Fully body mount, sheep (taxidermy)

This is from my first taxidermy shoot I have ever done. Was hired to do work for their web site and advertising so this is new ground for me.... It was a lot more fun that I thought it would be. This particular shop does mounts for clients world wide so it is somewhat of a privilege for them to ask me to do their work. I have a lot of learning to do here so I hope this is a good starting point.
This sheep was from a local draw in the canyons close to here.

A beautiful mount and nice photography Stacy. I can see where that would be a fun experience and a great learning experience. Post more when you can.

Thanks Terry tomorrow is a full body mount cat(mnt lion) I will add a couple more shots to this thread It appears this may not be for everyone and I understand that.

Stacy, I think that is a wonderfully done photo!

I love the black background; it reminds me of the photos of mounted specimens I would see in the Jonas Bros. taxidermy catalogues I would page thru as a kid.

One thing that seems a bit awkward is the way the base seems to be floating in space. But I realize that you are shooting for them, and must do so to their specifications, and probably have little choice in such matters. They could easily crop some of the bottom off, so that the very bottom of the base is not seen........if such is the case, then it's certainly best for yu to have photographed it as you did, so as to give them more to work with.

Is this a Rocky Mountain Bighorn, or a Cali Bighorn? I realize that your area has the R.M. subspecies, but I ask because the characteristics of the horns are so much like those of the Cali bighorns that roam around here in eastern WA.

Interesting stuff Stacy, makes me start thinking about how to show case the mounts. very cool

Tom, first off thank you for the positive comments. They were pretty flexible on the way I did the photos but the stand I had to work with was not. So I am building a custom stand (I fabricate for a full time job) and this will allow or give me a more flexible way to shoot. With that said I have some photo's that are cropped as you mention further up on the base. This particular photo is done like this to show their workmanship on the base. I guess thats the edit I should of shown here?

This ram is a California big horn sheep and a trophy at that. We do have both, this particular sheep was taken about 45min drive from where I live and as mentioned the workman ship of this mount was simply stellar.

This was a complete learning curve Jeff, lighting to get the right effect, and what the client wanted was the hardest. But this is defiantly a lot of fun. Tomorrow is a full life sized Mnt Lion.

Nice work

Again....Nicely done!

Thank you all... appreciated

How do you get him to stand still like that ,..... lol

Its tricky Jef but i WILL let you in on a secret it starts with a cordless screw gun. lol. On a positive note since this is a bass pro shop mount I got a free trip to photograph more out of it.