SPS Macro Shots

[rsav]

First off let me say that I am not expert photographer. I bought a macro lens to take pictures of my corals. This is my first run of pictures. The only editing I did was a little brightness/contrast and a little sharpening. I took these pictures when the lights were a little on the actinic side due to time I took them.

The more I learn about this camera and methods for taking reef macro shots hopefully the better the photos are. I plan on getting a macro flash for my camera since I think it may be necessary. I will definitely be practicing take photos and reading online about the best methods for taking reef shots. If you have any photography advice please let me know, or links to info.

My camera is a 5D Mark II Canon with a 100mm Macro L Canon lens. No flash. Lights on my tank are Radions.

Hope you enjoy.

RMF's BioHazard Acro *not positive (from user aquavista99)

Rommels Infamous Jose Rainbow Acro *not positive (from user aquavista99)

Raspberry Limeade Acro (from user aquavista99)

RMF's Blueberry Special Acro (from user aquavista99)

Pink Lemonade (from tyree website)

Blue Tenius (from tyree website)

Orange Crush Acro (from user aquavista99)

Mellow Yellow Acro (from user aquavista99)

Sanjay's Leprechaun Beard Acro (from user aquavista99)

Strawberry Acro (from user marke)

 

[rsav]

Forgot the name (from user marke)

Unknown

Unknown

 

[jroovers]

That is a great start. The white balance is a bit off and some shots are overexposed in areas. The 5D II and 100 Macro is an incredible combo though... you'll be producing professional results in no time. Check out the photography forum for tips.

Unfortunately, never used the 5DII, but if similar to the 7D, start by setting your WB to 10,000k. What did you use for editing, DPP? Did you shoot raw or jpeg?

 

[rsav]

That is a great start. The white balance is a bit off and some shots are overexposed in areas. The 5D II and 100 Macro is an incredible combo though... you'll be producing professional results in no time. Check out the photography forum for tips.

Unfortunately, never used the 5DII, but if similar to the 7D, start by setting your WB to 10,000k. What did you use for editing, DPP? Did you shoot raw or jpeg?

Thanks!

OK. I am using Photoshop for editing and shooting jpg. Should I switch to raw? I will definitely fix the WB to 10k. What should I put for ISO and other settings? Should I get a flash?

Help is definitely appreciated so thanks in advance. Will head over to photo section now.

 

[Acronic]

Nice shots. I have camera envy

 

[aandfsoccr04]

Thanks!

OK. I am using Photoshop for editing and shooting jpg. Should I switch to raw? I will definitely fix the WB to 10k. What should I put for ISO and other settings? Should I get a flash?

Help is definitely appreciated so thanks in advance. Will head over to photo section now.

I am learning to but read a fair amount. You should shoot in RAW and then edit your white balance in the software after is what most of the really good photographers seem to do. ISO really depends on what you are shooting pictures of. 400 seems ok for corals to me. There is another sub section on here called photography and guys like misled and rechty are really really excellent.

 

[rsav]

Round 2

Thanks a lot to jroovers for his advice! I read a post of his on another thread in the photography section and it helped a lot. I changed WB to 10k, ISO 250, 1/20 and F5.6. I also turned my led lights on full spectrum to take the pics. The pics definitely came out better.

Almost all SPS I have are tiny frags I just purchased. I also recently set up a calc reactor so hopefully I can get some cool growth shots over time if all goes well.

Enjoy.

Efflo (from local reefer)

RMF's Blueberry Special Acro (from user aquavista99)

Rommels Infamous Jose Rainbow Acro *not positive (from user aquavista99)

Rainbow Montipora (from local reefer)

Raspberry Limeade Acro (from user aquavista99)

Strawberry Shortcake Acro (from user aquavista99)

Tierra De Fuego Acro (from user aquavista99)

Pink Lemonade Acro (from tyree website)

Green Slimer Acro (from LFS)

Hermit Crab (from LFS)

 

[rsav]

One of the side effects of taking macro shots: Finding out you have red bugs for the first time.

 

[Acronic]

Oh god thats scary

 

[clowndude]

Great shots, really enjoy the one of the Tierra De Fuego Acro. On the red bugs, I was able to get rid of them using a 15 minute dip in bayer insect killer. I forget the formula, but got rid of them after two dips(second dip was for safety measures). Good luck on treating them.

 

[Big E]

Nice collection.............

One tip I got that has really helped reduce the over exposure......... under expose the shot by two whole steps.

I shoot RAW, manual, & two steps below ( -2/3).

You can also try to shadow directly above the speciman with your hand or something else. The light from everywhere else will still give plenty of light........your just blocking the direct glare.

 

[aqua80]

One of the side effects of taking macro shots: Finding out you have red bugs for the first time.

I had theses bugs 2 times and both times I found them after looking at macro shots...
Sorry for the discovery, but it is better knowing than not !

 

[jroovers]

I too found red bugs the first time I used my macro lens! Pain in the behind, but better to know that you have them than not.

Your second round of shots look better, but as Big E eluded to, some of the shots are overexposed still - if you have areas (especially at the coral tips) that are completely white and you can't see any detail, than stop it down a bit, I'd go at least a full stop. I've found it is easier to underexposure and correct in post than overexposure and correct in post.

If shooting Raw now, you'll need to add a bit of saturation or vibrance to your image in post, and probably some contrast (raw strips shots of these features).

Here is a post that rigleautomotive posted in the SPS forum in response to a question I asked on his PP, you might find it helpful if using a version of PS:

His thread with terrific photos: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1457892

I shoot in raw with no enhancement being done in the camera.Depending on the image there are some variables in these settings but a general idea of what I move to get rid of the obstacles when shooting reef tanks will be covered.

I use CS 4 as this is the newest version I own.
I first open the raw image and slide the temperature to the right until the image comes to look like what the eye perceives when looking at the DT
I then look at exposure and remove any over exposed spots that may be offending.
I then look at brightness and if the subject is too dark I try to lighten.
I then move the black slider to make the subject be the most appealing and make the background less obtrusive.
I then move the clarify slider to the right until the image has good detail but not too digital looking
I then move the vibrancy and saturation until the color starts to be as intense as seen by the naked eye while looking at the actual coral in the display.
I save it in JPEG

Thats it.lol.Now some of you can appreciate how much effort goes into posting updates for you guys
Hope that helps.practice helps and talking to guys like Gary Parr will not hurt.He has taught me a few tricks but I am a novice compared to many RC members.
I also use Ken Rockwells site early on to get a feel for Nikon and its quirks.GL

 

[Reef Bass]

If shooting Raw now, you'll need to add a bit of saturation or vibrance to your image in post.

I disagree with this. I never touch the saturation slider for my macro shots. Overamplification of saturation is what bad retailers do to their pictures.

rsav, you've got an amazing camera and terrific lens. I use a 50D and the same lens.

Shoot RAW and you can adjust your exposure during post processing without loss of image quality. Your shots look generally overexposed to me.

I try to shoot at iso 100 and do not use a flash on my macro photos. I think it produces an artificial look and interferes with the natural colors. By using a tripod on stationery corals, I can use shutterspeeds of up to several seconds to soak up all the light I need.

Turn off your pumps before shooting. It will reduce the snowstorms in the images and also generally encourages polyps to extend, resulting in more interesting photos.

I prefer to shoot and compose tight. For macro shots, I feel it is important to lose the perspective of the whole piece. Like this:

 

[jroovers]

I disagree with this. I never touch the saturation slider for my macro shots. Overamplification of saturation is what bad retailers do to their pictures.

No where did I imply or say to overamplify saturation... I agree, not a good idea. Just because you don't touch the saturation doesn't mean you can't modify the pic signficantly... My point was that if you are looking at what you see on your LED screen on camera versus your raw pic on your computer in post, you're going to see a difference as there is no contrast, saturation, etc. added that your camera body ads. I too never touch the saturation slider, but I sometimes use the vibrance slider very minimally to try and capture colours that are truer to life. It is up to the photographer to make it look like what you see in tank.

 

[Acronic]

Raspberry Limeade Acro (from user aquavista99)

there is one red bug tucked under a polyp in the middle of this frag incase you missed it... at least the corals are still small. Much easier to deal with the bugs this way. Good luck

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

Awesome batch bro! thanks for sharing! love them macro close up shots!

 

[ridetheducati]

Nice collection, but dip ALL the Acros.

 

[dowtish]

5ml of Bayer to every 1 cup of saltwater...for 10 minutes. 2 dips spaced between 7 days, and you should be good.

 

[rsav]

Well I definitely didn't want this to be a pseudo red bug thread, but thats life

Should I just dose the whole tank with interceptor? I have Revive and can pull all the corals out and dip, but I would rather treat the whole tank.

So, do I treat the whole tank with Interceptor or dip with Revive/Bayer/Interceptor? I like to do things right the first time so whatever is the best long term solution.

Greatly appreciate the comments and the help on the red bugs. Maybe I should rename the thread "SPS Macro Shots with Red Bug cameo"