Canon Rebel T3 ?

Fsurocks99

New member
Hey everyone,

I borrowed my friend's canon rebel T3 with a 18mm macro lens and was looking to see what settings people are using for taking FTS and macro pics. I have been reading the stickyd photography aids, but I am still having trouble. I have been switching between macro and one of the manually programmable settings. Thanks
 
Okay so it is a Canon EFS 18-55mm macro lens. For more clarity, I have been using the following modes: macro (close-up) and manual exposure.
 
The 18-55 lens is not a macro lens. It seems you are trying to use a macro setting on the camera, but that won't make it a macro picture. A macro lens has 1:1 magnification. I can't say what the "macro" setting on the camera does since I know nothing about that camera. It's better if you post some of your pics. Then we can see what you need to change, though the stickies explain pretty much everything.
 
Unfortunately, it's there's no way we can really tell you what settings to use. It depends on the tank lighting, specifically what you're taking a picture of, as well as everyone's own personal style. . .i.e. what is your vision of the final product. If you're not at least somewhat familiar with aperture, shutter speed and ISO, it's going to be very difficult to explain everything you're going to need to know in one post. For your full tank shots, you can probably just put it in fully automatic (green box) or P mode and you should get pretty decent results. I'd also recommend shooting in RAW format so you can adjust the white balance as necessary after the shot is taken. Even the best cameras can have difficulties with aquarium lighting. You can also set a manual white balance, which I can discuss if you'd really like, but it's not entirely straightforward for aquarium photography.

As for the macros, I always use Manual (M) or Aperture Priority (AV), but as for specific settings, there are a lot of variables, and so much comes down to artistic preference. For you, I'd recommend AV so you don't have to worry about balancing aperture and shutter speed (though you'll still need to understand ISO to get the proper exposure) and then learn about depth of field so you can select the correct aperture for what you're trying to achieve.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Misled, Interesting, I wonder why it says MACRO 0.25m/0.8ft on the rim of the lens. I'll post some pics.

IslandCrow, I know a basic knowledge of Aperture, ISO, and shutter speed as I normally use a point & shoot. I think my problem is mainly white balance. I have a 6 bulb ati pm fixture with 4 ati blue + bulbs. I tried the trick where you place a white object under the lighting and take a pic and use it as the custom white balance. Didn't really work though.
 
Here are some pics:
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Thanks guys. I don't think they are too bad either, but they don't look as clear/bright as others. I'm guessing that has to do with the WB.
 
White balance can definitely be tough. What I normally do is take a white object, like the white lid of one of your water buckets, or my preferred is a white cutting board I have. They also sell waterproof white balance cards you can use. Actually place the object in the tank, angled 45-60 degrees parallel to the lights and take a picture. You can then use this for a manual white balance setting (which I've honestly had mixed luck with) or my preference is to shoot in raw and then use this picture to get a good baseline for your white balance. From what I've found, it will usually get you close, but not quite where you want to be. I don't know if it's because the lighting for our tanks is just so much bluer than anything the camera designers had in mind and the white balance just can't always get it quite right, or if our eyes just do a little bit of their own adjusting, and what's in reality a correct white balance still doesn't look correct to us. In other words, an accurate white balance isn't always the "correct" white balance. Go take a picture of a sunset sometime with a good manual white balance. It just won't look right at all.

So, that's why I shoot in raw. You can manually adjust the white balance so it looks like what you actually see. Reality can be highly overrated.

As for your pictures themselves, they're pretty good, but decide what's really important in your photo and use aperture/depth of field to control what stands out in your photo. Otherwise, with everything we put in our tanks, it's going to look like a big, jumbled mess most of the time. For a full tank shot, having plenty of depth of field is a good thing, because you'll often want everything in focuse. For individual fish or corals, you usually want to limit your depth of field to that object, or perhaps just a portion of that object. Still, don't ignore your backgrounds. Although they'll be blurred, they are still a part of your photo. That can be a little tougher with fish who honestly make terrible models. They just don't listen to your instructions.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Although I knew I was going to have a cluttered background here, I limited my depth of field to give me something less distracting. It's also a good lesson on watching out for glare (look closely at the bottom right corner):

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Great info IslandCrow. So, for my FTS, what would you say I did wrong? Other than the WB. I see the edges are fuzzy and most of the corals have a reflection/shadow, if that makes sense.

I have been taking some pics in raw mode. I would imagine you are using some sort of photoshop program, right? All I have is iPhoto. Any suggestions for some photoshop programs. I'm looking to go too hardcore, just want to be able to change some of the general settings.

I should also note, I have not been using a tripod, as I don't have one....

Again, I appreciate the tips!
 
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