Snake scales

[doenoe]

I made some shots of my snake while she was downing a rat
#1

#2 This is near her head while swallowing a rat, pretty amazing how far apart the scales are.

#3

Thanks for looking
Greetz Daan

 

[One Sister]

Love these shots. I would like to see more of your shots of this snake. I've been asked to photograph a pet snake and I'm not exactly sure how to set it up. I've been an admirer of your work and would love to see how you would shoot it.

 

[doenoe]

Thanks
Its probably best to shoot it when the lights just went on. Maybe its a bit cooler then and the snake will be more docile. I shoot these with a 100mm macro, 430EX and a lumiquest softbox.
Some more of my snakes pics can be found here (dont follow the links if you dont like to see dead rats and stuff)

SnakePics
MoreSnakePics
EvenMoreSnakePics
LastOne

Dont use a tripod, cause its probably moving all over the place. Its a good idea to use a flash, so you can get some faster shutterspeeds. Mine doesnt sit still all the time, so its a good thing to have fast speeds. You can also get better tongue-shots with a faster speed.
Just go with the flow and shoot whenever you think its will become a cool pic (so you will be shooting continuesly )
Hope this helps

 

[One Sister]

Thank you very much Daan! Wow all your snake shots are awesome. The shoot I was asking about was supposed to take place in my studio, but hmmm. I knew I wasn't going to get any meal-time shots but I was wondering how to "pose" it (I know there's no real posing, but what I'm asking here is what would make a nice portrait, are there any props I might ask the client to bring? Should I just concentrate on the head? If it just sits there should I concentrate on the scales as you have done? Stuff like that). As I'm not a snake owner, just a snake respecter , I wanted to know what a snake lover might want as a portrait if they couldn't get a mealtime photo?

Again, great shots.

 

[deadlyestsin]

hi I love the 2nd picture. I think that if didn't read the title of the thread I wouldn't have guessed what was on that picture! great work =)

 

[Lyncca]

These are amazing

I went to check out your other links. I got past the first 2, but the third one is gross! So, I stopped there. LOL

 

[doenoe]

Thanks for the comments guys
One Sister: i dont know what kind of snake it is, but maybe you can find some info about here natural habitat and try to remake a bit of that habitat in your studio, so you can get some natural shots. You can also just use a black or white background so the snakes colors come out really good. Maybe a branch for the snake to climb into (if its a climbing kind of snake )
And if i would make pics of someone else his/her snake, i would go for a headshot or a full body shot. And this is way easier when the snake is curled up a bit offcourse. I always try to focus on the eyes, just like any other portrait.
And i dont think a mealtime would be the kind of pic i would give. I mean, it looks awesome when it happens, but i wouldnt want that hanging on my wall or something .
Well, hope this helps a bit more

ps, watch the temps since they are coldblooded animals and all. Just dont bug them to long. If it didnt work, just try again some time later