Some more comments

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Posted by Chris H. on February 18, 2002 at 21:45:43:

In Reply to: Better? pics posted by TravisG on February 18, 2002 at 19:30:50:

Travis,

I like the angle of your new shot better (you might see what it looks like to get even lower). I think a whole body shot is better for what is being shown in the upcoming book. Head shots and close ups are nice "art shots" but generally I have found people need a "show the snake" shot.

Couple of tips (opinions, I should say):

1. I think you should make the effort to have it look more like it was a field shot. It isn't hard. Just get a plastic sweaterbox/garbage can lid, some leaves and a log for the background (to hide flash die off). Setting the lid on a table makes it a lot easier to manipulate the animal and your camera and get the angle you want. That is how this pic on the leaves was taken (in my living room in College Station).

A couple of things to be wary of. In my shot above, the background is a little too distracting from the snake. Watch out for "hot spots" like the attention drawing blue/white patch of lichen on the log. I didn't add it in this shot but a little sprig of native green vegetation can go a long way to adding to the appeal of a shot.

2. Try to get a photo with the snake facing either diagonally forward or to the side (never away from the viewer). Often even a flighty/aggressive snake will let you gently move its head with a slender snake hook (or extendable blackboard pointer) when it freaks out if you approach with your hand.

3. Capturing a tongue flick is worth a thousand words! Try tapping the table top with a hook then be ready to fire!

4. You want to try and maximize the amount of the snake that is in the plane of focus (parallel to the film). For the shot you posted, I would like to have seen what it looked like if you had moved a little around more to the left. Of course, you can't move so far the you break rule 2.

5. Patience is a huge virtue in herp photography. I will often spend 10-15 minutes setting up my background and camera, then spend another 10 minutes getting the snake calmed down and posed (difficult with captive animals that are used to you!), then another 10 minutes shooting a few shots, reposing, etc. But if the shot is good, it is worth the half hour it took!

The real trick to getting great photographs of snakes is to look critically at lots of other photos and decide what you like/dislike about them, then figure out how to get your shots to right. Reptile magazines/Books/Web sites are great for this! They have lots of shots, good and bad, to learn from.

Follow Ups:

Re: Some more comments TravisG 02/18/02 (1)
- solution to the bowl problem Chris H. 02/19/02 (0)

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: Travis, : I like the angle of your new shot better (you might see what it looks like to get even lower). I think a whole body shot is better for what is being shown in the upcoming book. Head shots and close ups are nice "art shots" but generally I have found people need a "show the snake" shot. : Couple of tips (opinions, I should say): : 1. I think you should make the effort to have it look more like it was a field shot. It isn't hard. Just get a plastic sweaterbox/garbage can lid, some leaves and a log for the background (to hide flash die off). Setting the lid on a table makes it a lot easier to manipulate the animal and your camera and get the angle you want. That is how this pic on the leaves was taken (in my living room in College Station). : <img src="http://www.tyler.net/sandboa/images/eguttata1.jpg"> : A couple of things to be wary of. In my shot above, the background is a little too distracting from the snake. Watch out for "hot spots" like the attention drawing blue/white patch of lichen on the log. I didn't add it in this shot but a little sprig of native green vegetation can go a long way to adding to the appeal of a shot. : 2. Try to get a photo with the snake facing either diagonally forward or to the side (never away from the viewer). Often even a flighty/aggressive snake will let you gently move its head with a slender snake hook (or extendable blackboard pointer) when it freaks out if you approach with your hand. : 3. Capturing a tongue flick is worth a thousand words! Try tapping the table top with a hook then be ready to fire! : 4. You want to try and maximize the amount of the snake that is in the plane of focus (parallel to the film). For the shot you posted, I would like to have seen what it looked like if you had moved a little around more to the left. Of course, you can't move so far the you break rule 2. : 5. Patience is a huge virtue in herp photography. I will often spend 10-15 minutes setting up my background and camera, then spend another 10 minutes getting the snake calmed down and posed (difficult with captive animals that are used to you!), then another 10 minutes shooting a few shots, reposing, etc. But if the shot is good, it is worth the half hour it took! : The real trick to getting great photographs of snakes is to look critically at lots of other photos and decide what you like/dislike about them, then figure out how to get your shots to right. Reptile magazines/Books/Web sites are great for this! They have lots of shots, good and bad, to learn from.

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