First pics with new d3000

[Blownsvt]

Now these are my first pictures ever with this camera. I am a complete photo newb and don't really know a whole lot about adjusting the balances and perameters within the camera. Comments and critisism are appreciated as well as any pointers you more experienced people can offer. Take it easy on me I am a beginner. All of these were shot in auto modes. I tried to go manual but it did not work out so well. Many of these were shot with auto ISO settings and some were done with the ISO at 800. All of the pics are of things in my fish tank. There are some things i could do like turning off pumps to make things clearer and better but i didn't bother this go around. I should add there is no post processing done on these either. Here goes.....

 

[Blownsvt]

 

[Blownsvt]

41 views and not a single comment?

 

[jong11]

lower your ISO to 200 this will give you sharper photos. you may need to use a tripod. is that the stock lens? if you want to take really nice photos you should invest in a macro lens. a 100mm 2.8f with built in image stabilization would result in some eye popping photos.

 

[wetWolger]

I disagree with jong...don't lower your ISO. It seems most those were shot with ISO 200 already, and the one at 800 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/nmdolan11/aquarium/034.jpg) looks great. But I would try to stay at 800, and not go above it (the one at 1600, looks a bit noisy for my taste, http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/nmdolan11/aquarium/037.jpg .....of course some additional work in PP could help that for sure)

I do agree that a tripod might help lots, and if you turn off your pumps you might be able to get a bit longer exposures.

To increase sharpness you might try shrinking your aperture down to 6.3 or 7.1 (the ones I checked were at f4). This will also give you more DOF.

But the biggest advice is it looks like that some of the saturation is pretty low on a couple of those photos (certainly not all, just a few). I would increase the saturation in PP.

Overall they look great. A good start into the hobby for sure

 

[Blownsvt]

Most of the shots were done in auto mode with the exception of a few where i bumped the iso to 800. I haven't played with anything except iso so far.

 

[kilroy217]

One of the major beauties if DSLR photography today is the manual controls that we have at our disposal. Rather that just shooting in auto, take the time to learn about the holy trinity of photography: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Utilizing all three in a balance is the key to basic photography. Another good rule of thumb is the rule of thirds... try to compose your images so that the main focus isn't exactly in the center. it makes your images more eye-catching. Also, one thing I've noticed in aquarium photography is that the "spot removal" tool is your best friend.

 

[theisdept]

Those are some really nice closeups

What kind of coral is the first set of pitures?

 

[Blownsvt]

Those are some really nice closeups

What kind of coral is the first set of pitures?

it is a crown jewel favia.

 

[ponyup]

They look good to me nice pics

 

[jubjub]

good pics are you shooting in raw or just jpg? try shooting in raw get gimp and ufraw makes a big difference. but good start man

 

[melt]

first of all, nice first attempt.. The lower the ISO the sharper your image will be and brighter in some cases..the higher the ISO the more noise ( or more grains) the photo will have..so if you're use MH i would try using a lower ISO but you can test and see what work for you...

Next the aperture, control your DOF ( depth of field) the lower the number the bigger the hole in the lens..which let in more light...so that means the bigger the hole (small number) the smaller the DOF...

Shutter the shutter speed freeze the image..what it is , is a curtain the flash to allow the light to make the picture...

and the most important thing to me is remember
exposure= aperture x shutter speed.
here is a link that help me big time...when i started..
http://www.ximinasphotography.com/lessons/index.html

 

[LPino]

The picas look really nice. I think the first one is the best.

 

[aquatics junkie]

Are you turning the powerheads off when taking shots that will cut down on little flying particles in your shots.

 

[bmhair03]

Just got a D3000 also.Cant wait to get started.Your pics are nice.One thing I noticed is that you can get pics of fish.(not blurred).Keep up the god work.