TheOtherGuy
Mon, 18th Dec 2006, 11:04 AM
I wrote this article for a presentation that Brian(GreenMako) and I did at a MAAST Meeting awhile back. I am posting it here in hopes that it will help out some with some of basic terminology and concepts.
This document is not the best I know but hopefully it is helpful to someone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digital Aquarium Photography
The Basics
Presented by Mark “TheOtherGuy”
And
Brian “GreenMako”
Introduction 2
Basic Digital Camera Terminology 2
Shutter Speed 2
Aperture 2
F-Stop 2
Depth of Field – DOF 2
ISO Equivalency 3
Histogram 3
White Balance 4
White Balance Compensation 4
Exposure Compensation 4
The Digital Camera 4
Point and Shoot (P&S) 5
DSLR Cameras 5
Camera Shooting Modes 5
Metering Modes 5
Preparation 6
Aquarium Lighting 6
Preparing the Aquarium 6
The Room 6
Picture Scenarios and Examples 6
Scenario 1. Coral Picture with Shallow DOF 6
Scenario 2. Coral Picture with More DOF 7
Scenario 3. Basic Fish Picture 8
Scenario 4. Full Tank Picture 8
Method 1. Just one Picture 8
Method 2. Exposure Blending 9
Processing Pictures and Posting them Online 9
Resizing Pictures 9
Uploading Pictures to a Host Site 9
Posting Pictures ON MAAST 9
Questions and Comments 9
Conclusion 9
Introduction
Reef keeping and photography are 2 hobbies that go well together. Both hobbies seem to have no end to the things that you can learn about and you could spend a lifetime on both hobbies improving your knowledge and skills.
There are so many things that could be discussed today about photography but I thought we would go through some of the basic terminology and then hop right into some hands-on picture taking and discussion and hopefully provide enough information for you to go home and start taking your own pictures of your reef tank.
Basic Digital Camera Terminology
Let’s go over some of the terminology and talk about each one a little bit.
Shutter Speed
The duration of time that the shutter is open. The shutter speed is general defined in fractions of a second. A shutter speed of 60 is 1/60 of second. A shutter speed of 500 is 1/500 of a second. A faster shutter speed lets less light into the camera but will stop motion. A slower shutter speed will let more light into the camera but subjects in motion could be blurred or out of focus. If shooting corals then using a slow shutter speed is ok but, shooting a fish a faster shutter speed is generally required.
Good Rule of Thumb: Shutter speed should be at least 1/(focal length). For example, if we are using a 50mm lens then for a “Sharp” picture the shutter speed should be at least 1/50 second or faster. For digital cameras use 1/(1.5*focal length).
Aperture
The opening in which light passes.
A larger opening will let more light into the camera. A smaller opening lets less light into the camera.
F-Stop
Apertures are measured as f-stops. The larger the f-stop number, the smaller the lens opening, the smaller the f-stop, the larger the opening and the “faster” the lens. A “Fast lens” is a lens that can have an f-stop of 2.8 or lower.
Why is this important? Let’s keep going first….
Depth of Field – DOF
The amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. Depth of field depends on the size of the aperture, the distance of the camera from the subject, and the focal length of the lens. The bigger the aperture, the greater the depth of field. If the camera focuses on a distant subject, the depth of field will be greater than if it was focused on a near subject; and if you fit a wide-angle lens to your camera, it will give you greater depth of field than a normal lens.
Using a smaller f-stop (2.8 for example) the DOF will be very small. A large f-stop (16) will have a large DOF.
A small f-stop is useful for isolating your subject, a single coral, for example. A large f-stop is useful for doing a full tank shot or for capturing a fish and coral behind it and have both in them in focus.
ISO Equivalency
Sensitivity is the digital equivalent of film speed. The higher the sensitivity the less light needed to make an exposure, allow for faster shutter speeds. ISO is kind of like turning of the gain of the digital sensor.
A quick example: If lighting is poor and for proper exposure, shutter speed is set at 1/60 second but the subject (fish) is coming out blurry then try setting the ISO to a higher number. By setting the ISO to a higher number the shutter speed can now be increased for proper exposure. The trade-off for setting the ISO to higher number is increased noise in the picture.
DSLRs tend to handle the noise in higher ISO settings than P&S cameras.
Histogram
A chart showing the distribution of the number of pixels in a photograph. The x-axis is the pixel brightness and the y-axis is the number of pixels. Some cameras provide only one version of this graph (luminosity) and some cameras provide a histogram for each channel (Red, Green and Blue). The x-axis range is 0 to 255. The y-axis is from 0 to Number of Pixels at that value. The y-axis max number is really not that important as it is just the number pixels at a particular value. The x-axis 0 represents black and 255 represents white.
So what? What is it useful for?
The histogram provides you with a graphical representation of a picture. If you look at a histogram and much of the graph is way to the left then most likely the picture is underexposed (too dark). If you look at the histogram and many of the pixels are at the extreme right then your picture is overexposed. Just like “The Three Bears”, when a majority of the pixels are near the middle of the histogram then the picture is probably exposed properly.
Not all cameras have a histogram function but if it does then learn to use the histogram and in no time you will start producing better images.
White Balance
A way of calibrating a camera's color response to take into account different color temperatures of light (i.e., fluorescent light is greenish; sunlight, more blue; incandescent light, yellowish). This calibration allows the camera to define what the color white is under any of these various lighting conditions.
If you were to put something white or grey into your tank and take a picture in most cases that white object will appear to be blue or have a bluish appearance. Even though our eyes are able to compensate for the blue color of the white object a camera cannot do this task as easily. Cameras usually have an “Auto” white balance and works pretty good for most normal situations but, for reef tanks “Auto” is usually not the best choice. On many cameras you can set the white balance to a preset value. Some cameras have settings like “Cloudy”, “Sunny”, and “Shady” etc. Other cameras use the Kelvin Temperature Scale. Sound familiar? For cameras with just the name method, I suggest using “Shady”. For cameras that use the Kelvin Scale I suggest using the highest Kelvin (usually around 7-10K). This setting will help to compensate for the “Blue” spectrum in the lighting above your reef tank.
White Balance Compensation
Many of the DSLRs and perhaps some of the P&S cameras also can further tweak the White Balance by some +/- amount. This adjustment is simply adjusting the Kelvin Temperature by a smaller increment than just changing the White Balance.
For example, the D70s with the setting of Shady (8,000 K) and a White Balance Compensation of -3 sets the Kelvin Temperature to 8,300 K. This generally works in most cases and helps to compensate for the blue spectrum and makes the pictures appear more natural.
Exposure Compensation
Many cameras have the ability to force the camera to overexpose or underexpose an image during capture. This can be done for effect or to compensate for some particular lighting situation. In reef photography exposure compensation can help in many situations. If taking a picture of coral in the top half the tank the camera tends to overexpose these shots. By using exposure compensation you can help reduce the exposure slightly and get a better exposed shot.
The Digital Camera
Taking good pictures of your aquarium does not require investing a ton of money into a camera. Sure you can spend money on your camera and related photographic equipment but you do not have to spend that much. A camera with 3 or 4 mega pixels will generally work just fine. While mega-pixels seem to be the “Biggest” marketing feature of many camera makers, it is often the other features (ISO, Shutter Speed, Lens Quality, etc) that will make one camera better than another.
**Note: Some cameras use different methods of focusing. I cannot remember the names of these methods but a few cameras have trouble focusing through glass.
Point and Shoot (P&S)
Every month new cameras are being introduced into the market and with new cameras come with new features and lower prices. It is a buyers market and you can pick up a feature rich camera at very good price. In many cases, a good point and shoot will perform near as well as more expensive DSLR but at a much lower price point.
DSLR Cameras
Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras like the Canon Rebel and Nikon D50/D70 are excellent choices for entry level DSLRs. These cameras provide many more options than most P&S cameras. Such things as removable lenses, external flash, and of course the broad user configurable settings such ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and White Balance. One of the biggest factors IMO that a DSLR can offer is the much better handling of noise. Why is this important? Because better noise handling means that you can use a higher ISO setting and capture sharp pictures with less noise in your pictures. The down side is that DSLRs and related equipment (Lenses) can cost some you more money. The upside is much more control of your photographs and of course the ability to change lenses.
Camera Shooting Modes
1. Auto Mode – Camera chooses and sets all settings. Aperture, Shutter, ISO, White Balance everything is set by the camera. In general this is not recommended.
2. All those semi-auto modes – Mountain Mode, People Mode etc. Same as Auto Mode but, the camera now tries to compensate for the selected mode. For example, Mountain Mode the f-stop is set to larger setting (f8) thus increasing the DOF etc. Again, these modes are generally not recommended. With one exception perhaps is Macro Mode.
3. Shutter Priority – You choose the shutter speed and camera decides the aperture setting for proper exposure. Great for sports, but not my first choice.
4. Aperture Priority – You choose the aperture settings and camera chooses the shutter speed for proper exposure. This is the setting I believe to be the best choice for most situations. By choosing the Aperture, you are deciding if you want a small or large DOF. Remember by setting the aperture to a small number 2.8 the DOF will be shallow and setting the aperture to a large number the DOF will be larger.
5. Manual Mode – You set both Aperture and Shutter Speed.
Metering Modes
Most cameras have at least 2 or 3 metering modes. Each mode can provide drastically different results.
1. Spot – Meters on a very small percentage usually about 1% of the scene.
2. Center Weighted - Meters the entire frame but gives more emphasis on the center
3. Matrix or Average Scene – Uses the entire scene to calculate proper exposure
Preparation
Aquarium Lighting
Reef Aquariums generally have 3 types of lights. Usually there are actinics, 10Ks and possibly moon lights. These lights provide many different scenarios for taking pictures. Note: It is also possible to take pictures with no lights on at all.
With all the lights (full spectrum) generally you can achieve good results by shooting hand held. That is, no tripod.
With just moon lights or actinics, you may want to consider using a tripod.
With no lights on a tripod is almost always required.
Preparing the Aquarium
1. VERY IMPORTANT. Clean the Glass. Clean it really good. There is nothing worse than capturing a great photograph and then discovering there is algae on the glass. Again, Clean the GLASS. TRUST ME.
2. Optional: Turn pumps off. Reduces bubbles.
The Room
In general it is best to take pictures of your aquarium with most of the ambient lighting turned off, curtains closed etc. This avoids many the distracting light blurs on the glass and also helps to reduce exposure errors by the camera.
Picture Scenarios and Examples
We have covered some of the basics and terminology. If it does not make sense yet that is ok. Now we will go through some hands-on examples that hopefully will help to bring it all together. Hopefully we can cover many things not actually discussed in this paper.
Scenario 1. Coral Picture with Shallow DOF
1. Set the camera mode. Aperture Priority
we want a shallow DOF so set the f-stop to the widest setting (lower number).
2. Set the ISO. Let’s start with ISO 200 (or lowest ISO setting).
3. Set White Balance. Start with WB of Shady or highest Kelvin Temperature possible.
4. First shot will be without a tripod. Since we are not using a tripod we will need a higher shutter speed for a sharp picture. Since our subject is not moving I use the general rule for a handheld picture to be sharp and in focus the shutter speed should be 1 / (focal length of the lens). For this shot we are using a 105mm lens. So shutter speed should be around 1/100 second for a sharp picture.
5. Take the picture.
6. Examine Histogram. Is picture properly exposed?
7. If Histogram is too the left use positive exposure compensation to increase the picture brightness. If histogram is too far to the right use negative exposure compensation to reduce the scene exposure
8. Is the picture sharp? That is, no camera shake or blurry?
9. If it is then we need to
a. Use a tripod – Not for this picture but suggested
b. Make some camera adjustments and try again
c. Use flash – For this example we will not use flash
10. Since we are using Aperture Priority set at the lowest f-stop (2.8) and we are not going to use a tripod then we have 2 options. Try to use flash or turn up the ISO.
11. Adjust ISO to 400. Repeat as needed up to ISO 1600.
12. Go to Step 5.
13. Review
Scenario 2. Coral Picture with More DOF
1. Same Coral as above but now we would like to have another coral in focus as well as the main coral. We need to increase the DOF by increasing the f-stop. We will set the f-stop to 16.
2. Set the ISO. Let’s start with ISO 200 (or lowest ISO setting).
3. Set White Balance. Start with WB of Shady or highest Kelvin Temperature possible.
4. First shot will be without a tripod. Since we are not using a tripod we will need a higher shutter speed for a sharp picture. Since our subject is not moving I use the general rule for a handheld picture to be sharp and in focus the shutter speed should be 1 / (focal length of the lens). For this shot we are using a 105mm lens. So shutter speed should be around 1/100 second for a sharp picture.
5. Take the picture.
6. Examine Histogram. Is picture properly exposed?
7. If Histogram is too the left use positive exposure compensation to increase the picture brightness. If histogram is too far to the right use negative exposure compensation to reduce the scene exposure
8. Is the picture sharp? That is, no camera shake or blurry?
9. If it is then we need to
9.1. Use a tripod – Not for this picture but suggested
9.2. Make some camera adjustments and try again
10. Since we are using Aperture Priority set at the lowest f-stop (2.8) and we are not going to use a tripod then we have 2 options. Try to use flash or turn up the ISO.
11. Adjust ISO to 400. Repeat as needed up to ISO 1600.
12. Go to Step 5.
13. Review
Scenario 3. Basic Fish Picture
Now the subject is a moving target. This is going to get a little harder. To increase the odds of getting a decent picture we will try to use a larger DOF. By using a larger DOF we can miss focus slightly are if shutter speed is just a little off then we still may get a decent picture. For this shot we will try to use f8 and the 50mm lens.
1. Same Coral as above but now we would like to have another coral in focus as well as the main coral. We need to increase the DOF by increasing the f-stop. We will set the f-stop to 16.
2. Set the ISO. Let’s start with ISO 200 (or lowest ISO setting).
3. Set White Balance. Start with WB of Shady or highest Kelvin Temperature possible.
4. First shot will be without a tripod. Since we are not using a tripod we will need a higher shutter speed for a sharp picture. Since our subject is not moving I use the general rule for a handheld picture to be sharp and in focus the shutter speed should be 1 / (focal length of the lens). For this shot we are using a 105mm lens. So shutter speed should be around 1/100 second for a sharp picture.
5. Take the picture.
6. Examine Histogram. Is picture properly exposed?
7. If Histogram is too the left use positive exposure compensation to increase the picture brightness. If histogram is too far to the right use negative exposure compensation to reduce the scene exposure
8. Is the picture sharp? That is, no camera shake or blurry?
9. If it is then we need to
9.1. Use a tripod – Not for this picture but suggested
9.2. Make some camera adjustments and try again
10. Since we are using Aperture Priority set at the lowest f-stop (2.8) and we are not going to use a tripod then we have 2 options. Try to use flash or turn up the ISO.
11. Adjust ISO to 400. Repeat as needed up to ISO 1600.
12. Go to Step 5.
13. Review
Scenario 4. Full Tank Picture
One of the hardest things to do when it comes to taking pictures of reef tanks is taking the full tank shot. Why? One reason is that the lighting is usually so intense that the top of the tank is very bright and the bottom is noticeably darker. It can be difficult to get a picture of the entire tank and have all parts of the tank properly exposed. With that said we will try to get a decent full tank shot.
Method 1. Just one Picture
First, we will try to take a picture of the entire tank with just one picture
1. Use the tripod
2. Use Matrix Metering to average the entire scene and let camera choose the best shutter speed to get the best exposure
3. We want a high DOF, so set f-stop to f8 or higher
4. Use Aperture Priority
5. Take a picture
6. Examine the histogram. Look for overexposed pixels. If histogram shows many pixels that are toward the right side or on the extreme right side of the histogram then use negative exposure compensation and repeat the shot
Method 2. Exposure Blending
This method requires taking multiple shots with each shot exposing different parts of the tank and stand and then blending the pictures in Photoshop. This method is very useful for performing a full tank shot with stand.
Processing Pictures and Posting them Online
Resizing Pictures
Uploading Pictures to a Host Site
Posting Pictures ON MAAST
Questions and Comments
Time for questions and comments….
Conclusion
Reef Keeping is fun and the best way to show off your tank is by taking pictures. Taking pictures can also be fun and in fact can turn into a whole other hobby. Producing beautiful pictures of your tank does not require super expensive camera equipment. Many mainstream P&S Cameras are capable of producing great results. Hopefully, this discussion provided you with enough information to start experimenting and producing your great pictures and posting them for all to see.
Thanks for attending,
Mark
and
Brian.
This document is not the best I know but hopefully it is helpful to someone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digital Aquarium Photography
The Basics
Presented by Mark “TheOtherGuy”
And
Brian “GreenMako”
Introduction 2
Basic Digital Camera Terminology 2
Shutter Speed 2
Aperture 2
F-Stop 2
Depth of Field – DOF 2
ISO Equivalency 3
Histogram 3
White Balance 4
White Balance Compensation 4
Exposure Compensation 4
The Digital Camera 4
Point and Shoot (P&S) 5
DSLR Cameras 5
Camera Shooting Modes 5
Metering Modes 5
Preparation 6
Aquarium Lighting 6
Preparing the Aquarium 6
The Room 6
Picture Scenarios and Examples 6
Scenario 1. Coral Picture with Shallow DOF 6
Scenario 2. Coral Picture with More DOF 7
Scenario 3. Basic Fish Picture 8
Scenario 4. Full Tank Picture 8
Method 1. Just one Picture 8
Method 2. Exposure Blending 9
Processing Pictures and Posting them Online 9
Resizing Pictures 9
Uploading Pictures to a Host Site 9
Posting Pictures ON MAAST 9
Questions and Comments 9
Conclusion 9
Introduction
Reef keeping and photography are 2 hobbies that go well together. Both hobbies seem to have no end to the things that you can learn about and you could spend a lifetime on both hobbies improving your knowledge and skills.
There are so many things that could be discussed today about photography but I thought we would go through some of the basic terminology and then hop right into some hands-on picture taking and discussion and hopefully provide enough information for you to go home and start taking your own pictures of your reef tank.
Basic Digital Camera Terminology
Let’s go over some of the terminology and talk about each one a little bit.
Shutter Speed
The duration of time that the shutter is open. The shutter speed is general defined in fractions of a second. A shutter speed of 60 is 1/60 of second. A shutter speed of 500 is 1/500 of a second. A faster shutter speed lets less light into the camera but will stop motion. A slower shutter speed will let more light into the camera but subjects in motion could be blurred or out of focus. If shooting corals then using a slow shutter speed is ok but, shooting a fish a faster shutter speed is generally required.
Good Rule of Thumb: Shutter speed should be at least 1/(focal length). For example, if we are using a 50mm lens then for a “Sharp” picture the shutter speed should be at least 1/50 second or faster. For digital cameras use 1/(1.5*focal length).
Aperture
The opening in which light passes.
A larger opening will let more light into the camera. A smaller opening lets less light into the camera.
F-Stop
Apertures are measured as f-stops. The larger the f-stop number, the smaller the lens opening, the smaller the f-stop, the larger the opening and the “faster” the lens. A “Fast lens” is a lens that can have an f-stop of 2.8 or lower.
Why is this important? Let’s keep going first….
Depth of Field – DOF
The amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. Depth of field depends on the size of the aperture, the distance of the camera from the subject, and the focal length of the lens. The bigger the aperture, the greater the depth of field. If the camera focuses on a distant subject, the depth of field will be greater than if it was focused on a near subject; and if you fit a wide-angle lens to your camera, it will give you greater depth of field than a normal lens.
Using a smaller f-stop (2.8 for example) the DOF will be very small. A large f-stop (16) will have a large DOF.
A small f-stop is useful for isolating your subject, a single coral, for example. A large f-stop is useful for doing a full tank shot or for capturing a fish and coral behind it and have both in them in focus.
ISO Equivalency
Sensitivity is the digital equivalent of film speed. The higher the sensitivity the less light needed to make an exposure, allow for faster shutter speeds. ISO is kind of like turning of the gain of the digital sensor.
A quick example: If lighting is poor and for proper exposure, shutter speed is set at 1/60 second but the subject (fish) is coming out blurry then try setting the ISO to a higher number. By setting the ISO to a higher number the shutter speed can now be increased for proper exposure. The trade-off for setting the ISO to higher number is increased noise in the picture.
DSLRs tend to handle the noise in higher ISO settings than P&S cameras.
Histogram
A chart showing the distribution of the number of pixels in a photograph. The x-axis is the pixel brightness and the y-axis is the number of pixels. Some cameras provide only one version of this graph (luminosity) and some cameras provide a histogram for each channel (Red, Green and Blue). The x-axis range is 0 to 255. The y-axis is from 0 to Number of Pixels at that value. The y-axis max number is really not that important as it is just the number pixels at a particular value. The x-axis 0 represents black and 255 represents white.
So what? What is it useful for?
The histogram provides you with a graphical representation of a picture. If you look at a histogram and much of the graph is way to the left then most likely the picture is underexposed (too dark). If you look at the histogram and many of the pixels are at the extreme right then your picture is overexposed. Just like “The Three Bears”, when a majority of the pixels are near the middle of the histogram then the picture is probably exposed properly.
Not all cameras have a histogram function but if it does then learn to use the histogram and in no time you will start producing better images.
White Balance
A way of calibrating a camera's color response to take into account different color temperatures of light (i.e., fluorescent light is greenish; sunlight, more blue; incandescent light, yellowish). This calibration allows the camera to define what the color white is under any of these various lighting conditions.
If you were to put something white or grey into your tank and take a picture in most cases that white object will appear to be blue or have a bluish appearance. Even though our eyes are able to compensate for the blue color of the white object a camera cannot do this task as easily. Cameras usually have an “Auto” white balance and works pretty good for most normal situations but, for reef tanks “Auto” is usually not the best choice. On many cameras you can set the white balance to a preset value. Some cameras have settings like “Cloudy”, “Sunny”, and “Shady” etc. Other cameras use the Kelvin Temperature Scale. Sound familiar? For cameras with just the name method, I suggest using “Shady”. For cameras that use the Kelvin Scale I suggest using the highest Kelvin (usually around 7-10K). This setting will help to compensate for the “Blue” spectrum in the lighting above your reef tank.
White Balance Compensation
Many of the DSLRs and perhaps some of the P&S cameras also can further tweak the White Balance by some +/- amount. This adjustment is simply adjusting the Kelvin Temperature by a smaller increment than just changing the White Balance.
For example, the D70s with the setting of Shady (8,000 K) and a White Balance Compensation of -3 sets the Kelvin Temperature to 8,300 K. This generally works in most cases and helps to compensate for the blue spectrum and makes the pictures appear more natural.
Exposure Compensation
Many cameras have the ability to force the camera to overexpose or underexpose an image during capture. This can be done for effect or to compensate for some particular lighting situation. In reef photography exposure compensation can help in many situations. If taking a picture of coral in the top half the tank the camera tends to overexpose these shots. By using exposure compensation you can help reduce the exposure slightly and get a better exposed shot.
The Digital Camera
Taking good pictures of your aquarium does not require investing a ton of money into a camera. Sure you can spend money on your camera and related photographic equipment but you do not have to spend that much. A camera with 3 or 4 mega pixels will generally work just fine. While mega-pixels seem to be the “Biggest” marketing feature of many camera makers, it is often the other features (ISO, Shutter Speed, Lens Quality, etc) that will make one camera better than another.
**Note: Some cameras use different methods of focusing. I cannot remember the names of these methods but a few cameras have trouble focusing through glass.
Point and Shoot (P&S)
Every month new cameras are being introduced into the market and with new cameras come with new features and lower prices. It is a buyers market and you can pick up a feature rich camera at very good price. In many cases, a good point and shoot will perform near as well as more expensive DSLR but at a much lower price point.
DSLR Cameras
Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras like the Canon Rebel and Nikon D50/D70 are excellent choices for entry level DSLRs. These cameras provide many more options than most P&S cameras. Such things as removable lenses, external flash, and of course the broad user configurable settings such ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and White Balance. One of the biggest factors IMO that a DSLR can offer is the much better handling of noise. Why is this important? Because better noise handling means that you can use a higher ISO setting and capture sharp pictures with less noise in your pictures. The down side is that DSLRs and related equipment (Lenses) can cost some you more money. The upside is much more control of your photographs and of course the ability to change lenses.
Camera Shooting Modes
1. Auto Mode – Camera chooses and sets all settings. Aperture, Shutter, ISO, White Balance everything is set by the camera. In general this is not recommended.
2. All those semi-auto modes – Mountain Mode, People Mode etc. Same as Auto Mode but, the camera now tries to compensate for the selected mode. For example, Mountain Mode the f-stop is set to larger setting (f8) thus increasing the DOF etc. Again, these modes are generally not recommended. With one exception perhaps is Macro Mode.
3. Shutter Priority – You choose the shutter speed and camera decides the aperture setting for proper exposure. Great for sports, but not my first choice.
4. Aperture Priority – You choose the aperture settings and camera chooses the shutter speed for proper exposure. This is the setting I believe to be the best choice for most situations. By choosing the Aperture, you are deciding if you want a small or large DOF. Remember by setting the aperture to a small number 2.8 the DOF will be shallow and setting the aperture to a large number the DOF will be larger.
5. Manual Mode – You set both Aperture and Shutter Speed.
Metering Modes
Most cameras have at least 2 or 3 metering modes. Each mode can provide drastically different results.
1. Spot – Meters on a very small percentage usually about 1% of the scene.
2. Center Weighted - Meters the entire frame but gives more emphasis on the center
3. Matrix or Average Scene – Uses the entire scene to calculate proper exposure
Preparation
Aquarium Lighting
Reef Aquariums generally have 3 types of lights. Usually there are actinics, 10Ks and possibly moon lights. These lights provide many different scenarios for taking pictures. Note: It is also possible to take pictures with no lights on at all.
With all the lights (full spectrum) generally you can achieve good results by shooting hand held. That is, no tripod.
With just moon lights or actinics, you may want to consider using a tripod.
With no lights on a tripod is almost always required.
Preparing the Aquarium
1. VERY IMPORTANT. Clean the Glass. Clean it really good. There is nothing worse than capturing a great photograph and then discovering there is algae on the glass. Again, Clean the GLASS. TRUST ME.
2. Optional: Turn pumps off. Reduces bubbles.
The Room
In general it is best to take pictures of your aquarium with most of the ambient lighting turned off, curtains closed etc. This avoids many the distracting light blurs on the glass and also helps to reduce exposure errors by the camera.
Picture Scenarios and Examples
We have covered some of the basics and terminology. If it does not make sense yet that is ok. Now we will go through some hands-on examples that hopefully will help to bring it all together. Hopefully we can cover many things not actually discussed in this paper.
Scenario 1. Coral Picture with Shallow DOF
1. Set the camera mode. Aperture Priority
we want a shallow DOF so set the f-stop to the widest setting (lower number).
2. Set the ISO. Let’s start with ISO 200 (or lowest ISO setting).
3. Set White Balance. Start with WB of Shady or highest Kelvin Temperature possible.
4. First shot will be without a tripod. Since we are not using a tripod we will need a higher shutter speed for a sharp picture. Since our subject is not moving I use the general rule for a handheld picture to be sharp and in focus the shutter speed should be 1 / (focal length of the lens). For this shot we are using a 105mm lens. So shutter speed should be around 1/100 second for a sharp picture.
5. Take the picture.
6. Examine Histogram. Is picture properly exposed?
7. If Histogram is too the left use positive exposure compensation to increase the picture brightness. If histogram is too far to the right use negative exposure compensation to reduce the scene exposure
8. Is the picture sharp? That is, no camera shake or blurry?
9. If it is then we need to
a. Use a tripod – Not for this picture but suggested
b. Make some camera adjustments and try again
c. Use flash – For this example we will not use flash
10. Since we are using Aperture Priority set at the lowest f-stop (2.8) and we are not going to use a tripod then we have 2 options. Try to use flash or turn up the ISO.
11. Adjust ISO to 400. Repeat as needed up to ISO 1600.
12. Go to Step 5.
13. Review
Scenario 2. Coral Picture with More DOF
1. Same Coral as above but now we would like to have another coral in focus as well as the main coral. We need to increase the DOF by increasing the f-stop. We will set the f-stop to 16.
2. Set the ISO. Let’s start with ISO 200 (or lowest ISO setting).
3. Set White Balance. Start with WB of Shady or highest Kelvin Temperature possible.
4. First shot will be without a tripod. Since we are not using a tripod we will need a higher shutter speed for a sharp picture. Since our subject is not moving I use the general rule for a handheld picture to be sharp and in focus the shutter speed should be 1 / (focal length of the lens). For this shot we are using a 105mm lens. So shutter speed should be around 1/100 second for a sharp picture.
5. Take the picture.
6. Examine Histogram. Is picture properly exposed?
7. If Histogram is too the left use positive exposure compensation to increase the picture brightness. If histogram is too far to the right use negative exposure compensation to reduce the scene exposure
8. Is the picture sharp? That is, no camera shake or blurry?
9. If it is then we need to
9.1. Use a tripod – Not for this picture but suggested
9.2. Make some camera adjustments and try again
10. Since we are using Aperture Priority set at the lowest f-stop (2.8) and we are not going to use a tripod then we have 2 options. Try to use flash or turn up the ISO.
11. Adjust ISO to 400. Repeat as needed up to ISO 1600.
12. Go to Step 5.
13. Review
Scenario 3. Basic Fish Picture
Now the subject is a moving target. This is going to get a little harder. To increase the odds of getting a decent picture we will try to use a larger DOF. By using a larger DOF we can miss focus slightly are if shutter speed is just a little off then we still may get a decent picture. For this shot we will try to use f8 and the 50mm lens.
1. Same Coral as above but now we would like to have another coral in focus as well as the main coral. We need to increase the DOF by increasing the f-stop. We will set the f-stop to 16.
2. Set the ISO. Let’s start with ISO 200 (or lowest ISO setting).
3. Set White Balance. Start with WB of Shady or highest Kelvin Temperature possible.
4. First shot will be without a tripod. Since we are not using a tripod we will need a higher shutter speed for a sharp picture. Since our subject is not moving I use the general rule for a handheld picture to be sharp and in focus the shutter speed should be 1 / (focal length of the lens). For this shot we are using a 105mm lens. So shutter speed should be around 1/100 second for a sharp picture.
5. Take the picture.
6. Examine Histogram. Is picture properly exposed?
7. If Histogram is too the left use positive exposure compensation to increase the picture brightness. If histogram is too far to the right use negative exposure compensation to reduce the scene exposure
8. Is the picture sharp? That is, no camera shake or blurry?
9. If it is then we need to
9.1. Use a tripod – Not for this picture but suggested
9.2. Make some camera adjustments and try again
10. Since we are using Aperture Priority set at the lowest f-stop (2.8) and we are not going to use a tripod then we have 2 options. Try to use flash or turn up the ISO.
11. Adjust ISO to 400. Repeat as needed up to ISO 1600.
12. Go to Step 5.
13. Review
Scenario 4. Full Tank Picture
One of the hardest things to do when it comes to taking pictures of reef tanks is taking the full tank shot. Why? One reason is that the lighting is usually so intense that the top of the tank is very bright and the bottom is noticeably darker. It can be difficult to get a picture of the entire tank and have all parts of the tank properly exposed. With that said we will try to get a decent full tank shot.
Method 1. Just one Picture
First, we will try to take a picture of the entire tank with just one picture
1. Use the tripod
2. Use Matrix Metering to average the entire scene and let camera choose the best shutter speed to get the best exposure
3. We want a high DOF, so set f-stop to f8 or higher
4. Use Aperture Priority
5. Take a picture
6. Examine the histogram. Look for overexposed pixels. If histogram shows many pixels that are toward the right side or on the extreme right side of the histogram then use negative exposure compensation and repeat the shot
Method 2. Exposure Blending
This method requires taking multiple shots with each shot exposing different parts of the tank and stand and then blending the pictures in Photoshop. This method is very useful for performing a full tank shot with stand.
Processing Pictures and Posting them Online
Resizing Pictures
Uploading Pictures to a Host Site
Posting Pictures ON MAAST
Questions and Comments
Time for questions and comments….
Conclusion
Reef Keeping is fun and the best way to show off your tank is by taking pictures. Taking pictures can also be fun and in fact can turn into a whole other hobby. Producing beautiful pictures of your tank does not require super expensive camera equipment. Many mainstream P&S Cameras are capable of producing great results. Hopefully, this discussion provided you with enough information to start experimenting and producing your great pictures and posting them for all to see.
Thanks for attending,
Mark
and
Brian.