PlanetCatfish.com

Hi,

How do you photograph your fish without getting all the reflections off the glass? I have been trying to photograph our leiarius pictus and clarias batrachus but it isn't proving easy. Photographing smaller fish is easier cos you can put the camera right up to the glass but when you are talking about a fish the size of the L. pictus you have to have the camera a distance from the glass to get the fish in the frame.

Kat.

en1gma wrote:How do you photograph your fish without getting all the reflections off the glass?

1) I use a flash firing down through the coverglass; that eliminates reflections from the flash, and as a bonus shows the fish with more natural color than when firing the flash through the front.
2) I make sure the room is dark, and cover the canopy with a dark cloth to below the water surface, to avoid direct light from the canopy being reflected from the camera. That reduces the possibility of getting reflectinos from the lens showing up in the picture. It's very annoying to take a good picture and then realize you can read the word "nikon" in the picture, reflected from the lens...

If you're using a camera with in-built flash, and want to use the flash, you'll have to experiment and find what angles does NOT reflect the flash into the camera. With my Coolplix 4500 I have to shoot at an angle of about 30 degrees down to avoid reflexes from the flash.

I also try to remember to clean the glass thoroughly both on the in and outside before shooting, as any specks or smears will glare mercilessly in the harsh light of the flash.

A semi-random sample of my pics can be seen here:
http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/photo.htm# ... n%20photos

Some images are taken with an expensive Nikon D100, Nikkor macro objective, & external flash, but the majority are taken with the inexpensive Nikon Coolpix 4500. However, to be fair I get a far higher proportion usable photos from the D100.

I use a fuji finepix for taking my photos. If I use the tripod I don't have to use the flash. I will try experimenting with the tank light on but the room dark. Also, to post pictures in here, do they have to be on the internet or can you put them on if they are only stored on your pc?

Kat.

Kat,
You will find that tank lights on with room lights off helps kill glare and reflection. Make sure to throw any extra lights you have on the tank you are taking photographs in.
Photos must be linked from the web to be posted.
-Shane