HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH AQUARIUM FISH
Photographing aquarium fish is often no easy task. Add water, glare from the glass and weak aquarium lighting, and you have a recipe for one extremely challenging photo shoot.
But it's not as complicated as it looks. Armed with the following tips, you can get great pictures of your fish in almost any situation.
Get a tripod
Tripods are commonly used when photographing stationary objects. But they become indispensable when photographing fish, even those that are constantly on the move. Low light levels in the aquarium result in slower shutter speeds. Therefore, you should try to stabilise the camera in one place as much as possible, which in many cases will result in excellent shots. To make it easier to capture moving fish with the camera on a tripod, you should loosen the levers on it so that you can effortlessly rotate the camera left, right, up and down, but the camera itself will remain on the same point if left alone.
Getting to know the fish with the camera
Now that you have a tripod, place it in front of the aquarium and attach the camera to it. Now leave the tripod with the camera alone for a while. The purpose of this requirement is to accustom the fish to their surroundings. Subsequently, when you photograph the fish, they will not become overly fearful at the slightest turn of the camera, trying to hide in hiding.
Using a digital camera
Digital cameras allow us to take a large number of shots without having to worry about wasting film and consequently the price per shot will be high. You can take a burst shot and later select the best shot by deleting the unsuccessful ones.
Turn off the light in the room
Ambient light causes glare on the aquarium glass, which can ruin a great fish photo. Eliminate all sources of ambient light and be very careful of any reflections when taking pictures. If there is any glare that you can't get rid of, try changing the shooting angle slightly or stand between the light source and the aquarium glass, thereby shading the shooting location.
Clean the glass and turn off the aeration and filtration
Turning off the aquarium pumps before you take your picture is a great way to prevent plants or corals from swaying, thereby giving you a clear shot.
Cleaning the glass, is the most important requirement in aquarium photography. Dirty glass will never allow you to take really good pictures of the underwater creatures. Therefore, clean the glass thoroughly every time before you take a picture.
And finally, I would like to give some advice - take pictures with pleasure, the only way you can get interesting photos. Have fun, experiment, and be sure to share your pictures online!
