Lionfish in the Phillipines

The links below are to my first attempts at blackout shots.  I would appreciate any constructive criticism/tips.  Thanks a lot.   Shot with Sony A6300 in Nauticam housing, 12mm Zeiss lens, Zen 170mm dome, and Sea&Sea YS-D2.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/186383648@N06/49347721821/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/186383648@N06/49347259498/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/186383648@N06/49347293058/in/dateposted-public/

Ill take a shot, but my opinion is just an opinion as I have never attempted blackwater shots myself.

The first link is the best of the three.  The eyes are in focus and draws you into the face.  I would clean up some of the backscatter though.

Link two is my least favorite.  The fish is looking down and away and does not pull me into the picture.

Link three Is an interesting composition.  I like how the fins all fan out around the body.  The focus appears to be slightly forward of the eyes though.  The coral below and behind him caught some light and distracts a bit as well since it did not black out.

The all show blue tinge on the outside fins.  Is that from post processing? I would expect white to blue as the light falls off, but some of that bluish is on fins closest to the light source.  I just haven't seen it with lionfish before.

Thanks so much for the feedback. I looked at the original image for the first picture and the blue spot in the background is a small fish.  The fins have a faint tint of blue in the original.  When the exposure was decreased, the blue becomes more pronounced but I’m not sure why the blue is there to begin with. I agree that the second image is the least interesting.

Wow -- you did such a great job of getting the fish sharp and clear. The only recommendation I'd make (re: image #1) is to warm it up a bit and to add some exposure to the dorsal spines so the light is more consistent between the base of the spines and the tips.

Thanks a lot for your feedback.

Hi, I like all three of them, 1 and 3 a bit more.  No. 3 at first I said 'The face is hidden" but no, the left and right fins are like the fan of a Spanish dancer and enhance the face. Nice work!  

Thanks all for the feedback. What do you think of this one?

Nice! It's dramatic against the black background and the angle makes it interesting.

A couple of thoughts: maybe you could lighten the area around the rear dorsal fin to see if it is possible to get some idea of a tail?

The colour looks slightly odd to me too. Is there a slight cast to it? Maybe try a slight warming. And then, bring on the perfection, just reduce very slightly the highlights between the eyes. For me they are slightly too bright.

But, like I say, nice pic. Well done.

Many thanks for the feedback