What’s the trick for good photos?

[Deadeye]

Every time I submit to POTM, I think to myself, no way this photo can be beat. Then I see what some of you can come up with, and between clarity, lighting, and even timing, I just have to wonder, what are you guys up to? Is there a secret I’m missing to taking perfect photos? I’m using an iPhone X, which should have a very good camera. I think I have timing down (just sit in front of the tank for a few minutes until something cool happens for you). What is the trick for the blackout shots or the really zoomed in ones with perfect clarity? Is that all edited in, or is it years of practice? Do I need a black background on my tanks to help?
The pictures you guys take are amazing, and I’d love to try out for myself!

 

[Rtc/tsn]

Every time I submit to POTM, I think to myself, no way this photo can be beat. Then I see what some of you can come up with, and between clarity, lighting, and even timing, I just have to wonder, what are you guys up to? Is there a secret I’m missing to taking perfect photos? I’m using an iPhone X, which should have a very good camera. I think I have timing down (just sit in front of the tank for a few minutes until something cool happens for you). What is the trick for the blackout shots or the really zoomed in ones with perfect clarity? Is that all edited in, or is it years of practice? Do I need a black background on my tanks to help?
The pictures you guys take are amazing, and I’d love to try out for myself!

I’m sure a black background would make color pop out a bit more and help focus but when it comes to close up I got no idea how people focus it and get such amazing angles maybe it’s just a hidden talent that you got to discover

 

[Potato Patatto]

It’s 99% lighting and I’m framing this in a situation where zero editing is done.. the room needs to be blacked out completely, a dark background of the tank makes the colors pop more, clean glass, and I’ve found the iPhone X/Pro are not terrific at taking aquarium photos. They try to automatically adjust the brightness far too much and it ends up taking away the natural streaks of light in a tank! And when you get too close, it auto focuses on bubbles/scratches, plants, anything with texture so it can make catching a moving fish really difficult. Also hate to say it, but some of those monthly photos are definitely edited lol

You aren’t alone in this, I get 1 in a 100 I like

 

[Deadeye]

Probably doesn’t help that all my tanks are by windows lol...
Takes me forever just to get a spot without a reflection.

 

[Potato Patatto]

Probably doesn’t help that all my tanks are by windows lol...
Takes me forever just to get a spot without a reflection.

I ended up using the black vinyl adhesive on the back and both sides of my frag for that reason and it does wonders for knocking out reflections. (FYI picked up two dats for a friend who was looking for them - not so I’ve only temporarily ruined the biotope! ?)

But you can see what I’m talking about in the bubbles or the small algea buildup on glass that can really ruin good photo opportunities. Definitely play with angles too cause the straight on approach often ends up looking flat.

Sorry I took this opportunity to photo dump ?

 

[Deadeye]

Tank and fish look great! I love seeing photos! Looks like I’ll be looking into a black background!

 

[Potato Patatto]

Tank and fish look great! I love seeing photos! Looks like I’ll be looking into a black background!

What I used

 

[Deadeye]

Grabbed a dark blue plastic tablecloth. Tried it to see if it would look good and I can save money. Very pleased with the results!

 

[Hendre]

Some notes on this:
-Most fish move fast so a high shutter speed is needed to capture them as a sharp photo
-Higher shutter speeds need more light
-Unless you are running a high-tech aquarium then you will rarely have enough light from the aquarium lights for a high shutter speed
-More light is also needed for a higher aperture (F4.0 or narrower) for a better depth of field
-Cell phones rarely have the level of control to take high speed photos well

When I initially started taking fish photos I struggled with slow shutter speeds even at the lowest aperture on a DSLR. What I ended up doing was using the DSLR, and with some advice, placed external flashes over the tank and bounced a control flash off the ceiling to set them off (Flashes are expensive, flash controllers would be far better). With flashes mounted over the tank I could demand light-hungry shots (1/200 shutter, F5.6, 100 ISO) and only the areas directly under the flashes have enough light to show up in the photo. My tank background is black so it really sinks into the darkness. The fish should be in midwater for that abyss effect

Then it's patience and taking a lot of photos till you get one that you like. The flash effect is easily seen here:


Only the gecko in front is lit and the background lacks enough light to show up. Hope this helps!

 

[Deadeye]

Some notes on this:
-Most fish move fast so a high shutter speed is needed to capture them as a sharp photo
-Higher shutter speeds need more light
-Unless you are running a high-tech aquarium then you will rarely have enough light from the aquarium lights for a high shutter speed
-More light is also needed for a higher aperture (F4.0 or narrower) for a better depth of field
-Cell phones rarely have the level of control to take high speed photos well

When I initially started taking fish photos I struggled with slow shutter speeds even at the lowest aperture on a DSLR. What I ended up doing was using the DSLR, and with some advice, placed external flashes over the tank and bounced a control flash off the ceiling to set them off (Flashes are expensive, flash controllers would be far better). With flashes mounted over the tank I could demand light-hungry shots (1/200 shutter, F5.6, 100 ISO) and only the areas directly under the flashes have enough light to show up in the photo. My tank background is black so it really sinks into the darkness. The fish should be in midwater for that abyss effect

Then it's patience and taking a lot of photos till you get one that you like. The flash effect is easily seen here:
View attachment 1464127

Only the gecko in front is lit and the background lacks enough light to show up. Hope this helps!

Helps a lot! Thanks very much for the tips!
Your Garg is amazing by the way!