If you've ever taken or tried taking pictures of your fish then you know patience is the keyword to getting a good picture. Not only do you want the background to look fairly decent and out of focus so it doesn't detract from the fish, but you want a nice clear picture of the fish. However, the fish never seem to want to cooperate and sit still long enough for you to shoot off a couple of pictures.
So you either sit and wait for them to stop moving in one spot, or you chase them around the tank hoping that the pictures come out decent the only problem is that you can't move as fast as they can while trying to focus. I find the former is a lot easier than the latter. I also find it's a lot easier to get a really good picture using a fully manual camera cause you can focus it in on one spot and be ready for when they pop in.
The camera I used for these two pictures was an Olympus C-4000, but I have in the past gotten fairly decent pictures using a cheaper camera with a lot fewer options. I will put the settings below each picture to give everyone with a fully manual camera an idea of how I did it. Lighting for both these pictures was using natural room light and the tank light, the flash was turned off. In both pictures the camera was handheld with the first bracing my arm on tank and camera on arm, the second putting the lens of the camera against the glass of the tank to help hold it steady. A tripod can also be used, but I find that it's harder to use if you need to move the camera a slight bit to get the whole fish in the frame.
Albino Corydora
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/13
ISO: 100
Scissortail Rasbora
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/6
ISO: 100
I would love to see everyone else's picture!
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PHSplendens
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Fishkeeping Made Simple
