Photo tips?

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Originally Posted by YoshiBP

Question, anyone know if the camera flash hurts their eyes?

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I would expect so. If you have the area lit well enough, you don't need a flash (and the colors usually stay truer without flash, in my experience).

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Originally Posted by Furf

I have been looking for some info for you. And depending on size -

Originally Posted by CeraDigitalhttp://ball-pythons.net/forums/image...post-right.pngTake a bowl, and put it in the refrigerator.... let it get cool, not cold. Take the snake out and put it on the backdrop. Set the bowl over it and let them sit for a few. Have someone pull the bowl off while you get ready to snap your pictures. The snake should sit still long enough to get a good 5-10 shots off

Another thing about the glass. Is your local fabric shop get the color back drop. Get a piece of glass that is big enough and put the snake on the glass and shoot from there.. .This is all from what I learned a while ago for photography shoots. Just trying to give you a bit of advice. I could be way off though.

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Take a bowl, and put it in the refrigerator.... let it get cool, not cold. Take the snake out and put it on the backdrop. Set the bowl over it and let them sit for a few

this is something I would never do to one of my ball pythons. if the snake won't sit still, the picture isn't worth it.

I also would not cool my snake to make it sit still.


Backdrops people use a piece of White foam board like you would use to make a poster project for school - you get them at CVS in the pens and paper area. I use a sheet because I like to have the shadows and shapes of the fabric show how dark or lit the picture is - I think it gives a nice comparison to see that the photos aren't altered and there is no flash.

To get them to sit still... take them out during the day when they're sleeping and it's light out. If they start to cruise around, take your flat palm and come in front of the snake and just touch your palm to the tip of their nose. Almost every ball python's reaction is to jerk their head back and hold still for 5 seconds or so. Scramble like hell and take the shot before they start cruising again. If you watch any of the big breeders on YouTube highlighting their snakes, they use this move to make sure the snakes don't cruise off the table they're displayed on.

For getting the whole snake in focus you need a macro lens and very good lighting, then you turn the aperture to a high number (smaller opening since it's a fraction). Check this out

With a high aperture # (actually a lower aperture) the camera won't take the picture without adequate light so having very powerful lights is important or you can go outside on a sunny day and do the same. Set the aperture to like 11+ and you should get the whole snake in focus.

High aperture setting, bright light, and a sheet for the bigger snakes.

If brighter light isn't an option, you can decrease the ISO setting, but that tends to result in some grainier pics.

Basically, the answer is bright light. I do not put bowls in the fridge, but I do put containers over them. Handling them for a while (10 - 20 min) to tire them out a bit also can help, OR have everything ready as soon as you take them out of the cage, and put them down in exactly the position they were in while in the cage. If they haven't woken up fully yet, they'll sit there for a few minutes before they start to move.

Lastly, for active snakes, you can grab the last 1/4 of the body (just before the tail) and gently, nicely, and kindly, loop them in a circle until they sit there for a minute. It results in a picture that looks like this position:
http://lllreptile.com/load-image/Sto...ge/image/10907

If they don't readily sit still like that, the best thing to do is handle them for a bit, and then try again with the circling until they sit still. Takes patience, but it can be done :)

This was another picture I know the looping technique to position the snake was used on, it sat like this for a minute or two before moving forward again:
http://lllreptile.com/load-image/Sto...ge/image/10619

This one - the snake was literally scooped up out of the cage sitting like this, put on the ground for pics, then placed back in the cage before it had even really started to move much. :)
http://lllreptile.com/load-image/Sto...ge/image/10966

For most pics I take, I assume if I haven't gotten the shot in the first 5 to 10 minutes of having the snake out, unless I feel like handling it for quite some time to get it ready to sit still, I'm not gonna get the pic I want. Try again in a day or two.

-Jen

Just pointing out in no way would I chill my snakes. But that is just what I found on another thread on this forum.

Thank you Jen for that info.

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