Just dived in

[Scythanith]

This has a little white balance correction, some black point adjustment, some more definition, and some output sharpening. By nooooo means perfect (I mean my editing, no your pictures haahaa), but shows off the patterning a little better

As for the camera info, listen to Steve, he's a pro

A couple extra pointers:

Shoot straight through the glass, NO angles!
Wear dark clothing, less reflections off the glass.
Use a tripod.
Use manual focus for stationary objects. This, combined with AP, can really showcase what you want to be the focal point of the photo.
If you can set WB easily enough (you can), set it to ~10,000K and start there. That's essentially the same as "cloudy" setting.
It has been mentioned but shut off the power heads and return pump.

Take lots of pictures and mess around with your settings! Once you find what you like you can probably save the entire batch of settings under a custom label and return to them every time you're shooting the tank.

As for the wife shot, Steve hit it on the head, bounce that light! Also, the camera doesn't always know what's right, you may have to dial in a bit of flash compensation. Usually looks like a little lighting bolt and a +/-. Your picture may have required a little "-".

Cheers,
Scott

Originally Posted by Aqua-Digital

first attempt at photography, clearly got a lot to learn but not bad start for me at least. got two good subjects, the wife and my corals.

[Aqua-Digital]

thanks for the tips

[Scythanith]

Also, keep an eye on your ISO settings. Try and shoot with the number as low as possible. That will keep the graininess of the picture down to a minimum. If the ISO is on auto, then look in your settings to see if you can limit its upper value while in auto. I'd say don't go past ~1600 iso. I don't know your particular camera though so that may be a little low. If you can get everything still enough, shoot at iso 400 all day long. This may work for stationary corals, but will likely not be a good setting for swimming fish. Those will be the ~1600 iso setting.

Good luck!

[Jason McK]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Not to purposely contradict but I'd say that's pretty much the worst advice anyone could give you. Shooting in RAW basically tells your camera "don't worry about it I got this" thus bypassing the processing ability your camera came with. In addition raw files are larger and much harder to work with on a computer since you need special software to even open and view the file. Then you end tuning everything to what your see on your computer monitor which may be very different compared other video sources or printers. So unless you really think you can process images better than the fancy camera you just bought I'd advise against the hassle that comes with RAW format.

I'd say better advice would be to stick with the basics relating to actual photography as appose to relying mostly on manual post processing. Shoot in jpeg and take lots of pictures. Choose an appropriate lens for the subject, the body is only as good as the lens you use. Try stationary subjects first like corals. Stick with auto focus until you get use to the other settings. Aperture priority mode is my preference and what I would suggest you try first. If you can keep the subject still (ie no tank flow) then choose a lower iso setting for better clarity. Try large aperture (small f number) for faster shoots and less depth of field, then try small aperture (large f number) for slower shutter speeds but higher DOF. The DOF because more important in macro shots. Adjust WB as needed, with LED lighting tune your lights more white to make this easier. Once you start getting clear shots with good color you can look at post processing but still no need for raw files. If you have the software most allow you to open jpeg files as raw format to get the same level of adjustment but there's really not much more in there you need.

Best advise ever!!!: clap2: