Trust me the speedlight is going to happen very soon and I can see why now. Can I ask why the third shot over the first is your favorite? I thought the first was my best of those three. What are you seeing over the first, I may be missing? Don't worry I won't get offended I'm asking a trained eye to tell me what you think? So be honest
the issue with the first pic, is that, the subject is not very appealing, its quite dark and obscure.
where as the second pic although quite decently lit, it still is dull, and many parts of the subject are sinking into the background, with no clear outline, and there is no detail or sharpness due to inadequate light
the third pic although has uneven light, has niice high and low tones, and the features of the fish are quite distinct and sharp, although the eye is still missing, really niice pics are those, where you can have eye contact with the subject. i liked this pic because of the play of light and the sharpness it has near the tail, the head and mouth, this pic would have been much better with more light on the flanks of the body, but i think for that u will need to reduce the fnumber a little more, most of the good photographers whom i have asked for advice and help, always tell me to start with the fnumber at 8 and to keep the shutter speed at the highest speed it can sync with the flash, usually thats 200, and then increase the fnumber till u see evenly lit subject with niiice smooth exposures and theres no clipping
