So with all the new snakes around the room I decided I needed to make something that could work as a blank background without reflecting my light and since the new snakes are Carpets, I needed a perch to support the snake and keep it still.

For those who are photographing ball pythons that love to sit still, this setup is not geared for you, for those who are supporters of Morelia, this may be what you're looking for to photograph your next clutch for presentation.

The setup is simple, so here's what I did. All in all $10 worth of supplies, results will vary based on your camera quality and equipment accessories (flash guns, triggers, etc). First thing you need is a science presentation board, you can get them typically at walmart and its basically a trifold piece of cardboard, 36" by 48" over all I believe. Next you'll need to purchase 5 ft or so of 3 ft wide dark fabric that is NOT shinny, and does not have fibers that stick out. I grabbed some black material that was used for I'm guessing sheets of some sort, at least this is what the texture reminded me of. Last thing you need to pick up is a 1/2"-1" Wooden Dowel, your choice will vary. These will come in 36" lengths.

Staple or glue the black fabric to the cardboard. This will be your muted background that will end up being invisible when light is bounced around properly. Make sure you have it "tight" but not too tight. you need to be able to shut the cardboard into a 90 degree angle, so it has to have some give. But not too much or you will end up with wrinkles which MAY reflect poorly and give you spots in your background you'll have to touch up in post process.

Cut a hole in each side of the two flaps about 2/3 of the way up in the middle of the flap. This hole needs to be only big enough to fit your dowel, no bigger or the perch becomes loose. Stick the dowel through the wholes and allow the setup to stand on its own. There you have it, your own perch photo box for Morelia!



The finished product



One of my first shots from this set up!



Straight from the camera, only cropped a touch for a more centered image and resized with watermark.

Now, can you expect the same results? Well, yes and no really. Once you have the background in place and a snake on a perch thats far enough from the background to work with, you need to light it up with a flash. Here's the position I shot it. . .



I pulled the diffuser back so it was not in place, and pulled the bounce forward with the flash pointed straight up (for the first shot, the second shot it was bounced up and right off the right wall then ceiling). With a powerful flash and a good bit of trial and error to dial in your exposure, this set up should favor you well. Here's the rest of the technical junk to keep it helpful.

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Canon 17-40mm F/4L USM
Flash: Canon 580exii
Tripod? - No

Settings:

ISO 200, F/14, Exposure (shutter speed) 1/250, Focal 40mm

Image was shot in RAW and cropped / centered using Adobe Lightroom 3/4.

Any questions let me know, if there's one thing I love almost as much as my reptiles, it's photography, PM me, leave a comment, something! And I'll try and get back with you as I can!

Cheers and happy shooting!