Photography Tips

[Kat Fenix]

my GBB is the easiest of the bunch to get photos of. But I see some people over in the photos section with their T's on bark and seemingly, behaving. [not running away, etc.]

I'm just wondering, how do you guys get your T's to "behave" for photos? What do you do to get such nice photos?
I'm going to be building a cheap light box [white poster board and a lamp....] I have a black light box too [poster board and a lamp... again]

I really want to get some more photos of my P. irminia and my P. regalis and my OBT when it's out of it's "pet burrow" stage. [all I see are his toes...] but I also don't want to be chasing spiders constantly.

Just wondering!

 

[ieatkats]

my GBB is the easiest of the bunch to get photos of. But I see some people over in the photos section with their T's on bark and seemingly, behaving. [not running away, etc.]

I'm just wondering, how do you guys get your T's to "behave" for photos? What do you do to get such nice photos?
I'm going to be building a cheap light box [white poster board and a lamp....] I have a black light box too [poster board and a lamp... again]

I really want to get some more photos of my P. irminia and my P. regalis and my OBT when it's out of it's "pet burrow" stage. [all I see are his toes...] but I also don't want to be chasing spiders constantly.

Just wondering!

My irminia sits pretty still as long as i'm slow. All three of my pokies are a bit tricker as they like to run around the cage when its disturbed. Sometimes u just have to keep trying.

 

[ieatkats]

P. irminia

Really slow movments is the key with her. I gently pulled her hide back and she sat still for a pic. Any kinda of photo editing app will help too. Croping saves you from having to get so close.

 

[SuzukiSwift]

Nice pic!

Patience is very important, sometimes you have to just wait til you see them in a good position. If you can get a good pic through the wall of the enclosure then do that, however if not then take your time opening the enclosure, even if it takes you a full minute or more you'll be happy you did it slowly so as not to spook the spider =) With my photos (you can find them from the images link to the left) I usually take about a minute or two to line up a shot and then I take about 5 using flash, no flash, high iso low iso etc. then on my computer use software to fix the contrast or sharpness. It's kind of cheating I know but the results are nice =) If you want to see INCREDIBLE T photos then check out this link

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?226615-Papilio-s-photo-thread

Papilio's tarantula photography is unmatched by anyone on the boards, he could probably give you good advice =)

 

[The Snark]

With my photos (you can find them from the images link to the left) I usually take about a minute or two to line up a shot and then I take about 5 using flash, no flash, high iso low iso etc. then on my computer use software to fix the contrast or sharpness. It's kind of cheating I know but the results are nice =)

I understand why some would call it 'cheating' but what is cheating? By those lights changing lenses would be cheating. Layering certainly would be. Using filters and color correcting lighting, ditto. Then the camera makes adjustments, with some, pretty radical ones. When an old family friend made a book of a certain kind of photography he used a total of 27 different cameras, almost countless lenses and filters in a myriad of combinations and techniques, lighting augmentation and over 5 years to get the right time of day, daylight, contrast, situations and color spectrums. Cheating?

Cheating would be adding something to or subtracting from the subject that isn't physically natural, IMHO. Alteration done deliberately to include, insert or enhance what isn't there. Deliberate falsifying in order to delude or misrepresent.

I'm saying this because the photos found on AB are often fabulous and AB members shouldn't be constantly in fear of being accused of photographic trolling. If you radically zoof around with a picture, simply state what you did. On one side, maybe you shouldn't have but on the other, maybe you will give others some really nifty new technique or pointer. Don't be afraid to push the edge of the envelope but be honest about it.

 

[ieatkats]

Nice pic!

Patience is very important, sometimes you have to just wait til you see them in a good position. If you can get a good pic through the wall of the enclosure then do that, however if not then take your time opening the enclosure, even if it takes you a full minute or more you'll be happy you did it slowly so as not to spook the spider =) With my photos (you can find them from the images link to the left) I usually take about a minute or two to line up a shot and then I take about 5 using flash, no flash, high iso low iso etc. then on my computer use software to fix the contrast or sharpness. It's kind of cheating I know but the results are nice =) If you want to see INCREDIBLE T photos then check out this link

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?226615-Papilio-s-photo-thread

Papilio's tarantula photography is unmatched by anyone on the boards, he could probably give you good advice =)

thanks Suzuki and thanks for the link. Those pics are inspirational! I wish I had a good enough camera to take shots like that. I currently use my s2 so I can't really take those great macros like what in the thread

---------- Post added 04-03-2014 at 08:01 PM ----------

Really slow movments is the key with her. I gently pulled her hide back and she sat still for a pic. Any kinda of photo editing app will help too. Croping saves you from having to get so close.

---------- Post added 04-03-2014 at 08:02 PM ----------

Really slow movments is the key with her. I gently pulled her hide back and she sat still for a pic. Any kinda of photo editing app will help too. Croping saves you from having to get so close.

 

[netr]

One harmless way to keep tarantulas in one place for a photo shoot is to trap them with water. Get the tarantula onto a piece of bark (or something else suitable for photos), place said bark in some kind of open container and fill it up enough that the spider is required to swim if it wants to escape the bark. It is very unlikely to resort to this, so you will usually have time to photograph even very nervous and fast species. This is the theory, and numerous photographers have got amazing results doing it.
Getting the tarantula safely onto the bark and then the bark into the 'moat' without incident is a challenge in itself. I've not used the water trap on tarantulas at home (yet), so I couldn't give advice there. Of course, it works very well for true spiders found outside too.

 

[advan]

I gave a lecture last month at the ArachnoGathering in Tinley Park on "Photographing Arachnids." I am turning that material into an article for this site. Look for it soon!

 

[Richard McJimsey]

my GBB is the easiest of the bunch to get photos of. But I see some people over in the photos section with their T's on bark and seemingly, behaving. [not running away, etc.]

I'm just wondering, how do you guys get your T's to "behave" for photos? What do you do to get such nice photos?
I'm going to be building a cheap light box [white poster board and a lamp....] I have a black light box too [poster board and a lamp... again]

I really want to get some more photos of my P. irminia and my P. regalis and my OBT when it's out of it's "pet burrow" stage. [all I see are his toes...] but I also don't want to be chasing spiders constantly.

Just wondering!

For me, it's a waiting game. Let them get their energy out, and once they settle down for a second, don't let go of that shutter release, and hopefully a few will be good photos. It's always helpful to work in an open area so they don't get under a couch etc, as well as a few catch cups.

Getting nice photos takes a lot of trial and error, A LOT. Mess around with as many settings on your camera as you can, learn how each setting affects images to YOU, not what some snobby photo professional says. Watch a lot of videos on photography on Youtube, I've learned a load of helpful things from watching videos. You also don't need a $900 camera body and $800 lens to take nice photos, learn to use what you have. For the longest time, I had a cheap point and shoot, and I got some photos I was really happy with. I used desk lamps for lighting. And the images were nice.

Be on your toes when photographing fast spiders, they might take off while you're busy composing a shot or reviewing images. Putting your subject and background in a large plastic container while shooting isn't a bad idea either, just an extra precaution to prevent escapees. I do it when photographing more medically significant animals.

Oh, and be sure to have your "photo shoots" away from small children/animals. My cats are a pain, and always want to see what I'm doing, and be the center of my attention. The last thing you want is to have them step on your subject, or spook the spider and have it take off. One of my cats got curious about the crickets the other night, and now I have crickets all over the house.

 

[tarcan]

Spiders will normally have a time period where they will be hectic when disturbed, but will settle down with a little time. Then you can do almost whatever you want with them.

I understand why some would call it 'cheating' but what is cheating? By those lights changing lenses would be cheating. Layering certainly would be. Using filters and color correcting lighting, ditto. Then the camera makes adjustments, with some, pretty radical ones. When an old family friend made a book of a certain kind of photography he used a total of 27 different cameras, almost countless lenses and filters in a myriad of combinations and techniques, lighting augmentation and over 5 years to get the right time of day, daylight, contrast, situations and color spectrums. Cheating?

Cheating would be adding something to or subtracting from the subject that isn't physically natural, IMHO. Alteration done deliberately to include, insert or enhance what isn't there. Deliberate falsifying in order to delude or misrepresent.

I'm saying this because the photos found on AB are often fabulous and AB members shouldn't be constantly in fear of being accused of photographic trolling. If you radically zoof around with a picture, simply state what you did. On one side, maybe you shouldn't have but on the other, maybe you will give others some really nifty new technique or pointer. Don't be afraid to push the edge of the envelope but be honest about it.

I totally agree... always makes me laugh when someone "brags" about not editing his pictures. Goes to show how little is understood. If you shoot .jpg, you let your camera do all those edits for you with predetermined settings. When you do the edits yourself, you take control.

Who knows how the animals is supposed to look like? You or the camera?

I do a lot of focus stacking, some people will argue it is cheating. Absolutely not, it is about understanding equipment limitations and overcome it. It is cheating if you claim you achieved the shot without stacking.

The main problem with PP is that some people will overdo it.

Martin