tips for photographing a snow?

[Alien Zulu]

i am fairly competent with a camera

i've taken thousands of pictures
won an award in a photo contest
one of my photos is going to be on the cover of a book soon
so i am no noob

just seeking advice for photographing this white/pink snake
i am having a heck of a time getting any good shots of this critter
does any one have any suggestions for capturing her true glory?
backgrounds? lighting? every time i get her out i try something else but so far i have been pretty embarrassed by the results :awcrap:
trying not to stress the animal by taking too many photos but i also would like to get some good shots before she grows up

anyone have tips for me?

[diamondlil]

My results are so variable, that I can only say 'Hurrah for digital'! It's so hard to get the right lighting/background combo on light snakes. (I'm photographically challenged anyway) here's some of my efforts, the best one seem to be not-too bright natural light plus a lamp trained on her, but I find it so frustrating I can't show all her true colours

[CaptBogart]

I would take him outside if you can, preferably on an overcast day or in slight shade. Use a tripod and place the snake in a dark bush or in a position where there is a dark background.
If outside isn't an option, forget the flash and use external lighting like the Fluorescent full spectrum that screw into a regular lamp. Put them in a couple spot lights and place a couple feet away from your subject. Check that your shadows are behind your subject, use the tripod, dark background, and shoot away...
If you have to use the flash... once again, use the tripod and place a couple strips of gauze or a handkerchief over the flash... This takes a lot of experimentation finding the right flash settings and amount of diffusion to get a good pic...

[Fenderplayer108]

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It's always a hit and miss for me. I have learned by experience that the more photos you take, the more you will have that turn out. I take 30-40 pictures of each snake, and only post a few. I suggest getting a external flash to mount above your camera, and cover up 2/3's of the camera flash with a piece of duct tape.
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http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/Fenderplayer108/110506008-3.jpg
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This one turned out well, I made a circle pattern with the tape onto the flash, and put the external flash at a low setting, with a slight Haze overcast.
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I noticed that if you stay at eye level of the snake, you get better shots. You will get fairly blurry and out of focus shots if you go from above. Whenever I take over shots of snakes, I tip the camera at an angle to get a slight haze, while its still in focus.
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http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/Fenderplayer108/110506007-4.jpg
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This one, I wish had a bit more light, but I'm not complaining because snows are hard to capture.
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Good Luck!
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Ryan McCullough
MC Reptiles

[Daeraelle]

Early morning sunlight on a clear day in florida, no flash, loads of pictures because she kept moving and making them blurry. This is an old photo, taken before she started getting her yellows in. I get decent photos using flash indoors, zooming in, and staying far enough away the flash doesn't wash out her colors.

[Daeraelle]

Also, if it's bright enough outside, you can use flash and it won't make a difference. For some reason my camera gets blurry pictures when I don't use flash, and the pictures are more clear and crisp when I do use flash. :shrugs: I'm probably just a crappy photographer.

[Alien Zulu]

i live in michigan so the outside thing isn't really an option for me this time of year
i will remember that in the spring though

i will experiment around with some of the other suggestions and a couple more ideas i have

thanks everyone
great looking snakes!

[Tula_Montage]

I think god for flash intensity features on my camera (I turn it right down). I have gotten pictures that show his exact colours pretty much consistantly by using no extra lights, no natural light, just a room bulb and my flash.

[Tula_Montage]

Thank not think*

heres a couple more of just my flash on

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b115/tula-montage/toyah5.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b115/tula-montage/panther4.jpg

And one of an Opal (they are equally, if not harder to capture true colours)
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b115/tula-montage/Toyah3.jpg

[BeckyG]

I agree with the no flash advice. Everytime I try to use flash on my snow, it washes her out. I'll have to admit, she is the most difficult of my snakes to get decent shots of.

[Tula_Montage]

Becky, I have heard a lot of people dont use their flash when photographing snakes (ESPECIALLY the white ones) but in all honestly I couldnt take decent photographs without it.

I know people set up a few lights to get the perfect shots but what about the people that cannot finance that kind of equiptment?

Do you find an overhead room light ok to photograph snakes in or is daylight your personal preferance? I would like to learn how to stop relying on my flash as it irritates a few of the snakes.

[Snake_Charmer]

I can't go outside for pictures at this time of year either.

I have found that using GE Reveal lightbulbs has solved the colour problem for me. Quality-wise this is not a great picture (didn't have the room light on, only the desk lamp with the Reveal bulb) but Weiss' colours came out perfect. :)

http://www.snakecharmer.cc/snakes/7/1169091688_weiss_07_01_14.jpg

Pauline

[BeckyG]

Becky, I have heard a lot of people dont use their flash when photographing snakes (ESPECIALLY the white ones) but in all honestly I couldnt take decent photographs without it.

I know people set up a few lights to get the perfect shots but what about the people that cannot finance that kind of equiptment?

Do you find an overhead room light ok to photograph snakes in or is daylight your personal preferance? I would like to learn how to stop relying on my flash as it irritates a few of the snakes.

Elle, I don't have any special lighting equipment. I couldn't finance it either. Depending on which room I am in, the overhead light can be enough, but I think daylight would be your best bet. The best thing I can suggest is to just experiment with your camera. Take photos with and without flash, at different shutter speeds (if you can adjust it), in different lighting situations and see which ones turn out best. That is usually what I do, and I take gobs of pictures, then pick the ones I like best.

[diamondlil]

I had a search on the GE bulbs, and they seem to be an american thing! I'm experimenting with CaptBogart's suggestion about partially masking the inbuilt flash on my Olympus. A piece of kitchen roll held over it seems to reduce the glare a bit, so I got the most true to life colours on my christmas hypo. I'm going to try it on Lil next, using different thicknesses of masking to see what happens. I'll also try the partial complete masking suggested by Fender!

[diamondlil]

Well, I tried the 1 layer of tissue, too much glare. 5 layers, too pink, but I could always claim Lil's a snopal!

[diamondlil]

But with 3 layers of tissue, overhead light plus a reading lamp, I got quite close to Lil's real colours

[Menhir]

You should switch the camera's automatic lighting to "spot measure" or something similar. Otherwise, the Snows tend to be overexposed to have the complete picture exposed correctly.

[maegann]

someone told me once that to photograph my snow to use a blue background

[Shelby Snake]

Hey Tula...


Good to see another Albino :)


This is Shelby our Albino...

Rik