What's the hardest fish you've tried to photograph?

[dudeofrude]

Guppies, they never stay still!

 

[mandy2936]

I totally agree, Dudeofrude!
My 3 male Guppies are super hyper and don't stay still, making every shot blurry.
My neons are OK, because sometimes they just hang around.
The Von Rios spook at the focus light, and the Cories swim away when the camera is placed near them, lol.
When I used to have a Dwarf Gourami he was pretty easy because he swam slower. I also have the problem of when the fish move away from the glass, towards the center of the tank, I cannot get a clear shot.

Otos are by far the easiest fish to photograph that I've ever kept. When they suck on the glass you can get some really clear pictures of their bellies.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I'm not a professional photographer, but I am taking a photography class right now. The one problem with having all that external light is that it will be reflected by the glass in the picture. I recently tried the same thing and all you can see are the reflected images in the glass. I really think the light has to come from up above. In fact, the best pictures I've been able to take required me shutting all the curtains, dimming the inside external lights and using no flash. The key for me is the aperture setting.
This just happens to be one example.

You should only see a reflection if it is reflectable. Don't use flash if you are looking straight through the glass, take the photo on an angle. Also if you want extra light, put the light into the side of the tank, not the side you are looking through, this will get rid of the shadows and reflections caused by that lighting.

I lit from the side to take this one.
Juvenile Silver Arowana | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Also, ISO down won't really do anything except reduce the lighting in the photo, if you bump it up, it will increase the brightness of your photo, but with the gain of graininess. However, depending on your camera, the grain might not show up for quite a bit. I tend to always shoot around 200 ISO as a buffer. But that's when I'm dealing with portraiture

ISO won't make as much difference a shutter and aperture. To take photos in low light you need the aperture open and the shutter speed as fast as possible. To a minimum of 1/25th. Anything below 1/25th it will be impossible to get photos without blur unless the fish is not moving and you're using a tripod.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Anyway, to answer the actual thread, the most difficult fish for me to photograph was the Puffer fish (because he was scared of the camera) and the Synodontis Catfish (because he is either hiding or moving fast. Even the photos I do have where his body is still, his tail is still whipping around:
Syn Catfish | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I never use flash.

 

[dudeofrude]

Gotta say Tim you take some pretty sweet pics.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Thanks! Believe it or not I took photography as a part of my college course at Grimsby College.

 

[dudeofrude]

Cool I'm from Grimsby too, where'd you go for ya fish? I use six hills or victor street.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I live in the USA now. I go to a place near here.

 

[Impolite]

Catfish!

I can take awesome pics of my betta, but my catfish says no way! I even try to move him into the smaller tank so I can keep him quarentined to tkae it, but he says no way! He always wants to be with his "girlfriend" the minnow!
I got him from a pond along with the minnow, so I guess the breed is pond catfish.


and i dont know why he looks tiger stiped in the back, because he's totally not. But, I love him <3