I volunteer my services for a local humane society. I photograph all the dogs, cats, and small animals that they put up for adoption. I've had a great response to this and the shelter has seen an increase in the number of animals adopted, so it's been a great situation for both of us. One of the staff members also runs a small reptile rescue and I offered to spend a day working with some of her adoptables.

I ended up photographing 10 animals in 8 species - Columbian red tail boa, leopard gecko, red footed tortoise, sulcata tortoise, Russian tortoise, red ear slider turtle, yellow belly turtle, and iguana. I really had fun learning and working with each of these animals. They definitely have unique personalities, despite common perception.

Below is a sampling of some of my favorite images from the day. I would appreciate any constructive praise or criticisms you may have!













If you'd like to see my full blog post and more images, click on the link!
Mountain Dog Photography's Blog - Miscellaneous Mischief

Peace and scales,
~Kelly

looks nice, the only comment i have is that I'd like to see more depth of field and warmer light. I think the colors are off a bit due to white balance or the lack of a larger light source i.e. the wrong diffusers. I think softer light would wrap better and being out more of the life in the animals.

Beautiful. Very well done. I've wanted to do reptiles for a while now and I find these very inspiring. I like the touch of red in the BG of #2 and wish for maybe a little more.

Most of these were shot at f13-16 with one f10 and one f11 being the narrow end of the DOF. I don't think you're going to get everything in focus even at f22, so I'm perfectly happy with the shallow DOF and would even like it shallower in some cases. They are definitely sharp where they need to be.

Were these done behind glass or in the open?

Thank you for the comments.

Jim, I agree about the touch of red in the iguana profile shot. When I bring it to print I'll bring it out a bit more to give the image some more depth.

About half of the total shots were done with my 85mm macro. No glass as these animals are handled frequently and are quite tame. I moved slowly and the animals stayed calm.

If you get a chance to work close up with reptiles I highly recommend it. It'll keep you thinking the entire time about composition, lighting, and behavior, since they are SO different from our furred friends! I've gotten into a pretty good groove with cats and dogs so this provided me with a much needed burst of inspiration.

~Kelly

Very nice! I'd like to see a bit less exposure on the gecko an the tortoise, the color and detail on the iguana is very nice. I actually like snakes but that first one is just creepy! (in a good way...)

Diana

I like these a lot as well. You are lucky to be getting such a diverse group as these guys at your shelter..and hopefully these guys will get adopted soon as a result of your work.

Nicely done!
James

PS I agree with the sharpness issue. I think they are definitely acceptably sharp - even the last one. If his tongue were not out making such a wonderful face, it might not have.