Pic evaluation, please

[Flipturn88]

I've been playing with my camera's exposure and shutter speed in an attempt to get a better full tank shot. Granted, I only have a Canon A95, so there isn't much I can do, but i would love to hear your opinion on these...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/50_2-22-2006_LS_2-R.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/50_2-22-2006_LS_4-R.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/50_2-22-2006_LS-R.jpg

In the past, my full tank shots have come out exceedingly overexposed (due to the MH, I presume), but I think I may have found a way to fix this, the only drawback being the darkner picture.

All comments/opinions welcome. :) Thanks!

[louist]

Hey Kayla, nice photos of your tank! I have always liked your photos, you seem to get pretty damn good shots with that P&S! I am sure when you and Josh get a DSLR, you will love it.

Since you asked for critique, then I'll be a little critical. Your compositions are fine, however if there's a larger point of interest in your photo, i.e. the clam, try not to cut part of it off like in the 2nd photo.

[bkwudzjeep]

Looks very nice!! Kind of mysterious looking!

Are those your normal lights with camera adjustments, or just a "spot" light?

[fishypets]

Very nice pics. I wish my skills were as good as yours.

BTW I love your tank. Should be TOTM material when it matures.

[PoukieBear]

Wow, those look great, I love the lighting effect.

[Flipturn88]

Thanks again, everyone! :)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6806953#post6806953 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by louist
Hey Kayla, nice photos of your tank! I have always liked your photos, you seem to get pretty damn good shots with that P&S! I am sure when you and Josh get a DSLR, you will love it.

Since you asked for critique, then I'll be a little critical. Your compositions are fine, however if there's a larger point of interest in your photo, i.e. the clam, try not to cut part of it off like in the 2nd photo. Thanks for the critiques, Louis - that's exactly the advice I'm looking for. We are doing some research on a few DSLRs, but that's still in the planning phase. ;)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6806967#post6806967 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bkwudzjeep
Looks very nice!! Kind of mysterious looking!

Are those your normal lights with camera adjustments, or just a "spot" light? Yep, that's the full Monty--the MH (250w) and T5s were on, but the exposure on the camera was dropped significantly. Without doing so, the corals would literally appear as just a mass of white blotches!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6807150#post6807150 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishypets
Very nice pics. I wish my skills were as good as yours.

BTW I love your tank. Should be TOTM material when it matures. Thanks again! Lots of practice has really helped me to improve my photography skills, but I still have a long way to go. I am also very pleased with how the tank has matured thus far; the corals and fish are thriving, and I hope I can keep it that way!

[MADMATTJONES]

Those are some attractive photo's. They make me think of Wyland paintings! Nice tank!

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

awesome piks...

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6813348#post6813348 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MADMATTJONES
Those are some attractive photo's. They make me think of Wyland paintings! Nice tank! <img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

[majesticangelfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6812853#post6812853 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Flipturn88
Thanks for the critiques, Louis - that's exactly the advice I'm looking for. We are doing some research on a few DSLRs, but that's still in the planning phase. ;)

:lol:

Awesome Photos K, You need to post these over on MASA.:D


Oh, and 10/10 ;)

[Flipturn88]

Done. ;)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6813348#post6813348 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MADMATTJONES
Those are some attractive photo's. They make me think of Wyland paintings! Nice tank! Yes, welcome to Reef Central!

Here are a couple more pics with the same idea:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/50_2-22-2006_LS-5-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/MSC_2-22-2006_5-R.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/MSC_2-18-2006-R.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/A-6_A-R.jpg

Thanks again!

[xxxbadfishxxx]

Wow, those are really nice, i love how the background is black, i love the lighting. Is the back of your tank actually black? can you explain the settings that you used, Thanks,

Jeff

[AngelReefer]

nice pics

[Petro]

Yeah those pics are great!!!

I have a Canon SD500 and struggle to take even reasonable pics....

Could you exaplin how you get such nice photos with your A95???


What setting do you use? Tripod?

How do you get the fish to freeze without making the photo grainy?

Please explain anything and everything :confused:

I am dying to get decent pics of out my camera :p

THANKS ALOT!

[clippo]

I think they are quite distinctive and atmospheric shots, but the loss of shadow detail ultimately detracts from the image. If you use exposure bracketing or shoot raw and make adjustments in photoshop you can avoid these problems.

[Flipturn88]

Thanks again, everyone!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6818532#post6818532 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xxxbadfishxxx
Wow, those are really nice, i love how the background is black, i love the lighting. Is the back of your tank actually black? can you explain the settings that you used, Thanks,

Jeff Yes, the background of the tank has been painted black.

As for the settings, I used the "fastshutter speed" mode (sorry I cannot give actual numbers), along with macro mode and a lowered exposure setting (-1 to -1.5).

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6863034#post6863034 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Petro
Could you exaplin how you get such nice photos with your A95???

What setting do you use? Tripod?

How do you get the fish to freeze without making the photo grainy? I don't use a tripod, although I probably should! See above for the settings.

Regarding the pic quality, if I use the largest photo size available on my camera (2592 x 1944), when the pics can be reduced in size significantly, the graininess is significantly reduced, if that makes any sense.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6863086#post6863086 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jclipper
I think they are quite distinctive and atmospheric shots, but the loss of shadow detail ultimately detracts from the image. If you use exposure bracketing or shoot raw and make adjustments in photoshop you can avoid these problems. Thanks for the advice! I will work on fixing that. :)

I will post some more pics soon.

[DMK]

nice pics. i wish i could take them that good. i really have to start messing w/ my camera.

[melev]

If you'll point your camera at a neutral area (not too bright, not too dark), press and hold the shutter button halfway. Now move the camera into position to frame the shot, and take the picture. If that comes out too light, try again prefocusing on an area that is somewhat brighter. If it comes out too dark, aim at an area that is less bright.

This is called "spot metering" and can help you find the right balance with a simple point & shoot camera.

I love your first shot, but only because it was artistic. If every shot looked like that, I would become annoyed personally - unless your goal was to make them all look that way intentionally.

[gho]

W O W ! ! !

Those are simply awsome photos. Absolutely loved that first one - perfect.

[melev]

There's Gregory. I was wondering where you've been!

[steveboo]

Cool tank and nice pics.

[tangey]

YOu have a GREAT looking tank

[Flipturn88]

Thanks again to all - especially Gregory, as you are one of the photographers here on RC whom I highly regard. :)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6882049#post6882049 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
This is called "spot metering" and can help you find the right balance with a simple point & shoot camera. Melev, thanks for the tip! I fooled around with it a bit, which yielded mixed results. I'm definitely going to play with this technique in the future.

I tried to employ as much of the given advice as possible, and here is one result:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/50_3-04-2006_LS-R.jpg

Also - just for the heck of it - here are a few unrelated pics I've recently taken:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/SS_3-02-2006_2-R.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/SS_3-03-2006-R.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/5_FD1_2-24-2006-R.jpg

Thanks again for all your input!

[gho]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6882846#post6882846 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
There's Gregory. I was wondering where you've been!
You noticed I was gone? I just been kinda lazy lately.

[30galreefkeepr]

wonderful! i love your tank