Photography methods, anyone?

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I set up my camera on a tripod, use close-up overhead lighting, a plain piece of white cardstock as a background, and a solid plastic bowl. I get my camera set up with the correct white balance and ISO, and put the gecko under the bowl on the white paper. After the gecko settles down, I lift the bowl and snap-snap-snap. My pics aren't the best out there, but at least they do give a very good representation of the geckos!

 

[jakemyster44]

I havnt taken any photos with light boxes and such, but I will let mine crawl around (usually on my desk) and I put the desk light about 6" off the desk, they like the heat and sit still under it. I lift the light away and snap my photos. I also will just plave them on a prop (like my avatar image) and take alot of pictures, lol. THat method involves patience, and lots of it!

 

[adhdkarate]

i actually handhold my camera, 30D with external flash, I actually use the flash to bounch light off the ceiling to provide ample lighting. however, i had not thought of using halogen lighting for that, thanks Nats, I may definitely try that. My lizards are actually my first foray into "product photography" i'm used to doing action photography.

 

[thestack510]

If I have to stress my animal to get a picture, forget it, #1 would be out of the question for me.

I wouldn't say that I stress my animals for pictures. I don't see anything wrong with letting them explore a little bit, they are very curious animals. I handle each one periodically, so that they gain some familiarity with human interaction. I haven't had one drop its tail, or show any sign of stress.

 

[thestack510]

I'm thinking of making a photo booth of sorts in order to get some good pics. I may make a boxed in stage with some chunks of granite or black slate so I don't run the risk of one of my babies pulling off the great escape. I think using black slate will look nice and the geckos colors will show up best against black. What do you think of this idea?

 

[adhdkarate]

sounds like a great idea to me, just make sure you have plenty of available light. remember, the camera can compensate for too much light, but it's hard to get a great photo with not enough light.

 

[thestack510]

I'll probably leave the top open to allow for lighting. It will take some trial and error.

 

[bleeding_sarcasm]

put it in the fridge.


Hahha. just kidding. I yell obscenities at them, threaten to throw them into the wall/pull off their tails/feed them to my cat, and generally scare them into submission.

Actually, i let them do what they want, and wait for them to hold still. If a gecko isnt co-operating, then I try a different one.

 

[metaldad904]

I have tried several time to get nice shots of them through the glass, and it just does not work. All out of focus!
Maybe the glass is screwing up the auto-focus?
Can anyone give me any tips?

I subscribe to the method of try, try try and try again. When i'm doing a photo session I tend to take somewhere around 100 pics in less than half an hour. Sometimes there are several pics that are almost identical in every way, but that half a second difference could mean the difference btwn good and bad focus, lighting and all that jazz. I've used several types of cameras & a lot depends on the lens capabilities. A couple Kodak's (including the one i'm using now) and another that is my mom's but for the life of me I can't recall what it was (I wanna say Canon DCS or something like that), it was ridiculously strong in regards to the lens. I always got killer macro shots & it was a huge clunker of a camera. As for taking pics through glass, it is possible to get some good ones but is a huge pain & you have to be really patient b/c it's harder to get the right focus & i've noticed light bounces off of it really easy & messes everything up. The picture below I actually took through glass, I just so happened to wander into my spider area & saw my big girl cleaning her fangs & took advantage...now it's my avatar lol.