My first post w/picture to boot! Please critique...

[DanStephens]

This is Cottonball....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ddotspot/CottonBall/Kisses2.jpg

[Rob_K1]

The reflection off the glass let's it down for me.

[DanStephens]

Ummm...that was the point of the shot :/

[Rob_K1]

It was?
The reflection isn't strong enough and there is a lot of light reflection in that area too to suggest that (maybe put some dark card at the side of the tank)

[DanStephens]

good idea, thanks! I will have to try that next time :D

[PhotosGuy]

Either way works for me. I'd crop a bit off the left side.

[DanStephens]

Either way works for me. I'd crop a bit off the left side.

Thanks, I wasn't sure whether to keep a little bit of the 'doorway' of the coconut, or cut it out all together.

[MCB]

Thanks, I wasn't sure whether to keep a little bit of the 'doorway' of the coconut, or cut it out all together.

I didn't realize it was supposed to be a doorway until you mentioned it. I think you can do without it.

I like the idea of the black material outside the glass. That will really help your reflection.

If this is your pet, you're insane!! No, just kidding. But if you have access to it all the time, playing around with the lighting could be fun. Not that there's anything wrong with your lighting. It just seems like a snake and some moody lighting could yield interesting results.

Does it remain motionless for 2-5 seconds at a time? Maybe having a very dim light (omnidirectional maybe, like a candle? don't want to burn him though) in that back corner or out of site somewhere, and then a long exposure would be neat. The shadows could be nice, and you might catch more glistening scales. Just a though. :)

[DanStephens]

If this is your pet, you're insane!! No, just kidding.

Haha, I'm afraid you're right. I am insane. She is my pet and I have quite a few more than just her. :confused: They do make for great/interesting pictures!

But if you have access to it all the time, playing around with the lighting could be fun. Not that there's anything wrong with your lighting. It just seems like a snake and some moody lighting could yield interesting results.

Does it remain motionless for 2-5 seconds at a time? Maybe having a very dim light (omnidirectional maybe, like a candle? don't want to burn him though) in that back corner or out of site somewhere, and then a long exposure would be neat. The shadows could be nice, and you might catch more glistening scales. Just a though. :)

Yes they tend to remain motionless for extended periods of time. I have another snake that will twist his head into weird positions and just stare out the glass...frozen. I will try some extended exposure shots to see what I get. Its a little difficult getting a good shot through glass, but that's one thing I'm learning :)

Thanks for the comments! I'm sure you'll see many more snake's here in the near future :D

I just got my S2 yesterday...and I've been going nuts with taking pictures.


Dan

[mrclark321]

Welcome to the forum and nice first post. Like to see a retry with a dark material on the other side of the glass.

Dan

[PhotosGuy]

Thanks, I wasn't sure whether to keep a little bit of the 'doorway' of the coconut, or cut it out all together. Depends on if it's an "enviroment" pic, or a "Snake reflection" pic? ;-)

[DanStephens]

lol, maybe I was trying to make it a bit of both :/

[Rob_K1]

Just had another thought to make it a bit 'arty.'
As commented lose some on the left and make it more symmetrical then try inverting the reflection of the snake (or crop another reflection of it) so that it is still obviously a reflection to us but, just as the snake sees it, it is a different one.
Think that makes sense :s

[Andy_T]

The only thing that strikes me is that I was expecting something a little bit furrier because of the title of the thread :lol:

Otherwise ... nice picture ... for an oversized worm :p

Best regards,
Andy

[Feihung08]

This is a good picture just for the fact that you can't tell it's shot through a glass pane. I actually like your avatar picture better except the big shadow falling off it's head. Try some more of those 'low level' shots with more direct "non-flash" lighting. Kinda like what the others are talking about to make it more 'moody'. Or if the snake is docile enough, take it outside to some more 'real world' environments for waaaaaay better images! Like maybe find a tree that has some 'low limbs' (don't want you having to climb or anything ;)) to wrap it around, or lay flat in some grass in front of the snake so that it's coming towards the camera or find a run down shack/building/garage as it's overall white appearance would be best suited for some dark settings/lighting. Just some suggestions of course! Keep posting them!!

[DanStephens]

This is a good picture just for the fact that you can't tell it's shot through a glass pane. I actually like your avatar picture better except the big shadow falling off it's head. Try some more of those 'low level' shots with more direct "non-flash" lighting. Kinda like what the others are talking about to make it more 'moody'. Or if the snake is docile enough, take it outside to some more 'real world' environments for waaaaaay better images! Like maybe find a tree that has some 'low limbs' (don't want you having to climb or anything ;)) to wrap it around, or lay flat in some grass in front of the snake so that it's coming towards the camera or find a run down shack/building/garage as it's overall white appearance would be best suited for some dark settings/lighting. Just some suggestions of course! Keep posting them!!

Yes good suggestion, I plan on taking a few of them outside to take some pics. The danger in putting them in grass is that you never know what kind of ground holes they may find to slither down. They can be very fast also when they want to :)

The picture in my avatar is not the same snake as the one in the picture. That shadow is distracting I know, I've been trying for better angles and I'm still trying to figure out my new camera. :D Thanks all for your great comments and suggestions! You've given me some good ideas.

Dan

[Feihung08]

The danger in putting them in grass is that you never know what kind of ground holes they may find to slither down.I forgot to mention that I would suggest someone holding onto the 'tail' (think "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin) for those grass and ground shots, and getting some pics of head at a low level as to cut them out.

I used to have a Red Tailed Boa myself, so I was able to relate to this! But I haven't seen her since she escaped out of her tank about 8 years ago!