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How to Photograph Through Aquarium Glass

Photographing fish in underwater environments can be challenging and rewarding, but not all photographers have access to the often-expensive underwater housings necessary to bring cameras to the fishes' habitats. Instead, photographers can choose to shoot fish in aquariums. Aquarium photography has its own challenges, however, and photographers have to deal with the issue of shooting through glass--which can cause reflections--and the low-light environments common in aquariums. There are several tools an aquarium photographer should keep handy to make his job easier, but employing proper photographic technique can also allow a photographer to photograph through aquarium glass.

Things You'll Need

Polarizing filter
Microfiber cloth
External flash
Tripod

Instructions

- 1
  Attach a polarizing filter to the front of your lens. Polarizing filters help to reduce reflections and will make your photographs through aquarium glass look clearer.
- 2
  Clean the aquarium glass thoroughly before photographing. If you do not own the aquarium or cannot otherwise clean the glass completely, wipe the glass with a microfiber cloth to remove fingerprints and smudges that might mar your photograph.
- 3
  Illuminate your subject with an external flash positioned at a 45-degree angle to the glass. This angle will guarantee that your flash's reflection will bounce away from the lens and will not be visible in your shot. If you cannot use an external flash and must use an on-camera flash instead, position yourself at a 45-degree angle to the glass.
- 4
  Switch your camera to "Manual" mode and shoot with a low shutter speed (around 1/20th to 1/50th of a second), a narrow aperture (around f/11 to f/16) and a high ISO (above 400). The low shutter speed and high ISO will help to properly expose your photographs even in the low light of aquariums, and the narrow aperture will help to keep a wide plane of focus for the times when the reflections or movement of water confuses your autofocus.
- 5
  Autofocus on bright, high-contrast areas of the aquarium, such as gravel. The low light, reflections and constant movement in aquariums will make it difficult for your autofocus to capture fish. Focusing on gravel that is the same distance from you as the fish you want to shoot will help your autofocus to acquire focus faster and more accurately.
- 6
  Shoot from a tripod, if possible. Because you are shooting with a low shutter speed, camera shake from your hand movements are a possibility. A tripod will help to minimize camera shake and keep your images sharp.

Photography