I have the one large psychotic male that lives by himself. And a pair and a spare in the 400 gallon tank. The big guy did have a female...or two. I finally gave up on trying to get him a lady. The trio in the big tank have it figured out and don't have much of a problem.
The large single male is hands down the easiest fish I have ever photographed...and there's been a few. The set up takes longer than the photos. I set the camera on a tripod with a remote trigger. Lit the tank with two large speedlights on top and two smaller lights below the tank line and angled up at an angle. I selected an area about two foot square in the center of the tank. Then put my finger to the glass...which brought "Dickhead" (yes...that's what I call him) to the area lit. I focused on the fish.
Then I just stepped back and used a hand mirror to attract hm into that area...and took the shot. No more worrying about focus. Positioning the hand mirror up, down, to the side made him face in that direction. Moving the mirror quickly while simultaneously taking the shot gets that stop action flare of fins. I took about fifty photos in that one area.
The large single male is hands down the easiest fish I have ever photographed...and there's been a few. The set up takes longer than the photos. I set the camera on a tripod with a remote trigger. Lit the tank with two large speedlights on top and two smaller lights below the tank line and angled up at an angle. I selected an area about two foot square in the center of the tank. Then put my finger to the glass...which brought "Dickhead" (yes...that's what I call him) to the area lit. I focused on the fish.
Then I just stepped back and used a hand mirror to attract hm into that area...and took the shot. No more worrying about focus. Positioning the hand mirror up, down, to the side made him face in that direction. Moving the mirror quickly while simultaneously taking the shot gets that stop action flare of fins. I took about fifty photos in that one area.
