snakes and people

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tony09uk

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Tony
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Hi all, i have been photographing landscapes for a few years now but in a few days i am going to photograpgh reptiles(mainly snakes). The owner and his son (age 5ish) seem to be up to be up for being part of the shots.

I am looking to try and find any tips or ideas anyone has to help me out? I have a few ideas on what im going to do.

I will be taking my speedlite and a halogen workmans light as well as a reflector.

So any thoughts will be greatly appriciated.

Many thanks.
 
That sound a bit close for me,had my ups & down with snakes.

Many years ago was doing some work,photographing them in Thailand,let just say those Cobras can move fast :D
 
simonblue said:
That sound a bit close for me,had my ups & down with snakes.

Many years ago was doing some work,photographing them in Thailand,let just say those Cobras can move fast :D
Click to expand...

I tried photographing a Pit Viper in Borneo with a 50mm - couldn't steady my hand lol :p

Wouldn't be going anywhere near a Cobra either!

I'm guessing we are talking pet snakes?
 
Going to shift this over to Talk Nature, see if we can get more response there for you
 
What type of snakes and how big ?
50mm shouldn't be a problem if the are kept as pets
Your looking to have them in natural poses or draped on the owners ?
Someone on here has snakes and often puts pictures up
 
There are restrictions on keeping hot/dangerous snakes in the UK, and the owner wants to include a child in some of the shots, so I don't think there will be anything to worry about there.

Most snakes have very poor eyesight - they rely on scent, vibration and, in some cases, their heat sensors to detect prey - but they do respond to movement. Let them settle down and move very slowly if you want them to keep still.

A 50mm should be fine, although something around 80 - 100mm might be better as it will let you stay back and there's less risk of agitating the animal. The usual rules of wildlife photography apply, focus on the head and particularly the eyes if your aperture doesn't give you much DOF. I don't know about flash, I've never used it to photograph snakes, and I've no idea how they would react. Try it, but be prepared to shoot using natural light?
 
I should said they are pets. The owner has a good selection and i want to try a variation of shots. The shoot is tonight. I will let you know how it goes and put some shots up to show some of the better images.

I will have a few tests with the flash and stand back, i dont fancy annoying them lol
 
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