new dslr(need help)

[buddha1200]

bought a sony alpha a-100 off craigslist friday.
Included the following:
the camera body(a-100)
the flash(looks to be a cheap brand)will be ordering a newone
tamron af lens(28-200mm)
minolta af lens(35-80mm)
minolta maxxum lens(100-300mm)
minolta maxxum lens(70-210mm)
sony lens(18-70)
two batteries
2x2gb memory cards
i downloaded the manual of the internet
all for 300 dollars(deal to good to pass up)
here is a few pics(can anyone give me some advice to improve my shots.
got to start taking notes on my settings,i am kinda knowlegable with portraits,but aquatic photography is a whole different story.

comments and tips(good or bad)is appreciated

 

[buddha1200]

just checked another pocket on the bag found two 50mm lens(minolta)this deal just keeps getting better.

 

[buddha1200]

bump

 

[benzjamin13]

Those shots look pretty good. I don't have a cool camera, so I can't help there, but just keep playing with it

 

[---XR---]

you got an amazing deal, congrats. look into investing a little bit more into an overhead flash,
aquatic photography is all about lighting,
as is SLR photography in general,
the cameras and lenses are made to manipulate the light around them to get the desired result of the photographer.

 

[buddha1200]

Been playing with different settings all day,some more shots.

i will be ordering a new flash soon.

 

[buddha1200]

bump

 

[bl00]

Nice shots...looks like you're doing really well.

 

[hurricane_redbone]

If you have a external flash u can hold the flash above the tank when ur shooting... it makes it so the flash doesnt reflect into the lense and generally create really cool effects. if done right itll black out the background. If you dont have an external flash your better off shooting without flash as the direct reflection often changes the color of the fish and it looks lame...The settings you use are all up to u but just so u know what ur adjusting this is what it all does:

shutter speed: the smaller the fraction the faster the shutter goes, the faster is goes the less light it catches so it will make ur pictures darker. But if the shutter speed is too slow the shot will blur as the fish move around. Try to find the slowest shutter speed u can use without blurring the fish, for me 1/60-1/80 works best.
F-Stop: Think of the F-stop like your pupil in your eye... the more open it is the more light it lets in, but as a side effect the shot gets less focussed. As the pupil gets smaller your vision is more in focus but less light comes in. SO once again you want to find a setting that allows the least amount of light in without it being too dark. that way more of your picture will be focussed. (small numbers allows more light in and vice versa).
White Balance: A lot of people forget this but its important. Shoot on auto white balance and see how the color balance is. If its not very natural (often has a yellow tinge) then see the presets you can choose from. It will often give you choices in color temperature. Standard flourescent light is 6700k and the color temperature keeps going up as lights get bluer. try to pick a white balance that matches your lighting.

that should get u in the right direction...

 

[Death Pony]

Excellent deal! I can already see improvement. Play around with it a bit and see what everything does. Minimal ambient lighting helps as well.