Looking for some "entry level" tips

[ReefPony]

Unfortunately, in my last move my Nikon D5000 had a fatal accident and the money isn't in the budget to replace it.

So, at the moment I'm stuck using either my Samsung Galaxy S4 or my iPad Mini to take photos of my fish and corals.

Unfortunately, the stock camera apps are just aren't getting it done for me.

My lighting on my tank is LED with an even mix of cool whites and blue LEDs (custom built and will be upgraded eventually to a more full spectrum array of LEDs).

Does anyone have any suggestions for capturing some more visually "nice" photos with what I've got at my disposal?

I do have the Camera FV-5 app for my Galaxy and I feel like it does a better job since it has a macro setting that at least attempts to adjust for zoomed in shots. I've got both Photoshop and Gimp on my PC but I'm just not happy with the results I get from color balance and exposure adjustments with them due to the fact that a poor quality photo can't be turned into a great one with post-shot editing (at least not with my skill set).

 

[ReefPony]

Just a couple shots that were taken with my Samsung Galaxy S4 to illustrate what I'm getting out of the gear I've got:

Duncan coral extending its polyp after closing up for about an hour. Can see where a new head, I think, is forming:

New frag of green monti cap:

Zoanthids:

 

[mudskipper1]

Sorry to hear about your camera.

Some way to stabilize the phone would probably help, so you don't have to be handheld (assuming that's what you are doing at the moment), somebody probably makes a tiny tripod for that, I would probably just make a way to prop the phone up somehow, and then use a timer delay so you don't shake the phone when you take the image.

First image isn't bad at all, so I think with a little work/practice you can get presentable images.