How To Take Awsome Pictures Help

You know those awsome pictures with the solid backgrounds of beautiful snakes you see posted all over the place? They are mostly featured on breeder sites to advertise available animals.

I was wondering how you get that solid background and get the lighting so perfect? I was wanting to take some pics of my two new babies since my fiance and I will be putting together little scrapbooks of our pets soon. We've got pics of our cats, but not too many good ones of our snakes.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

You know those awsome pictures with the solid backgrounds of beautiful snakes you see posted all over the place? They are mostly featured on breeder sites to advertise available animals.

I was wondering how you get that solid background and get the lighting so perfect? I was wanting to take some pics of my two new babies since my fiance and I will be putting together little scrapbooks of our pets soon. We've got pics of our cats, but not too many good ones of our snakes.

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I use a solid black background with a 3200K GE bulb for lighting and then take out most of the rest with photoshop.

I talked to WetCeal the other day about her setup...here's her response

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Thank you for the compliments on the photos. The background I was shooting on is expanded PVC sheets that Sean uses to build cages with. I had him cut me a 2x2 piece in black and white so that I can switch it up when necessary.

I find that this particular background works very well. I used to use melamine but it is much heavier/bulkier and also creates a little too much of a reflection from the flash underneath the animal (in my opinion).

As for the camera stuff, I use a Nikon D200 which is one of the higher end Nikons. The D40 and D80 are both fantastic cameras as well if you're looking for a more affordable DSLR camera. I have friends that have both so I have played around a little bit with those two cameras and was pleased with the results they gave me.

I use a Nikon Nikkor 60mm macro lens for almost all of my photographs. This is an incredibly good, sharp lens and you really don't need anything else except maybe a wide angel for larger snakes like adult Boas, etc. The 60mm macro is perfect for baby Ball Pythons, Boas, and Colubrids.

For lighting, I only rely on my speedlight which is a Nikon SB-800. There's also the Nikon SB-600. From what I was told, the main difference is that the SB-800 is more powerful than the SB-600. This is what I believe is the most important part of my setup. I use the same speedlight for photos that I take here at our facility as I do at the show and it's really all I need.

Along with the speedlight, I use a diffuser that is made by Gary Fong. This is a fantastic piece of equipment. It's only $50 and is a soft, flexible piece of plastic that just slides over the flash head. It really works well to diffuse the light from the flash so that you do not have the colors on the animals washed out from over exposure. Here is the link to his website where he sells the diffuser. It is called the Lightsphere and I use the clear one...

http://store.garyfonginc.com/liiido.html

I shoot all of my photos on Aperature priority so that I can get the depth of field. Because I shoot on a large F number (anywhere between F13 up to F16), you need a lot of light. That's where my speedlight comes into play.

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Also, I read a review on the D200 (which is what she uses), vs the D80, vs the D40. I've decided that the D40 is my best bet for entry level professional photography. Here's my wishlist from B&H Video
https://secure.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/...&li=205EB10836

I'm also getting the Gary Fong Lightsphere...so i'm looking at $1,000 for entry level professional photography...Not bad at all.

The two most important things on my wish list are the SB-600 and the Lightsphere...Lighting is EVERYTHING.

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Originally Posted by nathanledet

Also, I read a review on the D200 (which is what she uses), vs the D80, vs the D40. I've decided that the D40 is my best bet for entry level professional photography. Here's my wishlist from B&H Video
https://secure.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/...&li=205EB10836

I'm also getting the Gary Fong Lightsphere...so i'm looking at $1,000 for entry level professional photography...Not bad at all.

The two most important things on my wish list are the SB-600 and the Lightsphere...Lighting is EVERYTHING.

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That is a wicked cool camera eh!
Not that bad of a price really either!

Get er done!
I might need to start saving for that thing too... So much to buy, so little moolah!

I was thinking of taking a photography class next semester if its offered. I've never taken pictures other than taking my little $300 digital camera outside to take pictures of nature or of my pets.

These are some of the best photos my digital camera has ever taken.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Spring004.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Plants002.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...ake/Zim007.jpg

I was thinking of getting a better camera after taking a photography class and start taking pictures of animals and nature has a hobby. I love taking pictures, but I'm just not that good at it yet.

Diffusers are a *MUST* for flashes. Here is a photo I took using a Canon Speedlite and a diffuser. It's a $15 Sto-fen instead of a $50 Fong but it works just as well for what I need it to do.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y10..._MG_7394-1.jpg

Where can you get diffusers?

Jay_Bunny that pic of the rose is Awesome!!!! I love it!! All the colors in it and all....Beautiful!!

Thanks! :D

I take a lot of nature pictures. I try to take my camera wherever I go, but right now my fiance has it. We had been taking pics of snakes the other day and still haven't gotten it back. :P

Does anyone know where I can find a really nice but not so expensive camera. I'm going to Best Buy hopefully this week to take a look as some.