The originals are a bit flat, but that "improved" one is a little past reality in my opinion.

One thing that would help your originals is to use the background to set the white balance. In Photoshop, there is a "Remove Color Cast" option. Take that eyedropper and click on the background. It will make it white and brighten up the snakes considerably. Then maybe increase the contrast a little (don't go crazy here) and your animal photos will look like they do in life.

Chris
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas