# Beginner with an advanced subject needs help...



## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

Hello,

I have recently purchased a Nikon D3300 kit with hopes of taking photographs of my saltwater coral reef tank.  I was surprised and disappointed when I rushed home and captured my first shots in auto mode, they where terrible!  Okay, there is a bit of a learning curve which I have begun.

I have a basic understanding of the triangle, shutter speed/aperture/ISO, and have been experimenting in manual mode.  I spent several hours in manual mode adjusting-shooting, adjusting-shooting,..after several hundred pictures none of them where worth a darn but I learned a lot!

  My tank lighting is around 15k in color and very bright causing a ghostly blue overexposed look.  I have found I can adjust some of the blue out with the white balance but only to about 9k.  So far my best setting have been 250/f9/ISO 100, white balance cloudy, vivid color.  These results are a step in the right direction but a no where near what I have seen done by others, I have to be missing something?  I have pictures I can post if it may help?

Thanks!


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## weepete (Jan 10, 2016)

Aquarium Photography| How to Photograph your Fish and your tank Part 1


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## spiralout462 (Jan 10, 2016)

Welcome to TPF.   There is one simple thing you can do to vastly improve your aquarium shots.  It sounds like you are shooting JPG's.  If you change that to Raw capture you will have significantly more latitude when editing.  The caveat?  You need Raw conversion software.  The majority of folks use Adobe Lightroom but the software that shipped with your camera should also suffice.  I'm sure there are specific things you can do to benefit your particular situation but I am inexperienced with those.  I used to keep fish but I didn't photograph them much.


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## cherylynne1 (Jan 10, 2016)

That link explains what I was going to suggest...put a white or gray card in the tank and set a custom white balance. It can also be done in post processing, as mentioned, if you shoot in Raw and have the software. Those are pretty much your only options, I think.


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## astroNikon (Jan 10, 2016)

cherylynne1 said:


> That link explains what I was going to suggest...put a white or gray card in the tank and set a custom white balance. It can also be done in post processing, as mentioned, if you shoot in Raw and have the software. Those are pretty much your only options, I think.


$2.00 US for grey cards ... 3 in1 Digital Black / White / 18% Gray Color White Balance exposure Card Quality

takes a couple weeks to get them in the mail though.  BUT it's $2 TOTAL including shipping.

I use a grey card as a first shot all the time now.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

I know my camera has the option of "shooting a grey card" to set the white balance but I do not understand the process.  I was going to try using a white card just to see how it effects the final picture.  Some of the aquarium photographers I am impressed with use a white section of PVC pipe.  Can someone explain this procedure on my Nikon D3300?

The aquarium photographer I am most impressed with and compare my work to recently post some pictures that where straight from her camera, no editing and they where beautiful!  I know she is using a Canon 70D and she is a professional photographer by trade but shoots reef aquariums for fun.  Is my D3300 able to compete in picture quality?


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## vintagesnaps (Jan 10, 2016)

If she's a professional photographer she probably understands how her camera works and knows how to set and adjust it for various conditions.

You kind of went from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat - that's a challenging subject shooting glass because it's reflective, can have glare; the light in the water in the tank could be different from the existing room light so that might be what your meter is reading. I don't know what lens you have but kit lenses sometimes are not exactly the sharpest lenses to use.

That ISO setting seems low for existing room light (that being the measure of light sensitivity. I'd use probably at least 400 indoors. It could vary with the time of day and the light coming into the room. 

I'd suggest you spend some time figuring out how to use the camera taking other pictures besides the tank and get some practice with it. Take time to think about what you're doing instead of falling into the trap of firing off the shutter hundreds of times - you don't have to release the shutter each time, stop a minute and think about how the camera's set. Take some notes on what worked and what didn't. And keep reading up on it, that seems to be a specialized type of photography.


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## cherylynne1 (Jan 10, 2016)

Actually, the d3300 has a newer sensor, and I think in some respects it could beat the 70d in image quality. But I wouldn't expect that anytime soon. The skills and experience of the photographer is the most important aspect of a good photo. Give yourself time, you'll get there.

If she isn't editing at all and her pictures look good (although keep in mind, your opinion of good might be different than a professional's) then I can almost guarantee she is using a gray card beforehand. The PVC pipe is the same basic idea, the gray cards are just especially designed for photographers to make sure they are the perfect shade. But if you have a PVC pipe handy, you can use that until you get a gray card.

I don't know the exact method for the d3300, that should be in the manual. But on the cameras I've used, if you go through the white balance options (auto, cloudy, etc) one of them will be Custom. You select that, and a small dot appears in the center of the screen. You place the dot on the gray card/pvc pipe and click the shutter. Then just continue taking pictures as normal. 

If you plan to do it in post, you simply take a picture of the gray card before you begin and use that shade to set the white balance while editing.


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## astroNikon (Jan 10, 2016)

I think this would work ==> How to Create White Balance Presets on the Nikon D3300 - For Dummies

I do grey card stuff in Adobe Lightroom not in camera. But then I shoot in RAW too.  If you shoot in JPEG then processing is being done to create the JPEG

It's a technical leap, but it's actually quite easy once you've done it a few times.


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## vintagesnaps (Jan 10, 2016)

As far as white balance, most of the time the camera's settings for cloudy, sunny, etc. work. But I find that in low light (for example, sunset) that the camera WB settings may or may not work.

I may go by what I see on my viewscreen - does what I see on there match the sky I'm looking at? is it capturing the strong orange color I'm seeing? If not I'll sometimes go thru all the WB settings til I find one that matches the sky I'm seeing.

And I shoot in Raw too. Being a longtime film photographer and having done sports I learned to get the picture in camera the way I want it for the most part. So I do rather minimal post processing, but still, Raw gives me better options to make adjustments.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

Thanks for the links and help guys!

I am shooting in raw and have adjusted white balance in camera to max, which is around 9050 kelvin but it still will not over come the 15+ kelvin blue of my tank.  The lighting for my tank is very, very, strong to mimic the sun, it is led and produces 750par mid tank (do you guys use par?), the biggest battle has been convincing my camera how bright this light really is, anything over ISO 400/f9 the picture looks as if I was photographing an electrical explosion!

I have finally reached a point where I can walk up to my tank, set the camera up in manual mode and take a decent photo, that was pretty rewarding baby step!

I am now looking to get accurate color rendering which has proved just as difficult as learning to set the camera up in manual mode.  One unforeseen problem this camera purchase created, taking pictures of my hobby may have created another expensive hobby!


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## soufiej (Jan 10, 2016)

You could replace your existing metal halide lighting with something closer to daylight temperatures for any photography session.  15k is pretty high for any digital camera though it does provide great colors to your eye with lots of "pop" and good growth/health for the fish and reef.  

Setting a custom white balance is covered in your owner's manual for the camera so there's not much we can explain that you can't easily source on your own.  You don't necessarily need a card of any sort, simply set your balance by focusing on a "neutral" colored object in the tank.  Follow the instructions for your camera and shoot in RAW capture.  Decent processing software will allow you to adjust actual color temperature in the image file.  

Which brings me to the question, where do your shots not look right?  If you are judging solely by what you see on the camera's LCD screen, then you are not going to ever achieve your best color rendition with that as your reference.  You need to obtain and use some decent software which does allow for color temperature adjustment.  And, at the least, view your images as they would be presented, say, on line and best as a print.  If you do not move to this point in your photography, you're sort of cooking without tasting.

_"The aquarium photographer I am most impressed with and compare my work to recently post some pictures that where straight from her camera, no editing and they where beautiful! I know she is using a Canon 70D and she is a professional photographer by trade but shoots reef aquariums for fun. Is my D3300 able to compete in picture quality?"_

Your camera is capable of results as close to her's as needed.  It is not, however, the camera that is making the difference.  If she is a "professional" photographer, she understands lighting and its effect on the final result.  And, yes, she understand her camera and how to set it to correct for whatever lighting she encounters.  

It's unlikely she would using conventional metal halide aquarium lighting for her photography IMO.   No more than she would use MH lighting for her portraits.   And "straight from her camera" can mean many things which might simply mean she hasn't cropped the image.  IMO you are assuming too much by using her as a guide without knowing more about her process.   Contact her and ask her your questions.  Like birding and wildlife photography, people who engage in specific genres of photography are typically open to sharing their tips and tricks.


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## dennybeall (Jan 10, 2016)

Some good advice so far. I'd also wonder if the photographer you admire has glass tanks or is perhaps shooting with their camera in a waterproof housing so not shooting through the tank side?
I asked because so many of the tanks these days are acrylic instead of glass. Don't know if that would make a difference but I have seen some acrylics with a blue cast to them.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

She visited a "coral farm" and photographed their corals under their lighting and the results where stunning.  She was shooting hand held and adjusted white balance off a piece of PVC.

soufiej, you bring up a good point!  I can turn off my blue reef lighting and use another more natural source and get an accurate picture of what the tank looks like under a warmer light source, but it is very ugly and does not look anything like my tank or any other tank under the correct blue spectrum.

My tank is glass but it is starphire glass, a low iron optically clear glass.  I am sure "clear" is relative here.

I think I need to try adjusting white balance by shooting something white in my tank, I hope my camera has this option although I don't remember seeing it.

I am unsure what lense the photographer in question uses but that would not have any effect on color rendering, correct?


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## spiralout462 (Jan 10, 2016)

If you are shooting Raw and using Lightroom for post production I see little need for an extremely accurate white balance.  It can be done easier and more accurately on the computer with a larger screen.  Just my opinion.

Ps.  Lenses can have an effect on color rendering.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

So shooting a picture to adjust white balancing does not work, I keep getting the "no gd" message.  I am guessing it is because it is out of range to what the camera can adjust for?  An anomaly I noticed while trying to shoot white balance is if viewing with the screen I get a constant scroll of bars, no picture?  Is this due to the pwm on the individual leds?


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## cherylynne1 (Jan 10, 2016)

If it's so blue that white balance can't correct it, then you have two choices. Either you can change the lighting or you can embrace the color. You might notice that pictures of concerts or plays often don't correct the white balance....they use different colored lights for a reason, and the pictures reflect that. The same thing often happens with sunset pictures. They want that golden glow, rather than making the sunlight appear white. 

It's probably part of the aesthetic of the tank to be very blue, so you might want to capture the way that feels.


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## snowbear (Jan 10, 2016)

Can you post an example?


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

Please be kind, I have only been doing this for a week!
The pictures do not "pop" and the color is off.  In the full tank shots there is no detail it is hard to make out the small things.


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## snowbear (Jan 10, 2016)

Is this closer to the real colors?


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

snowbear said:


> Is this closer to the real colors?
> 
> View attachment 114174



Yes!  How did you do that?


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## snowbear (Jan 10, 2016)

Using Lightroom, I picked the eyedropper tool in White Balance and selected the little bit of gravel against the glass at lower right - I assumed it was white or light grey.  Lightroom will alter the WB based on that selection.

You should be able to set a custom WB in camera by shooting an all white or all black object in the aquarium light (maybe a piece of white plastic put against the back wall.

It really shouldn't matter what color the light is; the key is shooting the white/black object in the light and the camera will adjust appropriately.  Be aware, you'll have to turn off auto focus because the camera will just hunt, since there is no contrasting elements to focus on.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

I have tried that exact thing using the free software that came with my camera, I think it is called NX2?  It is Nikons photo edit software.  Is lightroom that much better?


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## snowbear (Jan 10, 2016)

I don't see an eyedropper tool in ViewNX2 for white balance adjustment - only sliders.

View NX2 will give you the very basics.  Lightroom will provide more editing tools as well as photo management (library, rating, export, setting color space).  As I understand the newer versions of LR (I have LR3) hve a lot of processing features.

I use LR for 85 - 90% of my processing.  Photoshop only comes into play 10-15%


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

I have tried for an hour to set the white balance shooting a white card under the light and get "no gd" every time!  I must have taken 200 photos and it still will not "take".  I know other cameras such as Canon will adjust by shooting a white card under these lights anyway to get this Nikon adjusted?


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## snowbear (Jan 10, 2016)

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the error code.  Try this as a test - shoot the white card in regular light (or fluorescent) and see what you get.


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## snowbear (Jan 10, 2016)

Maybe try moving the card so it's more directly under the light (if possible) or bump the ISO a couple of stops.  It looks like the error code could mean it's too dark.  I know the link is for a D53xx but it looks like the procedure is the same.

Nikon | Imaging Products | Digitutor | D5300


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

Yes, I can walk into the kitchen and shoot the same card under incandescent lighting and it takes the first try.

That is the same procedure.


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## snowbear (Jan 10, 2016)

Try bumping the ISO to at least 3200 (the last example is 1600) and set the aperture to wide open.  Let's see if the camera thinks the tank is too dark


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## Blazer1 (Jan 10, 2016)

I have done that thinking the same thing, I made sure the exposure meter was centered.  I have the aperture wide open and have tried different shutter speeds and iso setting.  I don't mind continuing experimenting if it is my procedure but I don't want to waste my time if the camera just cant adjust to this high a kelvin rating.


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## weepete (Jan 11, 2016)

Could be to bright as well. the message no GD implies there's no data for the camera to record and the card is either blown out or clipped. I'd try using a spot metering mode and make sure you are filling the frame with the card. Either that or just adjust it in post.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 11, 2016)

I will try again today to get the white balance to adjust, this is critical
For what I want to do with the camera. 

If it will not adjust I think I can still swap it for a Canon. They seem to be easier to adjust white balance on. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## soufiej (Jan 11, 2016)

Either line should allow a custom white balance setting.  Read your owner's manual.  Canon and Nikon are lines used by the pros.  No reason to think one does basic functions better than the other.  

It's not just focusing on something, it's filling the frame with that subject.  If you simply take a photo while focused on a neutral object, you may not have set the camera's metering system to only allow that subject to be your  color reference. 

If your camera detects multiple colors in the frame, it has no idea what you intend for it to use as a reference.  In a shot which shows the aquarium and the wall, whatever color balance you set will be wrong for one of them. 

Read your manual and fill the entire frame with your neutral colored subject.  If your lens will not focus at a close in distance which allows you to use only one subject in the full frame, then you need to adjust your metering to spot.  That's not perfect but will help.

Yes, Lightroom and Photoshop are that much better than the software that comes with any camera.  They are available on a 30 day free trial basis.  There are other alternatives but these are very commonly used processors/editors/file management systems.   They have fairly steep learning curves to make the most of them but they are an essential part of your digital photography process.


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## Derrel (Jan 11, 2016)

Blazer1 said:
			
		

> I will try again today to get the white balance to adjust, this is critical
> For what I want to do with the camera.
> 
> If it will not adjust *I think I can still swap it for a Canon. They seem to be easier to adjust white balance on. *
> ...



Read The Fine Manual this evening.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 11, 2016)

Derrel said:


> Blazer1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I am sorry, I am not understanding?

I think I may have found my problem setting white balance!  My aquarium light is LED, 52 individual LEDs to be exact of different colors.  When holding a white card under the light I can make out the individual colors, kind of like a disco ball.  Could this cause a problem setting white balance and is there a way around it?


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## cherylynne1 (Jan 11, 2016)

Blazer1 said:


> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> > Blazer1 said:
> ...



Yes, that is the problem. It's like an extreme version of the fairly common problem of mixed lighting. Your camera is looking at three or four different versions of "white" and has no idea which one is correct. And none of them will ever be correct, because the others will appear incorrect no matter which it chooses.

The only solution for mixed lighting is to change it. All the lights have to be the same color.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 11, 2016)

Not good news,..it is a $1000 light that is critical for the health of my aquarium.

I think my only option is to find someone with an aquarium lighted to a similar kelvin rating using a single point light source, such as metal halide, and set the balance off that.  Is this plausible option?


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## vintagesnaps (Jan 11, 2016)

From what you described the camera is picking up the colors of the spectrum in the white in a different way with LED light than what's typical with LED or sunlight.

Is the wall red and the base of the aquarium a camel tan color? I'm thinking the first one looked like it's rather low light but the colors look relatively accurate. Your pictures look pretty good to me. The color of the close up of the coral looks fine.

The one Charlie (Snowbear) adjusted looks brighter and shows the colors better so his balance adjustment using something whitish in the tank seems to have worked. Can you put something white (plastic?) in the tank long enough for a few test shots? then try using whatever setting worked best next time you photograph the tank.

It makes a difference how close you are to the tank - if you're close more of the light the subject is in will be coming into your camera; if you're across the room it will be reading the light differently. Isn't LED lighting rather bluish purple compared to incandescent? I think if you're photographing light that's more blue than a warm tone, that you're probably going to see that bluish color in the photos. But when you were close to the coral you got more accurate bright color probably because you had the camera up close in the same lighting as the coral. From a distance the camera is adjusting to the mix of room light and LED light.

Maybe try adjusting the room light. Are the pictures better or worse if it's a day with plenty of sun coming in? Do you have lamps using incandescent or the newer bulbs? (those to me seem more white and not such a warm yellowish white).

See if the camera's manual has a section on adjusting WB and if there are suggestions on types of lighting that go with the various settings. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't cover LED so it might be figuring out which setting works best with those type lights.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 11, 2016)

I think a better description of the light in question my help.

The light is made up of 4 light pucks , each puck contains 13 individual LEDs.  

Each puck contains;
4 Cree cool white
3 Cree royal blue
2 Osram very deep blue
1 Osram deep red
1 Cree green
1 SemiLED 415nm violet
1 Edison 400nm UV

For a total of 7 different colors and 52 total LEDs.

I can control each color independently from 0-100% and turn off/on any channels but changing the spectrum will not give me true life results. 

This is a very specialized light I am sure Nikon did not prepare for.


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## snowbear (Jan 11, 2016)

It's not that Nikon "isn't prepared", you have mixed colors of light.  I'd suspect you'd have the same problem with Canon.
I'd just shoot raw, get a copy of Lightroom (or rent the cloud version) and make your adjustments in post.  You don't really need to add anything to the tank - take a shot of the sand and use that as the WB reference.

Good luck.


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## spiralout462 (Jan 11, 2016)

I


snowbear said:


> It's not that Nikon "isn't prepared", you have mixed colors of light.  I'd suspect you'd have the same problem with Canon.
> I'd just shoot raw, get a copy of Lightroom (or rent the cloud version) and make your adjustments in post.  You don't really need to add anything to the tank - take a shot of the sand and use that as the WB reference.
> 
> Good luck.



I agree with snowbear.  He has proven that accurate white balance is obtainable in Lightroom.   Certainly not the camera's fault.  If you are going to shoot seriously you need Lightroom or equivalent.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 11, 2016)

I said Nikon but meant camera companies in general probably don't design their camera with the intention of taking photos under such unusual lighting.


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## soufiej (Jan 11, 2016)

Blazer1 said:


> I think I may have found my problem setting white balance!  My aquarium light is LED, 52 individual LEDs to be exact of different colors.  When holding a white card under the light I can make out the individual colors, kind of like a disco ball.  Could this cause a problem setting white balance and is there a way around it?







I'm going to disagree with the idea "this " is your problem. 

It doesn't matter whether the individual elements of light are made up of different colors.  

Yes, if you hold your white card directly beneath the LED's, you'll notice the individual colors of the lamp.   At that distance the colors do not have time to mix as they do at the distance they sit away from the bottom of your aquarium. 
*
Color mixing is either additive or subtractive  

Lighting usually falls under, and operates via, the rules of the additive description*; http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/addcol.html

There are elements of lighting which can be used as subtractive mixing, however, what you have going on in your aquarium light is purely additive mixing. 



Take the example provided in that link.  If you held a piece of white paper up to each lighting instrument with a separately colored gel of one primary color, you would see the paper reflecting only those colors which can exist with the colored gel in front of the white lamp.  Red gel would get you a "red" piece of paper because all other colors have been stripped out by the gel.  Green gel results in green paper and blue gets you blue paper. 

You would, due to the size of the lighting instruments, need three separate pieces of paper to see that effect. 

Once you move the lamp far enough away from the subject to allow color mixing, the three primaries (RGB) will result in a single white light. 

In other words, the presence of the entire range of visible light.  Basic physics. 

It will not be purely white light since we don't have easy access to inexpensive lamps which produce pure white light and gels are seldom exact in their color rendition unless you pay for that.  But that is the theory of the idea and operation.

If you back your card away from the LED's, the mixing occurs.  That's why you do not perceive a fish swimming through three "pools" of light, each a separate primary color.  Additive color mixing.  Basic cognition.


*Don't take this wrong but, your problem is you have just purchased a camera, you know little about the camera and don't seem willing to read the owner's manual, you do not comprehend the physics of light and now you want professional results in your first attempts at photography.  You have yet to obtain image editing/processing software which helps you as a photographer achieve the desired results.  * 

Not even sure your monitor would show you accurate colors if the camera captured them.

IMO, if we had another thread where someone was asking why don't my first 100 shots look like the pro's work when they have been doing this for years and have invested in the education and the equipment to make things right, you would get a very brief explanation of "why". 

*Take some time to learn the rules of photography.  Then try again.  No one starts off as Michael Jordan or Pablo Casals. *

OK?


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## Blazer1 (Jan 11, 2016)

incorrect!

To summarize the majority of this discussion the main question is "Why will my camera not auto adjust under my tank lights?"

You are very creative in finding this conversion me complaining that I am not shooting like a professional in a week.


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## Dave442 (Jan 11, 2016)

I would use another light for those photo sessions. The LED is probably above 10,000 K like you noted. That is as high a setting as I have so without another light I would use that setting and then further adjust the RAW file in post. 

For doing a custom WB It might help to have the white card under the water but not too far from the lights and see that it fills the frame, but keep it out of focus.


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## soufiej (Jan 11, 2016)

Blazer1 said:


> incorrect!
> 
> To summarize the majority of this discussion the main question is "Why will my camera not auto adjust under my tank lights?"
> 
> You are very creative in finding this conversion me complaining that I am not shooting like a professional in a week.





OK, you don't like my post.  That's to be expected.

I'm not being creative at all.  I'm simply pointing out we have spent some forty plus posts and you are no closer to getting good results than you were at #1.  That's hardly deep thinking on my part.

Tell ya'what, take some other photos - you know, real world subjects like trees and flowers and people - and show us your "professional" understanding of photography and lighting.

Then we can go from there.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 11, 2016)

I am not a professional, do not want to be a professional and the only pictures I ever plan on taking is of my aquarium.

What I do want is to place a white or grey card under the lights over my aquarium and take a picture and my camera adjust white balance.


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## Derrel (Jan 11, 2016)

I was out taking photos earlier today when, as in a miracle, before my very eyes, Christ appeared, riding a bicycle. I immediately reached for the WB button on the lower panel of my Nikon, held the button in, and spun the rear control dial to the right...but the light coming off of him was blinding, and I did not have a 15,000 degrees Kelvin option. STUPID NIKON!!! Oh well...I'll have to be content just adjusting the WB in Lightroom.


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## soufiej (Jan 11, 2016)

How'd you know it was Christ?  Did he look middle European?


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## soufiej (Jan 11, 2016)

Don't tell me Christ wears a name tag.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 11, 2016)

The blinding light was not coming from Jesus,..it was the sun reflecting off you gigantic fivehead,..I am assuming you are the "model" in your avatar.


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## soufiej (Jan 11, 2016)

Blazer1 said:


> The blinding light was not coming from Jesus,..it was the sun reflecting off you gigantic fivehead,..I am assuming you are the "model" in your avatar.





If that wasn't intended to be humorous, you might want to consider just where you go with post #20.


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## Derrel (Jan 11, 2016)

Blazer1 said:
			
		

> The blinding light was not coming from Jesus,..it was the sun reflecting off you gigantic fivehead,..I am assuming you are the "model" in your avatar.



Yeah....those gigantic *five*head thingies...


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## Blazer1 (Jan 11, 2016)

I noticed the thread had taken a humorous turn and yes I thought it to be very funny!


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## Dave442 (Jan 12, 2016)

After looking at some Reef Tank shots and some comments it looks like there is a tendency to have MH or T5 lights by themselves or in combination with the LED for when taking shots of Reef Tanks, even the people that normally use only LED as their normal light source.

It also looks like there are some of the same debate on shooting in RAW and processing the files or with making Picture Control settings in the camera.
I would shoot in RAW, but make a WB preset as the lighting would remain the same during the shoot and then make a final adjustment in LightRoom.

There are some Aperture, Lightroom and Photoshop tutorials on processing the RAW photos of Reef Tanks, the common thread it adjusting the Black Point. I have seen this as well when taking shots of fish tanks and always needed to adjust the black point.


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## Blazer1 (Jan 12, 2016)

Dave442 said:


> .
> I would shoot in RAW, but make a WB preset as the lighting would remain the same during the shoot and then make a final adjustment in LightRoom.
> .



How do I make a WB preset?


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## Dave442 (Jan 12, 2016)

Looks like the D3300 will only hold one WB preset as you are doing. The is not the option like on some other bodies to have 5 different presets stored. I don't think that would be an issue for you.


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