How-to · 2 min read
How to photograph fish in an aquarium
Tips for photographing fish in a home aquarium — preparing the tank, lighting, camera settings and cleaning up the shots afterwards.
Keeping fish is another hobby of mine, and combined with photography I've always wanted a really good picture of my fish. The exciting (and frustrating) part is that you can't predict where a fish will move next.
It gets easier if you spend 20–30 minutes with your fish every day: you start to develop an instinct for how they swim. Here's what I've learned — I hope it saves you some time and a few of my mistakes.
Before you start shooting
- Use a steady tripod.
- Charge your battery — you don't want it to die mid-session.
- Empty your memory cards.
- Clean the tank (algae, dirt, smudges on the glass). Trust me, it saves a lot of editing time later.
- Turn off the pumps so less dirt floats around.
- Light the tank as evenly as possible, so one exposure setting works across the whole tank.
- I use neutral lights. Some people use lights that enhance the fish's colours — nothing wrong with that, it's a matter of taste.
Best time to shoot
I shoot at night, with every light in the room off except the tank lights. Any other light shows up as a reflection on the glass. (A polarising filter might help — I haven't tried it yet.)
While you're shooting
- Use the fastest shutter speed you can — how fast depends on how active your fish is and what action you want to catch.
- Use a wide aperture to help the shutter speed. Depth of field is rarely a problem when you shoot the fish side-on, which is one of the best angles for an arowana in my opinion.
- Set the ISO to match.
- Most important of all: be patient!
After the shoot
No matter how clean the tank looks, you'll still find bits of algae and dirt in the frame. Most of it is easy to remove with the Spot Removal / Healing Brush tool in Lightroom.
