aquatic advice please

[fluffy penguin]

I am hoping to go to a big sealife centre to take photos
I notice that my camera has an underwater feature .
even though these have produced photos better than I have been able still not remarkable like I have seen some peoples. so could anyone give me advice please.
this is one of the attempts, my others the blue at the back of the tank is overpowering.

[Ian]

Re: aquatic advice please

I am hoping to go to a big sealife centre to take photos
I notice that my camera has an underwater feature .
even though these have produced photos better than I have been able still not remarkable like I have seen some peoples. so could anyone give me advice please.
this is one of the attempts, my others the blue at the back of the tank is overpowering.

Aha - an interest of mine (tropical fish - though usually smaller ones!) - is this a (freshwater) gourami of some description?

Forget the underwater scene mode - it's more than likely for use with an undertware housing when diving with the camera.

Don't use flash.

If you want to use autofocus, set the AF point in the middle only. Otherwise, consider manual focus, be pre-focusing on an object about the same distance from where you want to snap your target.

Up the ISO setting a bit - ISO 400 could be good.

If the fish are moving reasonably fast, use S or Tv auto mode and set a shutter speed as high as you can - 1/125th or higher of possible.

If the fish are fairly static, use A mode to set the aperture and deepen the in-focus area (depth of field) - aim for f/8. for example.

For maximum flexibility over correcting colours later, use RAW (ORF mode on your camera).

Check the exposure as you go along and remember it's better to underexpose slightly rather than to over-expose slightly.

Good luck and let's see some more pix once you've got some

Ian

[fluffy penguin]

Re: aquatic advice please

thank you for that Ian, do those settings apply to jelly fish as well
saw some fantastic photos of jelly fish, another one not quite mastered
FP

[Ian]

Re: aquatic advice please

Jelly fish are usually slower moving, so go for the smaller aperture (like f/ in order to get more of the scene in focus.

Ian

[lumix]

Re: aquatic advice please

I am hoping to go to a big sealife centre to take photos
I notice that my camera has an underwater feature .
even though these have produced photos better than I have been able still not remarkable like I have seen some peoples. so could anyone give me advice please.
this is one of the attempts, my others the blue at the back of the tank is overpowering.

As Ian has said the ISO here is much to low (100), this has given you a very slow shutter speed just 1/3 sec. Subject + camera movement has caused the image to be blurred. I guess you were hand holding also so that did not help. Use a tripod or at least a mono-pod for this type of shot. Years ago when I also attempted this type of photography I used a cine light or video light as it would be known these days. Keep the light as close to the glass as is possible to avoid reflections. Colour is always going to be a problem as many tanks use special lighting to make the fish look more colourful. Using RAW will allow you to correct/compensate for the lighting that you use.