Question about pics used for TOTM Now and in the Past

[benf]

I am curious if the pics used are taken by the tank owner? and does someone from RC photoshop the pics or are they how the pics were submitted? Reason i ask this, for the most part the pics for TOTM always seem more detailed and vibrant compared to pics i see in threads and members galleries.

I would be interested in knowing what seem to be the best settings to get the best shots, especially a whole tank shot.

I have good equipment(Canon 1d Mark2 N + 3 Canon lenses), its just the learning curve on getting the correct settings for Aquarium shots that i have been having issues with.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[gregr]

Hi Ben-
A while back I took the pictures for a tank of the month as it was a friends tank, but generally the pics come from the tank owners. As far as Photoshop goes- I'm pretty sure all Skipper does is resize and compress them. Your camera is a great one- the same one I used to take all my pics nowadays. If you have a macro lens you're ready to go, well- and a good tripod. A good wide angle lens is useful for full tank shots too. For whole tank shots you can use a large aperture (like f4 or thereabouts) and a moderately fast shutter speed (like 1/60 or 1/90). The settings for every shot you take will be different depending on what you're shooting and what kind of depth of field you want.
Greg

 

[benf]

do u use awb? i find they have a hue to them if i dont post process them when i use awb.

 

[gregr]

I always use RAW mode but for non-flash shots awb usually gets me pretty close. Adobe Lightroom allows you to adjust the wb on non-raw pics and there may be other programs that do that as well. Photoshop does not, at least CS2 doesn't. I've tried a bunch of different RAW converters and for my money Capture One is still the best, with Lightroom coming in second.
Back to the wb issue- tank lighting is very difficult for cameras and adjustment is almost always necessary to some extent, even with the beast of a camera that we have

 

[benf]

Thanks Greg...i too shoot in Raw and have been using RAW Shooter as my convertor and CS2 as my processing which i try to keep to a minimum. For lenses, i have the 100mm macro, if i remember correctly a 24-85mm, and the 100-400L. For a tank shot i would use the 24-85.

Do u bother using a flash when taking pics of a tank? I usually dont.

 

[gregr]

I use a flash a lot but not for full tank shots or any acros and certain other corals. But for moving fish and some softies and lps and clams- the flash can be a big help.
You're in luck if you have Raw Shooter and a valid s/n. Call Adobe and give them the s/n and they will give you a free copy of Lightroom. Well, they'll give you the s/n and you download LR. It's a great program and well worth the time it will take you to get it on your computer. Aside from the RAW conversion it is good for organizing your photo libraries and slideshow creation and simple image browsing.

 

[benf]

When u take a full tank shot, do u use your lens to crop or do take the picture beyond the tank width and post crop the tank?

Do u have a link to any tank shots u have taken?

How long have u had ur camera? I got mine 2years ago from Dell...I managed to get myself and a lot of people an incredible deal on them for a short period of time.