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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