Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First my own observations:

A bit over-exposed (could probably fix that through software).

Would have been better if I'd gotten ALL of the mulch debris off his face (but he just ate and I didn't want to bother him that much).

Artistically, I lkie having the out-of focus coils as the background. It osrt of suggest there's a lot more than what you're seeing, but it might be a bit too "busy". I haven't decided...

The first pic could have used a bit more depth of field. Out of 15 or so similar shots, this was as close as I got to having the eyes and the nose in focus at once (aperture priority with a small aperture might have helped?)

I'm working on setting up an off-camera flash to reduce some of the obvious flash reflections and maybe add a bit of shadow.

What else might help?

This was with a Nikon 8800 on full auto, using the built in flash, with the snake indoors sitting in a plastic container.

Both are good shots. I like the second one best because the head postion and angle of view work better with the snake's pattern lines. I agree with you about some of the white areas being a little overexposed in the first shot. It is better to underexpose a bit than risk overexposing because once the detail is "whited out" it can't be recovered by post processing.

I think the point of focus is a little misplaced in both shots. In the first one, it looks like the focal plane runs through the first few upper labials and just misses the eyes. In the second, the plane seems to be sharpest on the coil upon which the head is resting. A smaller aperture setting would help, as would manually focusing and using depth-of-field preview to select the position and depth of the focal plane.

Moving the flash off camera and possibly bouncing it off a reflective surface positioned above the snake would give you less harsh lighting than the on-board flash produced here.

Still, these are very nice shots and I enjoyed seeing them.

Cheers,
WK

>>Both are good shots. I like the second one best because the head postion and angle of view work better with the snake's pattern lines.

Now that you mention the pattern, I realize exactly what it is that I didn't like about the first shot. The pattern on the coil behind the head just happened to line up with the sides of the head in a way that make the head seem very indistinct. (I wonder if that might not be an accident...) Not sure how I missed that...

I certainly agree that artistically, the second shot is better. As a herper, what I find fascinating and was trying to capture in the first is the way the eyes are located so that the snake can see "down" with his head back in the classic threat position.

Sort of the oposite of this one:

If I could get the same (first) shot but with his mouth open, I might have soemthing...

Again, thanks for the suggestions.

I agree with WK's comments, particularly regarding focus. You missed the eye bit just a bit, but it is enough to take away from the shot.

You don't need more DOF in the top shot. Less would be effective if the eye was in focus.

My problem with the top shot is that it needs to be rotated a little bit so that the top of the snake is level. It is like having a landscape with a crooked horizon, it just isn't "right".

That white rostral scale really blows out and overexposes if you try to get the rest of the exposure right. This is due to the reflection. The best way to deal with this is as you did in the second picture - get at an angle.

It is certainly good work and I look forward to seeing more from you on here.
-----
Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

>>I agree with WK's comments, particularly regarding focus. You missed the eye bit just a bit, but it is enough to take away from the shot.
>>
>>You don't need more DOF in the top shot. Less would be effective if the eye was in focus.

I didn't like the pic below because I found the out-of-focus nose right in your face very distracting (not to mention the bit of mulch). Other than that, it what I was looking for...

>>My problem with the top shot is that it needs to be rotated a little bit so that the top of the snake is level. It is like having a landscape with a crooked horizon, it just isn't "right".

I forgot to mention that. That was actually how the snake was sitting. If there was a horizon for reference, it might not have been as bad, but since the snake fills the background it just looks like I got the camera crooked.

Hey, I dont have anything to add to what the other guys said. I do however enjoy playing with photoshop so I did the color corrections you mentioned, Sometimes its hard to tell unless you see them next to each other so............Oh, I liked the look of the second pic best as well.

ep

-----
Occupants not paying rent:
1.1. balls
1.1 corns
1 everglades rat
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
2.1 cats