Blasto, Frogspawn, Candy Cane
- Thread starter Reef Bass
- Start date
thelawnwrangler
New member
And a macro lens...
What are the specs on a MACRO lens. I am completely lost. I have a Panasonic G3- and two lenses 14-42 and 45- 200 mm.
Any suggestion on where to start so I can study how to take these pics? I guess I need to use a tripod?
Reef Bass
colors and textures
IMHO, the key spec on a macro lens is 1:1 magnification. They are primes too (no zoom). For full frame cameras, Canon makes 65mm, 100mm and 180mm models. The longer the lens, the farther the working distance. With my 100mm, I can get the tip of the lens about 6" away from my subject. With the 180, I believe it's about 3 feet between subject and lens, which can be handy for skittish subjects like insects. The 65mm is a special beast with variable magnification.
Taking macro pics is just like taking any photo in terms of basics like exposure and composition. Understand those, especially the holy trinity of exposure (aperture, shutter speed and ISO), and you're most of the way there.
Reef photography is a bit of a specialty, as there is often high color temperature lighting involved, such as the light from my 20,000K metal halides. To make the colors in the final image look like what my eye sees, instead of very blue, I shoot in RAW mode and adjust the white balance of the image during post processing. Lightroom is my friend.
When not shooting in RAW, the file that gets saved is a jpg which has already had in camera white balancing and compression performed. Because of the niche aspect of high color temperature lighting photography (reef), cameras aren't designed to properly white balance images shot under high color temperatures. Shooting in RAW, the file that gets saved is not a jpg but contains the unprocessed, uncompressed (raw) image sensor data. Then the photographer can make the decisions about appropriate white balance and file size. Plus Lightroom is nondestructive, so the original file data is never altered, unlike a jpg which typically looses image quality with every save and re-edit because of compression.
I find I take more time doing macros, but that's because of the way I shoot. I shoot tethered to my laptop and control all camera functions except focus through my computer. I can trigger autofocus with the computer, but I am usually shooting all manual, so I don't do that much.
Shooting remotely / tethered allows me to use my 15" laptop screen instead of the back of the camera, which I find invaluable. I can analyze the shot way more carefully and make sure the focal plane is exactly where I want it.
I find a tripod is a requirement. I often go with longer shutterspeeds and would never be able to get a sharp pic handholding for that time. A remote shutter release is very handy, so one is not blurring the image by jiggling the camera pressing the shutter release on the camera body. If one is not available, at least use a timer so the button press and exposure capture don't occur at the same time.
This may seem like a lot, but take a step at a time and you'll be a master eventually. You can always get feedback from people here. The photo you're struggling with may be the best learning tool for yourself and others.
Taking macro pics is just like taking any photo in terms of basics like exposure and composition. Understand those, especially the holy trinity of exposure (aperture, shutter speed and ISO), and you're most of the way there.
Reef photography is a bit of a specialty, as there is often high color temperature lighting involved, such as the light from my 20,000K metal halides. To make the colors in the final image look like what my eye sees, instead of very blue, I shoot in RAW mode and adjust the white balance of the image during post processing. Lightroom is my friend.
When not shooting in RAW, the file that gets saved is a jpg which has already had in camera white balancing and compression performed. Because of the niche aspect of high color temperature lighting photography (reef), cameras aren't designed to properly white balance images shot under high color temperatures. Shooting in RAW, the file that gets saved is not a jpg but contains the unprocessed, uncompressed (raw) image sensor data. Then the photographer can make the decisions about appropriate white balance and file size. Plus Lightroom is nondestructive, so the original file data is never altered, unlike a jpg which typically looses image quality with every save and re-edit because of compression.
I find I take more time doing macros, but that's because of the way I shoot. I shoot tethered to my laptop and control all camera functions except focus through my computer. I can trigger autofocus with the computer, but I am usually shooting all manual, so I don't do that much.
Shooting remotely / tethered allows me to use my 15" laptop screen instead of the back of the camera, which I find invaluable. I can analyze the shot way more carefully and make sure the focal plane is exactly where I want it.
I find a tripod is a requirement. I often go with longer shutterspeeds and would never be able to get a sharp pic handholding for that time. A remote shutter release is very handy, so one is not blurring the image by jiggling the camera pressing the shutter release on the camera body. If one is not available, at least use a timer so the button press and exposure capture don't occur at the same time.
This may seem like a lot, but take a step at a time and you'll be a master eventually. You can always get feedback from people here. The photo you're struggling with may be the best learning tool for yourself and others.
thelawnwrangler
New member
Awesome reply thanks
do you think lightroom post editing is the key to get that actinic lighting shots and capturing that glow?
I will start slow with the stuff you suggested. I dont venture out of the auto modes too much but need to
Reef Bass
colors and textures
You're welcome.
I think post processing the RAW shot in Lightroom can result in the most accurate reflection of what one was seeing when one took the picture. If there was sweet glowing fluorescence in the tank, that should be present in the final picture.
It is also possible to inaccurately reflect what was present at the time of shooting - to jack up colors and saturation that result in a misrepresentation of the subject. That's what less ethical vendors often do to make their stock look better than it is. Pretty much evil in my mind.
A good way to start to venture away from auto mode is to play with aperture priority (Av) and shutter priority (Tv) modes. In aperture priority, one sets the desired fstop (aperture / lens hole size), and the camera will determine the proper shutterspeed to work with it. Shutter priority is the opposite. One sets the desired shutterspeed and the camera determines the proper aperture for reasonable exposure. This can be great for moving objects, where one wants a higher shutterspeed for sure and is willing to let aperture vary.
I think post processing the RAW shot in Lightroom can result in the most accurate reflection of what one was seeing when one took the picture. If there was sweet glowing fluorescence in the tank, that should be present in the final picture.
It is also possible to inaccurately reflect what was present at the time of shooting - to jack up colors and saturation that result in a misrepresentation of the subject. That's what less ethical vendors often do to make their stock look better than it is. Pretty much evil in my mind.
A good way to start to venture away from auto mode is to play with aperture priority (Av) and shutter priority (Tv) modes. In aperture priority, one sets the desired fstop (aperture / lens hole size), and the camera will determine the proper shutterspeed to work with it. Shutter priority is the opposite. One sets the desired shutterspeed and the camera determines the proper aperture for reasonable exposure. This can be great for moving objects, where one wants a higher shutterspeed for sure and is willing to let aperture vary.
juzz.raath
New member
Finally!! Someone explains how to use my dslr on my Corals. Brilliant Thankyou very much.
Reef Bass
colors and textures
My pleasure. Glad you found this helpful. Feel free to check out the photography forum here on RC.
Steve Ruddy
New member
Great shots!
Reshot the blasto
Amazing.
Reef Bass
colors and textures
Thank you gentlemen. Yes, the blasto is a favorite of mine. Those particular polyps are very large, like almost 2" across and grow slowly. I have another color variant that has grown many more heads, but they're not quite as large and showy.
There's a new species of Blastomussa that has been described, B. vivida, and having had B. merletti and B. wellsi, I wonder if perhaps this isn't one of them. It was sold to me as B. wellsi which is why I have labelled it as such, but it seems fundamentally larger than B. wellsi.
There's a new species of Blastomussa that has been described, B. vivida, and having had B. merletti and B. wellsi, I wonder if perhaps this isn't one of them. It was sold to me as B. wellsi which is why I have labelled it as such, but it seems fundamentally larger than B. wellsi.
BaltimoreFish
New member
Petaluma CA!
Small world. I was born in Petaluma! My parents went to PA High.
My dad always called Petaluma the chicken capital of the world. My great grandfather was a chicken farmer back in the day.
Sorry for the tangent.
Small world. I was born in Petaluma! My parents went to PA High.
My dad always called Petaluma the chicken capital of the world. My great grandfather was a chicken farmer back in the day.
Sorry for the tangent.
