Aquarium Pictures

Mainiac · Nov 11, 2006

Okay so next week i'll be going to visit a aquarium.And was playing with the idea of bringing my camera along and I was wondering what I would need to be able to get some pictures there. What kind of filters and would I need a tripod? etc. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

fmw · Nov 11, 2006

No, what you need is the ability to light the aquarium from above with a strobe. That's how it's done. The light needs to come from the inside of the aquarium. If that's not possible then shoot high ISO with no flash, the fish won't sit still long enough for a long exposure.

astrostu · Nov 12, 2006

Don't use your flash. It annoys the heck out of everyone, and all you're going to get is a huge reflection in the glass. If no one else is around where you are, you can try for the flash, but shoot off to the side ... in other words, don't aim your camera directly at the glass, that way the flash reflection won't bounce directly back at you.

My aquarium shots are taken on slow-moving fish so I can do around a 1/60 sec exposure without the flash.

markc · Nov 12, 2006

I don't know if your lens will accept filters, but if so, get a long rubber lens hood. It will allow you to put the camera right up to the aquarium but still have some ability to adjust the angle. This will keep all reflections out no matter the angle. If you have an off-camera flash, you can try putting that up to the glass also, but check with the aquarium first.

sylph · Nov 13, 2006

Just use as wide of an aperture that you can safely (play around with that) and high ISO. Keep your hands steady - yes, some fish are nearly impossible to shoot and have really sharp in low light. Here are two I took last year at the aquarium. They are actually already lit from above, I wouldn't use flash, although I have seen people put almost a "box" up against the glass to shoot inside of it. It is annoying lolol!