Thoughts on classified ad images...

Just kind of curious about everyone else's opinions on classified ad images. Would you be more likely to buy an animal based on an image with a white background like this:
http://www.metalmonkeyexotics.com/bl...20100821-1.jpg

Or with a cypress background like this?

http://www.metalmonkeyexotics.com/bl...3-20100919.jpg

I really like the white background myself, but I also like the cypress background because most people know what cypress looks like and would be able to get a good idea of what the animal's color would look like in person based off of it.

All else being equal, I don't think it would matter much to me. The picture needs to be clear...the snake's pattern easily seen...bright clear and crisp lighting and focus. With those two pictures, I'm drawn more to the first because of the pose, not because of the background. That's just me. :)

To me it depends on the snake, some snakes look great on Cypress Mulch some others do not stand out enough, and I think it's the case here due to the snake color.

I think enchis stand out more on white background than they do on cypress. :gj:

I agree it depends on the snake. For instance, a Pied or a Lucy would be better served with a black background in my op to bring out their uniqueness.

white is really only used to show contrast needed for morphs. Normals look great either way

Don't care. I care more about the snakes color, looks, is it healthy, etc.

What I can't stand are people who put up pics of snakes with stuck sheds or in cages filled with urates/poop or extremely fuzzy out of focus images. You don't have to have a fancy camera, but at least take some in focus shots and not of an unhealthy snake or in a dirty cage.

Though I guess its sort of a good thing as if there's stuck sheds or dirty cages, I know who not to buy from! It's obvious if you can't clean up your snake and its cage to post classified ads, then you're most likely not cleaning it and giving it proper care the rest of the time.

I think if I were showing off my collection, the white background is tops. But when I'm looking at classified ads, I want to see a true representation of the animal. It is my feeling, the cypress background shows you the lighting conditions that the animal was in when the picture was taken. With the white background, you can't tell if it's over-saturated or not to show more color. I know what cypress looks like, I personally would like the pictures on the cypress when browsing your ads.

One example I could give you was a seller on fauna had an ad for an adult female pastel taken in very bad lighting. The seller had in the ad "No picture could capture the true beauty of this pastel." (something like that) I was interested in the animal and asked for more pictures. The one and only other picture the seller sent me was taken outside on a near white driveway.

That picture had a caption like "See how she's kept her colors". His arm was in the picture as well, holding the tub as the picture was taken. The arm was so white that it looked almost transparent. Long story short, he had other animals up that I felt had better represented pictures and asked him to take a picture of the pastel next to another one of his snakes. He finally did and the pastel looked like a normal. He tried all the tricks he could think of to misrepresent the animal for a quick sale.

I'm not saying you would ever do that, but it's something I always keep in the back of my mind now when browsing ads.

I vote for the cypress shot as well, but I do ask when I buy snakes online to shoot a shot of it in natural light outside so I really see the true colors it has.

Thanks for the input everyone. :gj:

If you present a snake nothing can bet good picture made in light tent.... problem is that not all snakes are so cooperative :D:D:D
White background is a way to go in my Opinion... but some snake stand out better on Black background especially albinos all leucistic snakes and snakes with a lots of Yellow like pastels bees and such...
Avoid Blue background.. especially with "yellow snakes" it's really mess with White balance and natural colors... just my 2 cents :)

You can always post pictures on both backgrounds. Most places don't limit your number of pictures to 1.

I tend to use white background on my adds, especially for animals over a hundred dollars or so. But extra requested pics are almost always on aspen, cypress, or in hand. It's more important that the picture is of adequate size, shows what people are most interested in seeing, clear and in focus, and represents the animal accurately.

When I say 'shows what people are most interested in seeing', I mean that depending on morph/species different areas are usually more important to see. When photographing a YB, I like to get the snake to ball up, then flip it over and get the picture with a good bit of the belly showing so you can clearly see the edges of the belly. When photoing a bee I want to get a good side/dorsal shot so the pattern and color are easily visible.