Macro Coral Shots

[fort384]

So I picked up a new 60mm F/2.0 Macro lens for my DSLR camera (Canon Rebel T3). I took some shots last night in aperture priority mode, but today I took the training wheels off and went full manual. I am starting to get comfortable with the idea of full control, but I would love any critiques or suggestions. Due to the narrow depth of field on a macro lens, most of these were shot with an F# of F/10-17 or so. I varied the shutter speed from around 1/13 to 1/60. Here are some of the better shots I got out of the tank today. All of these had no editing except resizing, and a couple I changed the exposure just a bit on the raw image before processing to a jpg. Clearly more work to do, but am happy with my first attempts.

Ric:

Fauvia:

Torch:

Zoas:

Acan:

Mushrooms:

Acro:

Branched Monti:

Monti:

And my P Clown with frogspawn:

 

[bud29]

Very very nice! I especially like the pictures of the Ric and the Red and Green Zoas.

 

[fort384]

Thanks bud. It is a good starting point and I am sure more practice will yield better results.

 

[54seaweed]

Ok Fort now you did it

I need a new camera now

 

[Phranque]

Pretty good for your first attempt, though I'll take it easy on you for being a Canon guy..... (Nikon D2Xs with a 105 f/2.8 for my macro work)

Are you using a tripod?? You're shooting at a good f/stop range, since most macros are at their best around f/11-22. I like the monti & acro shots, nice polyp detail on those.

 

[Jeremy S.]

Love them all!

I would love to get a nice camera for my tank, but I've just stuck with my IPhone camera. Know any tricks or add ons for an iPhone?

But like I said I love these pics and in waiting for more!

 

[fort384]

Pretty good for your first attempt, though I'll take it easy on you for being a Canon guy..... (Nikon D2Xs with a 105 f/2.8 for my macro work)

Are you using a tripod?? You're shooting at a good f/stop range, since most macros are at their best around f/11-22. I like the monti & acro shots, nice polyp detail on those.

Yes, tripod and remote shutter.

What iso setting would you recommend?

 

[Sniperhank]

Dang it Fort. Now I want the macro lens for my Rebel now!

 

[crister13]

That ricordea pic is sweeeeeet. The others are awesome too but that one is my fav.

 

[Phranque]

Yes, tripod and remote shutter.

What iso setting would you recommend?

You're definitely on the right track with the tripod, shutter release, and shooting in RAW. Don't forget that in RAW, in addition to exposure, you can also adjust your white-balance, since dSLR's dont have presets that match most of the lights we use. You can really bring out some truer colors with WB adjustment in post-processing. What program are you using for processing?

As far as the ISO, the lower the better. The trade-off being longer shutter speeds at a given f/stop, but the image quality is better (less grain). If you're not doing so, shut off all your tank pumps while shooting.... this allows the corals to sit still to prevent motion blur with the slower shutter speeds.

 

[fort384]

Great tips! Thanks! I didn't play much yet with white balance but I will.

I am using Photoshop CS 5 and camera raw for processing.

 

[Phranque]

No problem...

Greatest things about digital photography..... not wasting $$ on film/processing, and you can make a copy & play to your hearts content. If you screw something up, you still have the original to go back to.

Photoshop is pretty much the industry standard, but I just have to be different..... I use PaintShop Pro.

 

[fort384]

I actually much prefer PSP for image modification and graphic design. It is far easier to use than Photoshop.

 

[mfdrookie516]

My only two suggestions would be to make sure the flow is off (which it appears it isn't in some), and to use mirror lockup. FWIW, all my pics I took were at ISO 100 on either aperture priority or manual. I'd shoot f/9 or so on most, but all the way up to f/22 for acans and other corals with more depth to them.

 

[fort384]

Yes I will try some pics this afternoon with no flow. I didn't think of that. The lower ISO setting will hopefully clear some noise as well.

 

[fort384]

Uhhh Holy Crap did the iso setting, WB, and turning off pumps make a HUGE difference. These were shot with ISO 100 using a custom white balance, f# between 2.0-13, and various shutter speeds based on f#. I examined the histogram carefully for each shot and determined that previously I was underexposing most of my photos as well, so the shutter speed was decreased accordingly as I found the depth of field I was looking for.

This lens is way better than I first thought. I was doing it wrong

And 1 more of the clown harassing my frogspawn. Needed a much higher iso for this shot.

 

[Jeremy S.]

Holy crap 0.0

 

[Phranque]

There you go!!!! Excellent work.... Now go get a POTM Champion badge under your avatar

 

[Jeremy S.]

I'm very jealous. Any recommendations for a starter camera setup?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Good work, Justin. Better than any I ever took

Jeremy, purely from a Canon biased opinion, I'd suggest something like a T3 or T3i. The T3i would be a step up from the T3, and priced pretty good now that the T4i is out. Mix that with a good macro lens, a tripod, photoshop, and a bit of time and you can take some great pics.