Capturing Colors

jessicashallperish · Oct 2, 2012

It drives me UP THE WALL when people take a picture of a pale snake on a pale background. it is very unflattering to the snakes colors.

when photographing a light snake (snow, blizzard, peppermint) place the snake on a dark background ( i use a dark sand stone rock or a black pillow case) it contrasts with the color of the snake and is much more flattering.

dark snakes, photograph fantastically on a light or white surface, but also photograph well on neutral colors, i use either a white pillow case or a simple grey rock.

i get so tired of seeing red snakes photographed on a red back ground or with some funky yellow lighting. blehk
-studying to be a photographer. i use a nikon d3000 in manual focus macro mode.
(out of order) V
amel on a red background.... taken with a phone.
black striped king on a sheet of paper
white snake on a sheet of paper
black striped king on neutral background

Jaded_Heart · Oct 2, 2012

this was very helpful! I have the hardest time with my Hypo lavender and Coral Snows. But when I put them on a dark background, the flash bleaches them out? I don't have access to a good camera right now, just a point-and-shoot kodak easyshare.

the only time I get good pics of them is when I borrow my boyfriend's Canon Rebel

jessicashallperish · Oct 2, 2012

try something kind of pastel colored, like a light pink pillow case. sometimes when colors are hard to catch on camera, putting them against a similar color brightens it. i have an awful time catching the yellows on my coral snows.

jessicashallperish · Oct 2, 2012

i forgot to add a picture of a light snake on a dark background! OOPS
this is my blizzard, he has a faint pattern that is difficult to capture.
with coral snows, i have had the most luck with no flash in natural light catching their colors, the second pic is my "coral" snow (not proven) Blossum

jessicashallperish · Oct 2, 2012

EDIT:the white snake on the white background is the same snake on the dark background

SnakeAround · Oct 2, 2012

Thanks for the info! I have to admit I just highly prefer sun lit photo's over photo's taken in the shadows or when clouded. For me the problem with a light snake on a dark background in the sun is, that the camera either sets exposure time for dark or light colors, which usually leads to over exposed snakes with litte color. That is why I manually decrease exposure time with one or two steps. This way I finally captured the true colors of my opal:

And my coral snow:

It's a pity these photo's loose sharpness though with every step decreasing exposure time...

Further sometimes finding similar colors for the background brings out the difficult to capture hues, like the steel, almost blueish grey of this corn:

Jafar · Dec 2, 2012

The red colors are also very nice on a black background!

SnakeAround · Dec 3, 2012

Hee leuk, jij ook hier Karlijn?

Motley is met een t

LOL sorry for the Dutch, I just welcomed someone whom bought a snakelet from me

yojoe05 · Dec 4, 2012

Great thread, I know I had trouble at first with my photos looking washed out but then I did the same and started looking at darker backgrounds and they made Rapunzel's colors show a lot better and truer to her natural shades.

tspuckler · Dec 5, 2012

Outdoor photos taken on an overcast day are hard to beat:

Rich Z · Dec 5, 2012

18 percent neutral gray background is your friend.

You can also use colored backgrounds that resolve to 18 percent gray when converted to grayscale. But know how the color of the background will affect the rendition of the coloring of your subject.

SnakeAround · Dec 5, 2012

Nah I prefer sunny days but the snakelets are lovely!

cornbreadandmilk · Dec 9, 2012

i have to hijack this for a moment where did you get this coral snow? looks like my salmon snows .

dave partington · Dec 9, 2012

These 2 taken some with flash some without, and saved at original unaltered size. None of these pictures have been edited. Though a lot were deleted.
Salmon Snow male 1

Salmon Snow male 2

kurasumi · Dec 9, 2012

I'm not very camera savvy--but what about photographing snakes against colors that are complimentary to their scales (ie putting a red snake on a green background, an orange snake on a blue background)? Would that make their colors look more vibrant, or would it dull them down? If you guys think it would help make colors stand out, then I'm snapping some pictures of my little butter motley against a purple backdrop whenever I can.

Clepsydre · Jan 23, 2013

After reading your post i went and took pics of my snakes. I have to say the difference is amazing. Thank you!

diamondlil · Jan 23, 2013

kurasumi said:
I'm not very camera savvy--but what about photographing snakes against colors that are complimentary to their scales (ie putting a red snake on a green background, an orange snake on a blue background)? Would that make their colors look more vibrant, or would it dull them down? If you guys think it would help make colors stand out, then I'm snapping some pictures of my little butter motley against a purple backdrop whenever I can.

Ah, the infamous 'blue bowl' effect! Put a red or orange snake on a blue background or in a blue bowl and you'll love the contrast! I seem to have preferred using green to showcase my Love okeetee's colours

chelzzer · May 22, 2014

diamondlil said:
Ah, the infamous 'blue bowl' effect! Put a red or orange snake on a blue background or in a blue bowl and you'll love the contrast! I seem to have preferred using green to showcase my Love okeetee's colours

I have never heard of this. I'm going to have to try it with my Amel!

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

KvanAalten · May 26, 2014

I guess it depends what lighting you have, if you have a studio set up with studio lighting a light snake on (pure) white can look great too, if you just know how to put your lights

Sadly I don't have any light snakes myself lol.

These might be a good examples though:

11568378-opale-corn-snake-or-red-rat-snake-pantherophis-guttatus-in-front-of-white-background.jpg

depositphotos_10905969-Candy-cane-Corn-Snake-or-Red-Rat-Snake-Pantherophis-guttatus-in-front-of-white-background.jpg

Capturing Colors

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