A quick write up of how I take pictures of my fish.

1. The first thing I do when I am setting up to take pictures is to clean the glass. I thoroughly clean both inside and out. The clearer it is the easier it is to get a sharp photograph. The camera will focus on the glass if it sees it.
2. I turn off the filters and CO2. I leave them off a good half or so before taking any shots. That will allow any bubbles in the water to disperse and floating debris to settle out.
3. I set everything up. I put my flashes over the tank on a piece of Plexiglas and set a fill flash on the tripod if I am planning on using one. I set my chair up and bring the camera over. I sit down and make sure I am as comfortable as possible. I see no need to put myself in unnecessary discomfort. I check to be sure that there are fresh batteries in everything. Nothing like losing a great shot because a flash did not fire.
4. Once I am set I turn off all the lights in the room as well as the TV and the computer monitor. Since all of my tanks are in the same room I turn the lights off in the other tanks as well.
5. Know your fish and tank. Watch the tank; see where the fish you want to capture goes and where it pauses. If possible set your flashes and your chair up to capture that spot well. Check out what the background of the photograph will be. You may decide it will not work and you will have to settle on another spot in the tank to set up. Bright rocks or ugly algae make less than desirable backgrounds.
6. Shoot a couple of test shots. See how the lighting is. Adjust as needed.
7. Get comfy and wait for the fish to come into the zone. Chasing them around the tank is counter productive. Focus and shoot as you get opportunities with a little luck you will get some good shots.

Things I have found that work for me.

A lot of light is key. The more light the faster the shutter can fire and the better your ability to stop a fish.

If you have just the onboard flash there are several ways to avoid flashback.

Shoot at a 45 degree angle so the light bounces away from the camera. This will show some decent results. The drawback is the photo will be through more water and the glass can distort the image.

Try to diffuse the flash. A plastic bag or a Dixie cup can help diffuse the light. Try out different ideas until you find the one that works for you. Be sure the plastic does not touch the flash. The flash gets quite hot and you don’t want to mess up the front of the flash with melted plastic.

You can purchase a cheap off camera flash that will fire when it sees another flash. They are available quite inexpensively. Put the flash over the tank and set it off with the diffused onboard flash. You will be amazed at the results no matter what kind of camera you use.

I use a macro lens and set as small an aperture and as quick a shutter as I can. Try setting your camera to macro or sports setting if it has one. I focus manually; if your glass is clean the auto focus should do quite well. The straighter on you can take your shot the better the focus will work.

Be patient and have fun. Take lots of pictures and try out different settings. You will be taking great shots before you know it.

Thanks for reading.

Rich

Thanks Rich! Very informative!

Maybe this should be a sticky??

You have any sample pics?

Your method seems overkill to me, but I think that's largely depending on what camera gear your using. My intank lighting is usually sufficient with my macro. I'm using the 105mm Nikkor 2.8.

I've never had issues with any of my flashes getting hot. What ones are you using? Lighting rigs and gels, yea, look at 'em funny and they'll melt on ya. I have seen some of the old studio flashes get pretty warm though.

Paper towels or post it notes do in a pinch and work a lot better than dixie cups on camera. If you use different colored post it notes you can tint the photos. Yellow gives everything a very vintage look, pink a warm happy glow.

All that light will stop a fast moving fish with plenty of DOF to spare. Just tank lights makes it difficult to get pictures of fish consistently. The front of the lens on an onboard flash will get hot, why risk it?

Light is the key. I am sure your photos look great. They will be better with the flash.

I have used cups successfully, it was one of my preferred methods.

No great wish to take yellow pictures of my fish but a sticky note is a good idea.

I have some photos in the gallery below. You can search for my user name at photobucket.com.

Nice article, Rich! I can see the extra light so you can take a higher speed pics. I use my tank lights and unless my fish stands still I get blurry fish. I've been wanting to get a remote flash but need some money first