Few Scaly Things For C&C

AnthonyB · Jan 20, 2011

the Beardie is a friends

As for the everglades, shes had that mark on her head for the past 15 years lol, I just fixed it in one of the pics

AnthonyB · Jan 21, 2011

Nobody ? :thumbdown:

Snakeguy101 · Jan 21, 2011

I think you need a greater depth of field in all of them and the last 2 are looking a little soft. As for posing the animals and composing the shots though you did pretty good. Just needs some fine tuning.

On a side note, that is a nice lookin beardie.

Trever1t · Jan 21, 2011

Hell, I didn't know snakes and lizards could live so long! I'd like to see a tighter crop on those lizard scales. I agree the pics are a bit soft and DOF too shallow.

AnthonyB · Jan 21, 2011

The everglade in the pics is on the + side of 20 now lol
any tips on getting the focus sharp using MF ?, and in relatively low light where you cant see through the viewfinder very well ?

Dan Padavona · Jan 22, 2011

Yes definitely go with an aperture that can give you a greater depth of field, and as much as possible try to get the camera lens parallel to the subject...though obviously the bodies are not flat two-dimensional subjects.

I've kept beardies off-and-on for over a decade and used to breed them. I love them. Nothing compares to a good ole dog, but beardies are very friendly lizards.

AnthonyB · Jan 22, 2011

yea Ive had enough beardies, I bread german giants for years, Now im on the snakes,she is the only coloubrid that I have, the rest are all boas and pythons except for one hognose lol, and 3 crested geckos, and 2 dogs,and a cat, and 2 fish tanks HAHA, maby I have a problem lol
Im In the process of building a big enough light box so I can get some of the bigger ones out for a shoot

Snakeguy101 · Jan 22, 2011

AnthonyB said:
yea Ive had enough beardies, I bread german giants for years, Now im on the snakes,she is the only coloubrid that I have, the rest are all boas and pythons except for one hognose lol, and 3 crested geckos, and 2 dogs,and a cat, and 2 fish tanks HAHA, maby I have a problem lol
Im In the process of building a big enough light box so I can get some of the bigger ones out for a shoot

haha, you think you have a problem? last time I counted I had 30 reptiles. Most of them venomous or endangered. Light box sounds like a neat idea. How big do you think it will have to be to fit your boas?

AnthonyB · Jan 22, 2011

Im arond that number lol, , I can't get venomous snakes shipped to me lol,Worst part is that im certified to keep dangerous animals lol If I could I would have a couple vipers and a green mamba lol, and a gila monster lol

Im guessing about 4x2x2 would be min., Id like to do it 6x2 but that seems like a huge light box lol

Patm1313 · Jan 22, 2011

I have a corn snake and a ball python, and know that reptiles aren't the most photogenic beasts. So I'll give you props on just being able to capture these images (especially the tongue shot with the snake). Like others said, you do need to increase your DOF. Also, the rock (I believe) in the bottom left corner of #3 seems to be distracting me. Just my take.

Not to hijack, but here's a shot I took in a lightbox where just like you, I turned my DOF all the way down.

And a shot where I felt a shallower DOF worked better.

Snakeguy101 · Jan 22, 2011

On the contrary, they are very photogenic if you set the shot up nicely.

and one more

Take advantage of their curves. One of the basic compositional tricks is to include an "S" curve in the shot. Snakes are full of these so keep an eye out for them. The tongue is also a bonus if you can catch it while it is out- it adds interest and action to the shot. Make sure the eyes and as much of the head as possible are in focus, this is the same rule as in portrait shots. If you are doing a macro of the scales, you will want to show texture or color depending on what caught your eye. If it is texture, try to get the entire frame nice and sharp, if it is color, go ahead and over saturate a bit (it is okay to do this when there is no reference color like skin tones to cue that the image is over saturated.)

Hope that helps.

AnthonyB · Jan 22, 2011

Nice Eastern Indigo, great snakes but messy as hell lol,Yea Colubrids are a pain in the ass to shoot, always cruising around lol
Might as well keep it going lol

and I know about the shallow DOF on this one lol

Patm1313 · Jan 22, 2011

What do you mean by setting the shot up nicely? If you're shooting the snakes in their natural habitat (whether that be nature or an enclosure), you're bound to get better shots than if you plop them down in a lightbox like the OP is doing.

And also, is that an MBK? Those things are a snake owner's kryptonite, and are my personal favorites amongst all snakes.

AnthonyB · Jan 22, 2011

Patm1313 said:
And also, is that an MBK? Those things are a snake owner's kryptonite, and are my personal favorites amongst all snakes.

She would be an eastern Indigo snake,

whos about to shed lol

Snakeguy101 · Jan 22, 2011

AnthonyB said:
Nice Eastern Indigo, great snakes but messy as hell lol,Yea Colubrids are a pain in the ass to shoot, always cruising around lol
Might as well keep it going lol

and I know about the shallow DOF on this one lol

Those are MUCH nicer shots. I love the first one. Good artistic choice in making it underexposed, it really makes your boa seem ghostly.

Patm1313 said:
What do you mean by setting the shot up nicely? If you're shooting the snakes in their natural habitat (whether that be nature or an enclosure), you're bound to get better shots than if you plop them down in a lightbox like the OP is doing.

And also, is that an MBK? Those things are a snake owner's kryptonite, and are my personal favorites amongst all snakes.

I have never really tried anything in a lightbox but if you can get the snake to pose in a nice posture for you then you should be able to get some great shots. That is what I meant by setting it up.

What is an MBK?