Testing Out the New Light Tent

Hey everyone! I'm itching to take pictures this weekend. Since the hatchlings are thiiiiiiiis close to their first shed, but haven't yet :rolleyes:, my 0.1 Banana Spider got to be the guinea pig for my new light tent. What do you think?
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...Shy%20Girl.jpg
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...ous%20Girl.jpg

Great photos and georgous model, how big is she?

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Originally Posted by CrazyPiston

Great photos and georgous model, how big is she?

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Thanks! She's ~500 grams and growing like a weed.

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Originally Posted by Eric Alan

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...ous%20Girl.jpg

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"Yes! An escape route, I has found one!"

Love that second pic. Can't wait for more baby pictures though :gj:

Looks great!

Well done!

Love that pose BTW. :)

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Originally Posted by das_nooblet

"Yes! An escape route, I has found one!"

Love that second pic. Can't wait for more baby pictures though :gj:

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Me too - it shows off her personality incredibly well. :P

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Originally Posted by John1982

Looks great!

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Thanks!

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Well done!

Love that pose BTW. :)

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I appreciate it. I'm getting pretty good at making my cheap little camera work for me. We worked on that pose for the better part of the afternoon. ;) :rolleyes: :D

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Originally Posted by CrazyPiston

Great photos and georgous model, how big is she?

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X2, great photos and beautiful snake!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did you make the tent yourself or buy it from somewhere? The pictures turned out fantastic! Pretty girl too!

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Originally Posted by Megg

X2, great photos and beautiful snake!

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Thanks! :)

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Originally Posted by ratchet

Did you make the tent yourself or buy it from somewhere? The pictures turned out fantastic! Pretty girl too!

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Tents are pretty cheap (less than $30), so I didn't see a reason to take the time to build one. The lights are really the key to making the pictures though. Those were ~$100, but obviously well worth it IMO. :gj:

Needa get me one of those!!! I looove spider nanners!!!

Oh my beautiful

Great pics.

When I first saw this thread I thought we were going to discuss ultra light backpacking gear, haha. Great pics though

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Originally Posted by h00blah

Needa get me one of those!!! I looove spider nanners!!!

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Yeah - I finally jumped at the chance when I saw this girl was available. I absolutely adore her. :wuv:

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Originally Posted by midnightLeo

Oh my beautiful

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Why thank you!

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Originally Posted by Mr.Spence

Great pics.

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Much appreciated. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

When I first saw this thread I thought we were going to discuss ultra light backpacking gear, haha. Great pics though

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I don't think she'd be a practical choice for a backpacking buddy. Let me run it by her though - she seems curious enough. :P

Great pictures!

Awesome pics! What lights are you using if you don't mind my asking?

Picture looks great. The snake's color really pops and your background is a real clean white. Nice!

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Originally Posted by Jay Mechtly

Great pictures!

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Thanks, Jay!

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Originally Posted by Chkadii

Awesome pics! What lights are you using if you don't mind my asking?

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Thank you. It's a 5500K lighting kit I found on Amazon which included the bulbs, reflectors, and stands for ~$100.

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Originally Posted by Slowcountry Balls

Picture looks great. The snake's color really pops and your background is a real clean white. Nice!

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Thanks! That clean white background is a piece of 50 cent white posterboard in a $30 light tent. Real high tech stuff goin' on over here. ;)

Since a few people have asked, here is the rundown on how I am able to get these kinds of results without breaking the bank. Just like everything in life, you have to know where you want to end up and make a plan to get you there. Hopefully this helps you do just that!

The equipment:

• Camera: Nikon COOLPIX L110 (an inexpensive point and shoot I received as a gift years ago)
• Tripod: Brandless 60" Aluminum Tripod
• Light Tent: NEEWER 20" Cube Tent
• Lighting: Fovitec StudioPRO 450W Continuous 5500K Reflector Kit
• Background: Staples White Posterboard, 22" x 28" (trimmed down to 19.5" wide)
• Flat Surface: Totally Bamboo Kauai Cutting Board (under the background to ensure a flat surface)
• Color Balancing Software: GIMP (yes, there's a learning curve - it's simple once you get used to it)
• Photo Editing Software: Inkscape (yes, there's a learning curve - it's simple once you get used to it)
• Watermark Software: FastStone Image Viewer (yes, there's a learning curve - there's also a thread on this site to help)

The educational tools:

• Reptile Photography 101 by Anthony Caponetto
• Best camera settings for indoor still life photography by Digital Camera World
• Ten Product Photography Tips by Smick.co.uk

The reality:

• I only have auto-focus mode - no manual control at all in these pictures.
• I don't have any additional lenses - just the original camera and that's it.
• The only setting that I can actually fully control on my camera is ISO, which I have set at 100.
• I also have some control over the white balance, which I set to the "Daylight" setting.
• I have almost no control over the shutter speed, but it usually ends up in the 1/60-1/100 range (which it chooses itself when it focuses).
• I have almost no control over the aperture. The camera only allows for 3.5-5.4, and usually ends up in the 4.0 range (which it chooses itself when it focuses).
• Once I have these things "set", I take a ton of pictures and pick out a few that I want to work with.
• Once I sort through the pictures I like, I use GIMP to quickly white balance one of them and then apply that setting to the rest of the shots in the session.
• I then use Inscape to crop the images to the size I want and make sure the background is a crisp 255 white.
• Finally, I add my watermark by batch converting the finished pictures in FastStone.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...nt%20Setup.jpg

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Originally Posted by Eric Alan

Since a few people have asked, here is the rundown on how I am able to get these kinds of results without breaking the bank. Just like everything in life, you have to know where you want to end up and make a plan to get you there. Hopefully this helps you do just that!

The equipment:

• Camera: Nikon COOLPIX L110 (an inexpensive point and shoot I received as a gift years ago)
• Tripod: Brandless 60" Aluminum Tripod
• Light Tent: NEEWER 20" Cube Tent
• Lighting: Fovitec StudioPRO 450W Continuous 5500K Reflector Kit
• Background: Staples White Posterboard, 22" x 28" (trimmed down to 19.5" wide)
• Flat Surface: Totally Bamboo Kauai Cutting Board (under the background to ensure a flat surface)
• Color Balancing Software: GIMP (yes, there's a learning curve - it's simple once you get used to it)
• Photo Editing Software: Inkscape (yes, there's a learning curve - it's simple once you get used to it)
• Watermark Software: FastStone Image Viewer (yes, there's a learning curve - there's also a thread on this site to help)

The educational tools:

• Reptile Photography 101 by Anthony Caponetto
• Best camera settings for indoor still life photography by Digital Camera World
• Ten Product Photography Tips by Smick.co.uk

The reality:

• I only have auto-focus mode - no manual control at all in these pictures.
• I don't have any additional lenses - just the original camera and that's it.
• The only setting that I can actually fully control on my camera is ISO, which I have set at 100.
• I also have some control over the white balance, which I set to the "Daylight" setting.
• I have almost no control over the shutter speed, but it usually ends up in the 1/60-1/100 range (which it chooses itself when it focuses).
• I have almost no control over the aperture. The camera only allows for 3.5-5.4, and usually ends up in the 4.0 range (which it chooses itself when it focuses).
• Once I have these things "set", I take a ton of pictures and pick out a few that I want to work with.
• Once I sort through the pictures I like, I use GIMP to quickly white balance one of them and then apply that setting to the rest of the shots in the session.
• I then use Inscape to crop the images to the size I want and make sure the background is a crisp 255 white.
• Finally, I add my watermark by batch converting the finished pictures in FastStone.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...nt%20Setup.jpg

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You are a national treasure. Thanks for sharing!