Mexican Black King *more pics*

[SerpentLust]

I'm getting REALLY frustrated. I just want to take some REALLY gorgeous photos of my snakes, I've seen so many amazing ones from you guys, but I guess I just don't have that touch yet...however, here are more shots of my Mexi :)

http://photobucket.com/albums/0903/SerpentLust/Numair/15c6d0d5.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/0903/SerpentLust/Numair/6618e209.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/0903/SerpentLust/Numair/8f801bb0.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/0903/SerpentLust/Numair/f9c8f656.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/0903/SerpentLust/Numair/f64e3496.jpg

Any pointers on snake photography?
Jenn

[CDN-Cresties]

Im not good at photos either :) Maybe some more lighting and eqiupement makes a big differences. I dunno, those are my thoughts but like i said, im not good at photography. Either way beauty snake!!! :D

-Steve-

[marisa]

More lighting makes a huge differance. And camera quality. What are you using to take those photos?

They aren't that bad though

Marisa

[munchy]

:bsmile: :D keep em comin serpentlust. i cant get enough of those mexican blacks. yours is very nice. how old/long is he/she?

[John White]

With black subjects getting the correct exposure is tricky. I would suggest that you photograph the snake outside under natural natural lighting. Pick a somewhat cloudy day when the sunlight isn't too bright. Take several shots with and without flash.

Hope this helps!

John

[Clownfishie]

Looks like you're doing a pretty good job to me! Honestly, you just have to experiment and see what works for each of your snakes -- flash/no flash, type of lighting etc...

Handsome boy you've got there btw! :D

[TheRedDragon]

VERY nice mexi, how's the temperment on her?

[SerpentLust]

RedDragon: The temperament is great. He's a bit jumpy when you take him out of the cage but as soon as he's out he's calm but still explorative.

Munchy: He's about 4 feet and apparently he's 6 years old around...

Jenn

[ballpython101]

how long have you had him ?
i plan to get 1 but i want to know if they are hard to feed ?
do they eat n the take a break start up again ?


jus

[SerpentLust]

ballpython101: TRUST ME, you'll have NO problems with feeding. My guy is SUCH a pig. I've only had him for two months.

Jenn

[Vanan]

Jenn, John's advice is excellent on the black snakes thing. Same thing with white snakes. Don't use a black background on a white snake.

Some pointers from a newbie, always look out for proper lighting. Forget taking pics in an unlit room. Do not rely on your flash heavily, unless you have some pretty expensive flash equipment. What I use on smaller snakes is a regular desklight. On of those jobs which clamp on the edge of a desk and swivel around. Helps to give lighting in the best of areas. Look out for areas of the animals you'd like highlighted and make sure they're not in a shadow. And I find it gives a more natural light than with only a flash. Here's a couple of examples.

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196PictusAlb11.jpg">

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196Cleo1.jpg">

Another essential thing is background. Bad background, usually ends up in a bad pic. Choose the right back ground. One which will not distract the viewer from the subject and one which has a different colour from the subject too. So say a brown snake, don't use a brown background. Best would be to go outside and pic a nice spot which may reflect the animal's natural habitat (only if possible) and shoot away. Nothing beats the sun's lighting. Cept when it gets too sunny or too cloudy.

For indoor shooting, take the time to create a setup. The 1st pic above was taken on the pc table with an area cleared and a conch (a type of fungus common in temperate pine forests). The background was just some plastic plants placed to add some green but also cover the mess on the table. :D And of course, the table lamp (incandescent) for lighting. The 2nd pic was a lil different. Same spoton the table, but I used a 7gal rubbermaid this time. Filled it with some substrate which would match a greybands habitat (in this case, crushed walnut). Placed a branch in there to prevent the edges of the rubbermaid from showing and then just cupped the snake for a while until it settled down.

Hope these tips will help you. It's not much but thats what works for me. And always remember, better to wait the extra 10mins for a good shot, than rush through and get half a**ed shots. :) Good luck!

[jaybox_reptiles]

awsom pics

[Simon]

serpentlust,
those pics aren't that bad~ they're nice too.

take the advice that Vanan suggested. He's one hell of a photographer~ his photos are amazing! and i love how he sets it up with the background. I would do the same thing, but just way too lazy to do it...
I too use those clamp on lamps to get the right lightings.

Vanan,
that pic of the grey band is awsome! Nice contrast and great shots!
both pics are really nice!

[Vanan]

Simon, thanks for your comments. :) The greyband now belongs to Jwsporty and was originally Mark Isbell's stock. Wasn't that difficult taking a pic of such a splendid specimen.

As for setting up, yea it takes time. It's been a long time since I did a setup too. But a pic taken with effort, lasts a long time.