Looking for some assistance...please

[Jeff120reef]

Hello,
I have no clue about anything photography related to be totally honest...but I'm willing to learn. I just bought my wife a Nikon D3200 Camera package with a 18-55mm VR lens and a 55-200mm VR lens (came as a package deal from Costco). Anyways I realize most of you have those macro lens and make some INCREDIBLE photos!! Well I have started by using the camera settings that are "preset" type settings for quicker shutter speed to attempt reduce blur in the fish....I know this camera is able to do a lot more than I even know what to do with. With the equipment I have can someone shed a little light on the settings and such to make some halfway decent pictures of my tank. ANY help would be greatly appreciated...Thank you all in advance. By the way, did read the articles that were posted above and still all a little bibberish to me. haha

 

[IslandCrow]

I'm afraid there are a lot of "it depends" factors in answering your question. You really want to get at least a basic understanding of photography, and then you can ask some more specific questions that will be easier for us to answer in 5000 words or less. If you're serious about wanting to take quality photographs, get a book on photography like Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Scott Kelby also has a good book series out there on digital photography. I don't know of any aquarium specific photography books (not a big market for that I'd expect), but although there are definitely some unique considerations for photographing aquariums, having a basic understanding of exposure and lighting are going to go a long way in improving your photos. From there, the information in the stickies is going to make much more sense and give you some specific instruction on aquarium photography.

 

[ssick92]

Out of those 2 lenses, I think your best bet for getting good aquarium photos is going to be the 18-55 at 55mm. I could definitely be wrong, but I think the focal length of the 55-200mm is going to be too long to get any "macroesque" photos. However, I bet if you set up your tripod ~10' you could probably get some cool shots with the 55-200 as well. I don't have a legitimate zoom lens so I haven't tried shooting my tank with it.

With the 55mm you will probably want a Shutter speed of AT LEAST 1/250 or you will probably get some blurring. To make it simple, I would set your ISO at either 800 or 1600 and set your aperture at it's largest setting (it is probably around f/5.6 or so). Once you get these settings, start snapping some test photos and see if they are too dark, light, or blurry.

If they are too dark you will either have to raise the ISO or lengthen the Shutter Speed. However, if you lengthen the SS too much, then your shots will probably get some motion blur.

If they are too bright, then you can either a)lower ISO b)shorten the SS or c)make your aperture smaller (this means a larger f/#).

It is really all about finding the perfect balance of ISO, Aperture, and SS and it can definitely take a lot of messing around with your camera until you find the proper settings.

A few general tips are to make sure your camera isn't at any angle to the glass, that is, make sure you are shooting straight into the tank, otherwise you will get noticeable distortion in your shots. Also, a tripod helps a ton because you can lengthen the SS more without worrying about your hands shaking the camera and causing blur.

Hope all that made sense... And just like IslandCrow said, there are a ton a good photography books out there that can explain all of this a lot better than I can. One of my favorite books is called Digital Photographer's Handbook by Tom Ang.

 

[Jeff120reef]

Thank you both very much for your input! I will definitely check into both authors and start some more reading, I will also give those setting a try as well.

 

[VoidRaven]

If you decide that you want to try a dedicated macro lens, the Tamron 90mm macro is an excellent performer without breaking the bank. You'll find that the 18-55 and 55-200 that come with the kit, while good starters, are limited and will leave you with wanting more.

Good Luck and Happy Shooting!

 

[nemosworld]

try this out:
http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator/