Herping/reptile photography

[Flexxx]

Gday, who hear is into herping or reptile photography? Want to show off some of your shots? Any tips criticism ideas welcome! Any and all help is appreciated. Please share your pics as well, pets wild anything you'd like to share with everyone

 

[richyboa72]

Fantastic pics

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[Herpetology]

@Nero Egernia @nick_75 both have amazing albums!

 

[baker]

You've got some good photos there. A piece of advice though, keep an eye on your shutter speed. A couple of your shots, while nicely framed, have a bit of shake in them and this is often due to your shutter speed being a bit to slow. General rule of thumb is you want your shutter speed to be at least your focal length when hand holding (i.e. with a 100 mm lens, you wouldn't really want to go below 1/125). This is just a general rule though, and it is certainly possible to go lower than this and get awesome images. You just need to pay attention to what you're doing and how you're holding you camera to keep everything steady. Another tip as well, when photographing reptiles (and any wildlife photography really) is to always try and aim to have the eye of the animal sharp and in focus. The eye is just one of those points that people are innately drawn to in images, and it can be the difference between an alright shot and an amazing one.

There used to be quite a few field herpers and photographers who used to share their shots on here, however most seem to have gone to other platforms in recent years. Not sure how many others will put up their own photos on here, but here's some of my more recent shots at least.

Estuarine crocodile by Cameron Baker, on Flickr

Eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) by Cameron Baker, on Flickr

Narrow banded sand swimmer (Eremiascincus fasciolatus) by Cameron Baker, on Flickr

Cheers, Cameron

 

[Flexxx]

You've got some good photos there. A piece of advice though, keep an eye on your shutter speed. A couple of your shots, while nicely framed, have a bit of shake in them and this is often due to your shutter speed being a bit to slow. General rule of thumb is you want your shutter speed to be at least your focal length when hand holding (i.e. with a 100 mm lens, you wouldn't really want to go below 1/125). This is just a general rule though, and it is certainly possible to go lower than this and get awesome images. You just need to pay attention to what you're doing and how you're holding you camera to keep everything steady. Another tip as well, when photographing reptiles (and any wildlife photography really) is to always try and aim to have the eye of the animal sharp and in focus. The eye is just one of those points that people are innately drawn to in images, and it can be the difference between an alright shot and an amazing one.

There used to be quite a few field herpers and photographers who used to share their shots on here, however most seem to have gone to other platforms in recent years. Not sure how many others will put up their own photos on here, but here's some of my more recent shots at least.

Estuarine crocodile by Cameron Baker, on Flickr

Eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) by Cameron Baker, on Flickr

Narrow banded sand swimmer (Eremiascincus fasciolatus) by Cameron Baker, on Flickr

Cheers, Cameron

Awsome advice and awsome pics! I struggled with composition for too long so was probably focussing far too much on that haha. Good points for me to start working on, ill definitely take all your advice onboard and continue to try to progress my pics in this hobby.
Cheers again i realy appreciate you putting in the time to help me [emoji108]

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[Flaviemys purvisi]

I'm not a photographer but I snap turtles with my phone (Samsung Galaxy S10+) when I'm out in the field checking up on them. Spotted some basking Emydura signata today on a log at West Creek in Toowoomba.

 

[Nero Egernia]

@Nero Egernia @nick_75 both have amazing albums!

Thanks for the mention, Herptology.

Cameron has given some great advice. It's definitely something worth taking into account. Although it's not mandatory, try to get a shot of the subject's eye that reflects the light. It gives it that much more "life". One more thing that I've learned in my photography journey is that lighting is very important. Great or terrible lighting has the power to make or break an otherwise good shot with good focus and composition. When you're out in the field, you'll often have to rely on natural lighting. That is, unless you have invested in further equipment or if you can be bothered lugging it about in the bush. Do some experimenting with the different settings on your camera and lighting conditions that either nature or technology can provide. You'll get many different results.

I've posted these photos before, but I'll group them under which lighting conditions they were taken in.

To start things off; artificial lighting in a studio setting.

Pixie South-west Carpet Python by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Woma Python (Aspidites ramsayi) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Black Headed Monitor (Varanus tristis tristis) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Natural lighting, overcast conditions.

South-west Carpet Python (Morelia imbricata) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Northern Blue Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Northern Blue Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Natural lighting, unaltered sunlight.

Northern Blue Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Bobtail Lizard (Tiliqua rugosa rugosa) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

King's Skink (Egernia kingii) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

A combination of natural and artificial lighting (camera flash).

Northern Blue Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Rainbow Serpent by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Western Bearded Dragon (Pogona minor) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Hope this helps.

 

[Flexxx]

Thanks for the mention, Herptology.

Cameron has given some great advice. It's definitely something worth taking into account. Although it's not mandatory, try to get a shot of the subject's eye that reflects the light. It gives it that much more "life". One more thing that I've learned in my photography journey is that lighting is very important. Great or terrible lighting has the power to make or break an otherwise good shot with good focus and composition. When you're out in the field, you'll often have to rely on natural lighting. That is, unless you have invested in further equipment or if you can be bothered lugging it about in the bush. Do some experimenting with the different settings on your camera and lighting conditions that either nature or technology can provide. You'll get many different results.

I've posted these photos before, but I'll group them under which lighting conditions they were taken in.

To start things off; artificial lighting in a studio setting.

Pixie South-west Carpet Python by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Woma Python (Aspidites ramsayi) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Black Headed Monitor (Varanus tristis tristis) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Natural lighting, overcast conditions.

South-west Carpet Python (Morelia imbricata) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Northern Blue Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Northern Blue Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Natural lighting, unaltered sunlight.

Northern Blue Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Bobtail Lizard (Tiliqua rugosa rugosa) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

King's Skink (Egernia kingii) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

A combination of natural and artificial lighting (camera flash).

Northern Blue Tongue (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Rainbow Serpent by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Western Bearded Dragon (Pogona minor) by Kayla Higginson, on Flickr

Hope this helps.

Definitely helps! Thanks heeps for the advice! Im still by far an amateur but always looking to learn. Iv got a heep of ex600 flashes i should play with more. I want to make a bracket to hold 2 flashes

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