Could really use some advice...

Austin Lee · Jul 29, 2019

Hi all,

I'm shooting my tank with a Canon M50 w/ the included EF-M 15-45mm lens. This is a shot I took tonight. I'm somewhat happy with it, but I feel like it's a bit too noisy (especially in the head that's touching the sand.

I shot with no flow on, but the glass wasn't 100% clean. Is this something I can fix in post? I'm pretty new to this, but would like to put some solid content on my IG (@austinsreef). Any tips here?

Austin Lee · Jul 29, 2019

The Reef Dork · Jul 30, 2019

That looks like it was taken at a slight angle? If so, pressing the lens hood against the glass will fix that. You should be able to hold it steady then too which will allow you to shoot at a slower shutter speed and therefore at a lower ISO which will reduce noise.

Daniel@R2R · Jul 30, 2019

@maroun.c wrote an article series that might be really helpful for you.

PedroYoung · Jul 30, 2019

starting with clean glass and perpendicular to the glass always helps. Also, playing around with aperture and changing focus area (try focusing on closest part of the coral, then moving back and observing the difference in the shots) is free with digital cameras so practice, practice, practice and experiment. I found I was much happier with my reef shots when I bit the bullet and got a Macro lens, but that's not necessary. I'd say you're off to a good start!!

Austin Lee · Jul 30, 2019

The Reef Dork said:
That looks like it was taken at a slight angle? If so, pressing the lens hood against the glass will fix that. You should be able to hold it steady then too which will allow you to shoot at a slower shutter speed and therefore at a lower ISO which will reduce noise.

it was! I did some reading and realized to maybe not do that as much. Also, I don't use a lens hood currently. I'll look in to them.

Austin Lee · Jul 30, 2019

PedroYoung said:
starting with clean glass and perpendicular to the glass always helps. Also, playing around with aperture and changing focus area (try focusing on closest part of the coral, then moving back and observing the difference in the shots) is free with digital cameras so practice, practice, practice and experiment. I found I was much happier with my reef shots when I bit the bullet and got a Macro lens, but that's not necessary. I'd say you're off to a good start!!

Thanks! Yeah, I've had some great success so far. I don't think the photo is *bad* per say (I still posted it today), but I always like to produce the best photos I can. Thank you for the advice!

The Reef Dork · Jul 31, 2019

Austin Lee said:
it was! I did some reading and realized to maybe not do that as much. Also, I don't use a lens hood currently. I'll look in to them.

You don't really need a hood, a tripod is probably a better investment, par for coral photography.

EW_Fish · Jul 31, 2019

Use a tripod and set it on a 5 second delay so you are not shaking the camera. Make sure you are in focus.

PedroYoung · Jul 31, 2019

The Reef Dork said:
You don't really need a hood, a tripod is probably a better investment, par for coral photography.

def agree with that

maroun.c · Jul 31, 2019

+1 on not being perpendicular to the glass causing some dostottions but theres also some noise in the picture, can u share at which aperture, shutter speed and ISO this was shot, did u boost the exposure in post processing?