How to take pics w/rebel xt?

[jtarmitage]

I've got a rebel xt with the 100mm macro lens. My tank has a 20k 250 mh and 4 actinic vho suppl. You may spot the problem already, but I cannot figure out how to get the colors I see in the tank to show up in the pics without being completely washed out and blue. I'm a novice to photography, and am plodding through the manual to little avail. Any advice on what settings to use would be appreciated, and I can look up how to actually adjust to those settings.
Thanks in advance,
Jeremy

 

[wh1te]

What I would suggest is learning how to manually set the white balance and then put a white peice of pvc in your tank and adjust the white balance until that appears white. Then the rest of your colors should be fairly accurate.

 

[matttaylor]

Jeremy,

Nevermind, i just saw your thread there.

Matt

 

[jtarmitage]

wh1te - Thanks, the manuals instructions were a tough slog, and don't mention how to deal with things specifically, like fish tank lights that may skew the color spectrum. Anyhow, I found a piece of white acrylic, found the instructions on custom white balance, and what do ya know, decent pics! Thanks for the tip.
Behold the difference when you learn to use the proper settings:

Before and After:

 

[Reefugee]

Very nice shot! We expect more pictures from you.

 

[jtarmitage]

That's my intention. I've got a bunch, but I discovered that I don't have the steadiest hand, and trying to take macro shots without a steady hand is tough. I ended up using a bar stool as a makeshift tripod, which kinda worked, but I really need to get a tripod to keep the images from blurring.

 

[pcurry18]

I just got my rebel XTI 400D in today. I cant wait to start snapping shots. I got some already but ill post them after dinner. Laterz

Paul

 

[sumyungviet]

Paul u'll love the XTi. Have mine for a couple months now, too bad I dont have atank to shoot.

 

[sumyungviet]

jtarmitage,

If you havnt already, try using the timer, after you put the camera on the barstool, that way theres no vibration from your hand pressing the trigger. Also turn off all the pumps in the tank, so that polyps and stuff arnt moving during the shot. Thers lots of great tips in the photography section here. Check out photography-on-the . net .. they have a dedicated canon forum with loads of info and lots of quality used equipment .

Larry

 

[dots]

My girlfriend has the same camera and it has been hard for us to get decient pics out of my tank due to the contrasts of the lighted portions and the shadows.

First and foremost, use a tripod

Since she has all kinds of lighting for backdrops and stuff, we tried to light the stuff from the bottom as well, and it worked well.

I finaly convinced here to shoot in RAW format, and we are going to try to shoot with just Actinics next time and bring the whole thing up that way.

Here is what we got last time......some of the best so far, but I want to get a better macro lens.

Granted, these are not perfect yet, but the coloration is what I see when looking at it firsthand and this is what we have been working on lately. Focus smoockus.....