Messing with Manual

[Second Hand Pat]

I started to seriously mess in manual mode last night. I am good with aperture but not so good playing with shutter speed and ISO. I think up to now I have overdone ISO (too high) in many of my photos. Finding that sweet spot with shutter speed and ISO will really help me AP also. Some examples. Photos are straight out of the camera. Still have not nailed the focus either.

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[rickztahone]

I think you did well Pat. I'm on my phone so I don't get the full effect, but I like them. The last one especially.

[Second Hand Pat]

I think you did well Pat. I'm on my phone so I don't get the full effect, but I like them. The last one especially.

I love the overall effect Ricardo. Would just like to nail the focus down better. May not be possible just because the fish is not towards the front of the tank.

Here's a couple more of the Tefe tank. Again straight out of the camera and a bit underexposed but look at the color on those fish. Did not use a flash.

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[SMB2]

I like them Pat. A little processing will bring out some more detail esp. if theses are RAW out of the camera.
The middle Tefe in the last image is tack sharp. Of the first three I really like #2. A little crop and that will really be nice.
What lens and camera? What are your camera settings.
There is not a lot of noise in these so your ISO seems fine. That means deciding on what SS you need to get sharp images. And that depends on how much the fish are moving. The compromise is DOF but you shouldn't have to stop down more than f8/f11.

[Second Hand Pat]

Stan, if you click on the photo it will take you to flickr which has all the EXIF. I am shooting with a Nikon D7000 using a prime macro with a speedlight on the apisto picture (first three). The two tefe photos I am using the 35mm prime lens. I started with SS of 1/100 and ISO 100 as a starting point. F-Stop was 3.2 on the apistos and 4 on the Tefes. The SS on the tefes was 1/13 and ISO was 400.

[MikeT]

They are nice and the focus is right. Depth of field is what you are referring to. The closer you are to a subject the smaller the depth of field or the smaller the area in focus. To increase depth of field you need to use smaller lens opening, which means slower shutter speed. Then you run into the problem of movement of the subject, your fish. Since you can't get them to stand still you have to shoot with a faster shutter speed meaning a larger lens opening. The effect is used in photography to get the subject or background/foreground in or out of focus. On the rings on your lens there should be a depth of field indicator showing how much in front and behind the subject will be in focus for each aperture. If you play with it on a ruler, maybe a yard stick you will see how it changes. Put something half way down the yard stick, then changing the aperture you will change the depth of field. Take a look at a professional portrait and you will see the background is a little out of focus. They put the background far enough back to make it that way.

Your middle photo is a great example the tail of the fish is out of focus but the front half is in. If you had focused on the anal fin the whole fish may have been in focus. I've done amateur and professional photography since I was in high school but I've yet to try my fish in the tank. That's next.

[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks Mike, I was aiming for a shallow DOF on the apisto pictures so using the largest aperture I could which is f/3.2 and yes, playing with SS and ISO which is my first time in Manual mode. I find with aquarium photography the deeper in the tank the fish the harder it is to get a sharp focus...especially on a small fish. Discus are much easier due to their size.

[Second Hand Pat]

A little PP on the apisto photos

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[rickztahone]

I like what you did with the first shot after PP

[Second Hand Pat]

I like what you did with the first shot after PP

Thanks Ricardo, did a bit of shot removal on that one. Tried spot removal on the third one which mostly worked.
Pat

[SMB2]

Merry Christmas!

A couple of thoughts: Your 105 Micro lens has a close focusing distance of 12 inches, so you don't want to get closer than that to the fish.
Your camera rates pretty well with noise at ISOs up to 1600 so I would try that and then play with f stop/ss combinations. See if you can shoot around 1/500.
Use the single focus point with continuous focus on your camera auto focus settings. Are you familiar with Back Button focusing?

The focus on the second Apisto didn't hold up that well with cropping so a little more focus work there.

[Second Hand Pat]

Merry Christmas Stan, I do not think I was within that 12 inch range. I already found the lens will not focus if I get too close. Will do in the f stop/ss combos. Not familiar with back button focusing but will research that.
Pat

[MikeT]

I really like the photos you've posted.

I'm curious, you didn't use a flash, how do the fish react to the flash going off?

Has anyone used a polarizing filter to cut glare, although you have none in your photos.

[Second Hand Pat]

I really like the photos you've posted.

I'm curious, you didn't use a flash, how do the fish react to the flash going off?

Has anyone used a polarizing filter to cut glare, although you have none in your photos.

Thanks Mike, I used a speed light on the apisto pictures and no flash on the Tefe photos. All my fish are use to me taking pictures of them . Part of this thread is to learn about manual mode (ss/iso combinations) which is why I didn't use a flash on the tefes. I did not use any filters. I will admit to composing the apisto photos but not the tefe photos.

[SMB2]

http://digitalphotographycourses.co....7000-canon-7d/

This is specific to your camera if you read through it.
Learning this technique takes a little time, so don't get mad at me! In the end it will become second nature and I think you will grow to like it. It separates focusing (which you will do with your thumb) and shooting (which you will do with the index finger). With your camera on continuous focus and your thumb on the "back button" the camera will have a better chance at maintaining focus.
Give it a try, but remember it takes some time to become second nature.