Picture tips?

CrazyAnimalLady · 09-21-14, 08:43 AM

Hey guys, was wondering if any of you have some good tips for photographing rainbows? I've gotten some ok shots of my little guy but nothing really good yet.

poison123 · 09-21-14, 03:06 PM

Tips? Be me.

poison123 · 09-21-14, 03:13 PM

What kind of cam? Can we see what you have so far?

**millertime89** · 09-21-14, 04:11 PM

Natural light and no flash. If you can control the iso and shutter speed I would go with low iso and a fast shutter speed.

CrazyAnimalLady · 09-21-14, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poison123

What kind of cam? Can we see what you have so far?

Oh nothing fancy just some point and shoot, just looking for tips on positioning/setting up and what kind of lighting brings out their shine.

**millertime89** · 09-21-14, 11:49 PM

I'm not sure how much control you have over settings with you're camera but I've always got the best results out of natural light and if you can't take them outside a nice soft white cfl or incandescent bulb. Go now towards the yellow end of the spectrum and stay away from blues.

Snakesitter · 09-22-14, 01:57 PM

Natural light, *or* -- with some cameras -- indoor with flash. My indoor no-flash shots are always washed out, and the flash shots more accurate. It's an odd result though.

Your main challenges will be getting him to hold still, and finding the right lighting/camera angle to show off his iridescence.

Good luck!

SSSSnakes · 09-22-14, 05:17 PM

I'm told a professional photographer can get good shots with any camera. My trick is to try many different things and take 100s of picture hoping at last one comes out.

**millertime89** · 09-22-14, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSSSnakes

I'm told a professional photographer can get good shots with any camera. My trick is to try many different things and take 100s of picture hoping at last one comes out.

Yes but having the right gear helps a lot. It's best to start with entry level gear and work with it until you're finding the gear is limiting you in what you want to do before upgrading. At least that's what I've been told and it's what I stick to.

drumcrush · 09-22-14, 06:06 PM

I use my cell for pics, I was lucky to get one with a good camera. My iPad takes pretty good pics too

eminart · 09-23-14, 06:21 AM

Shoot outside during the "golden hour" (about an hour before sunset). Put your snake where the background will be about the tone as the overall color of your snake. The color doesn't matter. Imagine the scene was black and white. You want the grays to be fairly similar. If your composition is made up of nearly all snake, this won't be as important. Also set it up so that the light is coming from the side, at an angle. You don't want the light directly from the front, and you don't want it back lit.

**Tsubaki** · 09-23-14, 10:40 AM

I used to be a bit of a hobby photographer, not saying i was good but i did pick up some tricks..

Tip for compact camera's- if you're taking pictures indoors but there isn't enough light, the flash is too harsh and no external flash unit?. Put a bit of white toilet-paper over your built-in flash, gives a nice soft effect.

Something nice to google if you want to improve your pictures, "The rule of Thirds". My snake pictures don't always follow the rule of thirds, especially because the animals won't always cooperate. But the ones that do are usually the ones that look the best. Also, snakes are long slender creatures, use their 'line' to your advantage. Have their body divide a picture in 2 halves for example, makes it look more interesting. Getting the subject in the middle of the picture can be nice, however personally i think this only looks nice in portraits. In portraits the focus should also be larger. Try to only get one thing into focus, yes is nice to have a picture that is very sharp looking overall. However bringing one detail into focus gives it a more interesting look in general. The focus needs to catch your eye, and the rest of the picture should lead to the focus. When it comes to lighting yes the 'blue' or 'golden' hours outside are very nice to take pictures, however it completely depends on what you want from your subject. Experiment with lighting, and with color contrasts. The only thing i would nearly always try to avoid, is the harsh sunlight at midday.

This picture follows the line of thirds, slightly harsh outdoor lighting.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...psd92c76fa.jpg

Also following the rule of thirds, normal light indoors.
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...ps0e8e2d7f.jpg

poison123 · 09-23-14, 10:43 PM

Don't listen to these old folks. They don't know how to use modern technology lol.

I do agree that learning how to use the lighting around you is best for most cameras. That's how I get most of my shots.

Strutter769 · 11-04-14, 06:01 PM

It's been recommended to me to build a light box. I tried to copy and paste a link, but wasn't able to. You should be able to find instructions on Google pretty easily.

pet_snake_78 · 11-04-14, 08:02 PM

I was told that it's not the camera, it's the photographer. I bought a better camera and my pictures were then 10x better lol Just my experience.