How to take quality pictures of your angelfish

By Wayne DesLauriers

Getting decent quality photos of your angelfish fish is not easy for a lot of people. Usually it’s not too hard to shoot nice photos of an entire aquarium, but keeping the fish from being blurry can be a challenge. Aquarium photography is very challenging and can be rewarding when you get that perfect shot you’ve been looking for.

Prepare your setting

The Lighting
Lighting is the most important factor in a photograph, Because photos are all about light. The more light you have on your tank, the shorter time the shutter on your camera will stay open. The less light, the longer, etc. Why is this important? Well, it’s important for taking pictures of things that move like your angelfish, or your hand holding the camera. If your tank is dimly lit, then you probably won’t be able to get a good picture of your fish. You can take the pictures...but the fish will look like a pretty colored blur most likely. Overhead lighting is best, I add an extra light strip just for picture taking. Turn off all the lights in the room and make it as dark as possible to prevent reflections. If you choose to use a flash take the picture at an angle to the glass to prevent reflections and glare.

The Background
This is one of the most important artistic considerations that will enhance the picture. A natural setting is best in my opinion. Plants, driftwood, sand and gravel all work great. Painting the back outside of the tank a pleasing color is another alternative. Colored construction paper from an art supply store will also work. Heaters, air tubing, corner seams, electrical cords, and filters are hidden away from the desired spot. The desired spot is a place in the tank where I want the fish to be in or stay for my picture. Attention to detail is very important if you want a good photograph. The effort you put into it will show with every shot.

The Tank glass
The night before your shoot, scrub the inside tank walls thoroughly clean. Use a non-toxic, non-abrasive cleaner for the outside front glass. Spray the cleaner into the rag, not on the tank. Just before you begin taking photos wipe the front with a slightly damp lint free cloth to remove all dust particles that seem to glow when the flash goes off. Be aware of any scratches in the glass and they are not in your desired spot areas.

The Water
The water in your tank may look clean to you, but the camera will give you a different opinion. It is a preferred method to do a large water change the day before the shoot. Also, A diatom filter polish would be perfect for this application.

The Substrate
Use a vacuum to clean the gravel or the bare-bottom tank thoroughly. This will prevent any unsightly debris from floating in front of your field of view. You might want to prune your plants if they need it.

The Subject
Make sure the angelfish you are photographing is healthy and beautiful. The fins should be symmetrical, fully formed, and not torn. They should also be straight without kinks or twists. The body should be round as possible or slightly higher than long. Try to take the pictures while the fins are fully extended. I sometimes get the angelfish to do this by teasing it with my hand.

The Camera and Accessories
The best camera setup is one where you can choose the settings and it helps if you know a thing or two about cameras and how to use them. Today’s digital camera is an excellent choice over the 35mm SLR cameras, because you can see the pictures you have taken instantly and the film and developing is "free". I also have found the colors are captured much better from a digital camera over a 35mm SLR camera. I find that you will want a shutter speed of about 1/100th of a second to prevent motion blur. Many fully automatic point & shoot cameras will not allow you to specify shutter speeds. If you are using a film camera you can either use a flash or high speed film to get your high enough shutter speed. A tripod will help keep the camera steady, which is crucial. If you have a macro lens for close in focusing then by all means use it! If you are using a wide-angle lens for shooting, even when zooming in close, I think the camera focuses more easily, and the larger diameter lens adapts better to the bright lighting. I love my Olympus Camedia 3040 ZOOM 3.3 mega-pixel camera!

In some cases you can shoot straight on with a flash and macro lens by putting the lens right up against the glass which keeps the flash from bouncing back into the lens. Be careful not to scratch your cameras lens or your tank while doing this!

Taking the picture
OK, after all that theory we are finally getting to the good stuff, taking the pictures! Make sure your batteries are fully charged. Pull up a comfy chair and put your patience mood to the on position. My preferred method is not to use a flash on a well-lit tank, But I do use it at times. The tank is lit up with extra lights from overhead. Lights from the side or front might spook your fish and it will loose its colors. All lights in the room except for the tank lights are off and the room is dark. I also use a tripod because the camera will be used with the macro setting on, which is extremely sensitive to movement that will result in blurry pictures. The camera is probably 2 feet from my desired spot. I choose the settings on the camera to manual aperture priority and shutter priority setting, manual focus, macro on, ISO @ 100. Use a high resolution setting to capture the details better, remember the larger the compression, the lower the image quality will be. The next thing that you’ll want to do is focus the camera at your desired spot. Try to increase your depth of field. Focus on the center of the desired spot and close your aperture down as much as physically possible. This will ensure that your focal plane is as large as it can possibly be. A small aperture of F/11 or F/16 will keep everything in focus from the front to the back. A large aperture will limit the amount of the picture that appears in focus such as F/4 or F/5.6, This makes the main subject stand out clearly from the background. Correct exposure is determined by a combination of shutter speed (in seconds) and aperture (in F-Stops), as a result the subjects brightness. The cameras TTL (through the lens) metering system will determine the exposure. There will be a few different combinations you can use to get an acceptable exposure, try changing settings and experiment. This is how great photographs are achieved. A word on film grain and digital noise, Grain in film and noise in digital images can affect how sharp the picture looks. The higher the ISO film speed/ ISO digital setting the more grain/noise you’ll get in your pictures. I guess that the final point to mention (again) is having a sufficient shutter speed. If your fish are very active you will want to use the fastest shutter speed possible, 1/100th should be plenty.

Getting the fish to pose is another challenge. You simply must have total patience and time. Take many many pictures of the same shot making only small and slight adjustments between them. Don’t trust the camera’s viewer window, look at the pictures on your computer to be sure how it really looks. Write down the settings after each adjustment you made for every photo. While viewing your pictures, take note of the ones that came out well and compare it to your previous notes from where your settings were. The point here is to experiment and use this data for your next shoot.

Get a good photo editor and learn how to use it!
I prefer Adobe PhotoShop or PaintShop pro. Only make changes to a photo in a photo editor with the photo at 100% size. You should always copy & save uncompressed masters of good shots for future use. Pick a picture size that works best with your camera’s resolution. Remember that a small clear picture is nicer than a larger pixilated picture.

I don’t want to discourage all of you from trying angelfish photography by making it sound too hard. In addition, I am not claiming to be a great photographer, I am an amateur learning. I just want to offer tips for those who would like to maximize the potential for great photos of your beautiful angelfish! Good luck!

WaynesWorld (c;