Hello. You should have a look at a good article series about close-up / macro photography linked here. The information there will answer many of the questions you asked.

Most people interested in herp photography want to take close-ups instead of true "macro" photos. Macro, in the truest sense of the word, means photographing at life-size or greater than life-size magnification. At this level, nearly the whole photo is filled with something the size of an eye or a few scales. For general herp close-ups, a macro lens in the 50mm to 105mm range should do the job. If you want to take close-ups of skittish or venomous animals, I recommend a longer focal length macro such as a 180mm or 200mm. I use a 105mm and 180mm. True macro lenses will photograph at life size or "1:1", meaning the space a photographic subject occupies on the digital sensor or film equals the actual size of the subject (for example, a 2 mm scale takes up 2mm of the sensor / film). If you want to get larger than life size, you will have to get additional equipment because you have a Nikon system. Canon makes a lens that goes 5x life unaided.

Anyhow, read the pages linked above. It's a good place to start. Below are some photos showing close-up and true macro herp shots.

Regards,
WK


Macro (twice life size) of grey treefrog eye. Nikon D70, 50mm lens reversed and stacked on a 105mm macro).


Close-up of a female broad-headed skink. I used a 180mm macro to get close enough for this uncropped shot. If I had used my 105mm, the lizard would have scurried off before I could get close enough to produce an image like this.


Close-up of an eastern diamondback. Once again, this is with the 180mm lens. A 105mm would probably have put me at risk for a bite to the hand if I had to get in range to produce this same image with it. This photo is also an example of using a wide aperture to blur the background. Doing this really makes the eye stand out from the busy body pattern behind the snake.

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