode.
You SHOULD shoot in your daylights.
You MIGHT want to consider turning all your flow off.
Most of my photos are generally shot with all my daylights on. I'd say I have a 14k look. I prefer daytime shots because this really represents what a coral will look like most of the day and what users expect
At times I do take some actinic/sundown shots but I still struggle with clarity and cleaning up the white balance. These photos are cool to look at but shouldn't be setting any expectations on what a coral really looks like. Too many people are severely disappointed after receiving coral from vendors taking advantage of this.
With your camera all setup and ready to go you'll need to understand how to shoot in Aperture Priority mode. On my Canon this is represented as AV mode. Once you are in this mode you should change your camera to an Aperture of around 8. Your ISO setting should be 100 or the lowest you can get. Now let's turn the timer setting to on. I think we're ready to begin.
Make sure your camera is on your tripod. Zoom in on the specimen and press the button (take your hands off and don't touch anything..don't walk around..stay still). beep beep beep beep as we wait for the timer. Snap. Now review the picture to make sure it looks like it's in focus. Take another few for good measures. Now move to the next piece. I keep about 20 pictures out of 100+. You can experiment with other apertures around 8 but I wouldn't stray too far.
With all these new photos you'll need to get them on your computer and clean up the white balance on them. I'm not going to go into detail on how to do this because it's different with the million programs out there. Most cameras even come with something to do it with. You shouldn't need to do any other editing. DON'T CHANGE THE **** SATURATION. If you can't make it look like it does in real life with a white balance clean-up, move to the next picture.
If you don't shoot in RAW mode, the camera will compress and apply it's filters to the .jpg it creates. You can usually manually change how the camera applies these filters. There should be some sort of white balance setting on the camera. You take a picture of a white something in the same lighting as your tank and adjust the setting till you get it to look white.
Again, I'm not a pro..I'm not even a hardcore photo hobbyist..I just like taking pictures of my coral.
There are some base fundamentals I'd like to get out of the way first.
If you really want to take phenomenal photos, you should at minimum use a DSLR camera with macro lens. This is not to say you can't take some decent pictures with a point and shoot. This post is geared towards a DSLR but it doesn't mean you couldn't translate certain things to a P&S.
You must use a tripod.
You must use the timer on your camera.
You must have patience and take lots of pictures.
You SHOULD shoot in RAW mode.
You SHOULD shoot in your daylights.
You MIGHT want to consider turning all your flow off.
Most of my photos are generally shot with all my daylights on. I'd say I have a 14k look. I prefer daytime shots because this really represents what a coral will look like most of the day and what users expect
At times I do take some actinic/sundown shots but I still struggle with clarity and cleaning up the white balance. These photos are cool to look at but shouldn't be setting any expectations on what a coral really looks like. Too many people are severely disappointed after receiving coral from vendors taking advantage of this.
With your camera all setup and ready to go you'll need to understand how to shoot in Aperture Priority mode. On my Canon this is represented as AV mode. Once you are in this mode you should change your camera to an Aperture of around 8. Your ISO setting should be 100 or the lowest you can get. Now let's turn the timer setting to on. I think we're ready to begin.
Make sure your camera is on your tripod. Zoom in on the specimen and press the button (take your hands off and don't touch anything..don't walk around..stay still). beep beep beep beep as we wait for the timer. Snap. Now review the picture to make sure it looks like it's in focus. Take another few for good measures. Now move to the next piece. I keep about 20 pictures out of 100+. You can experiment with other apertures around 8 but I wouldn't stray too far.
With all these new photos you'll need to get them on your computer and clean up the white balance on them. I'm not going to go into detail on how to do this because it's different with the million programs out there. Most cameras even come with something to do it with. You shouldn't need to do any other editing. DON'T CHANGE THE **** SATURATION. If you can't make it look like it does in real life with a white balance clean-up, move to the next picture.
If you don't shoot in RAW mode, the camera will compress and apply it's filters to the .jpg it creates. You can usually manually change how the camera applies these filters. There should be some sort of white balance setting on the camera. You take a picture of a white something in the same lighting as your tank and adjust the setting till you get it to look white.
Again, I'm not a pro..I'm not even a hardcore photo hobbyist..I just like taking pictures of my coral.
FISH PROS
FISH PROVIDER
great tips thanks
I'm reading a mixed bag of advice in this thread. Most bothersome is the persistent belief that the only way to get good coral photos is to shoot a ton of photos and hope that some are good. There is no reason for that to be the case. If you take the time to understand the fundamentals of photography (photographing corals is not something that can be done in auto mode), follow some basic steps, and practice, you should be able to get acceptable images just about every time.
I'm assuming you have a DSLR. You can get decent shots with most lenses in the 50 to 100 mm focal length range. Remember that lenses have a minimum focusing distance. If you get closer than that, you will not be able to focus. If you can afford it, get a macro lens in the 100-mm range. There are several threads in the Photography forum that discuss purchasing macro lenses.
Here is how I photograph corals:
Also note that the stickies at the top of the Photography forum have very good information. Take some time to read them.
Below are a couple of examples of what can result with this approach and some practice.
Gary
I'm assuming you have a DSLR. You can get decent shots with most lenses in the 50 to 100 mm focal length range. Remember that lenses have a minimum focusing distance. If you get closer than that, you will not be able to focus. If you can afford it, get a macro lens in the 100-mm range. There are several threads in the Photography forum that discuss purchasing macro lenses.
Here is how I photograph corals:
- Clean the glass thoroughly on both sides, paying particular attention to the area near the sand.
- Turn off all flow
- Keep all lights on
- Shoot in the RAW format so you have full control over the white balance
- If you can't/won't shoot in the RAW format, learn how to set a custom white balance.
- You must use a solid tripod or some other type of camera support.
- With most DSLRs, an ISO setting of 400 will work best
- Turn off autofocus.
- Shoot in manual mode
- Use mirror lockup if you have it
- Use a remote release or the camera's timer to trip the shutter. If using mirror lockup, you'll have to push the remote release twice. Once to raise the mirror and once to expose the image.
- If shooting through the glass, the face of the lens must be parallel with the glass. If shooting top-down, the face of the lens must be parallel with the water surface, which must be still
- Determine what aperture you want to use by deciding what depth of field you want, i.e., how much of the coral you want to be in focus, front to back. You'll have to do a little research to understand depth of field.
- Compose the image and focus the lens. Remember to use manual focus
- Adjust the shutter speed so that the needle on the meter in the viewfinder is at +1, i.e., the image is overexposed by one stop according to the camera's light meter
- Take a picture
- Adjust the shutter speed so that the needle is at zero and take another picture
- Again, adjust the shutter speed so that the needle is at -1, i.e, one stop underexposed, according to the camera's meter
- Take the picture
- You now have three photos. In just about every instance, one of those shots will be properly exposed, i.e, not have any blown out white areas.
- Use software that came with your camera, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro, or some other photo-processing software to convert your image from RAW to a jpg for posting.
Also note that the stickies at the top of the Photography forum have very good information. Take some time to read them.
Below are a couple of examples of what can result with this approach and some practice.
Gary
if you right click save as on any pic
then go to it on your computer.. then right click on it. you should see "properties" go to summery and it should give you the camera used and all the setting on said picture.
then go to it on your computer.. then right click on it. you should see "properties" go to summery and it should give you the camera used and all the setting on said picture.
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