Nikon D7000
- Thread starter KelliH
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Nickrows
New member
Those are some good shots. Would you mind sharing your EXIF data?
Actually, those turned out really well. Using a white or black background makes it tough, sometimes, to get a good exposure on the subject, but that worked out really nicely in these shots. 
When I first read this line, my brain somehow interpreted it to say "geckos pasted on white cardstock"...
Well, I guess that's one way to keep them in the camera frame.
Sorry, no hints for making those better...they're gorgeous pictures!! Excellent work with the invisible paste!
deborahbroadus
HARD CANDY
I wondered how the last two animals would look on a black background, they seem a bit washed out with the white...ummm.. but on the whole the current frame is visually pleasing.
Those are some smoking leos!
I'd love to know "how" you're shooting, auto or manual, and if manual, what the settings for these shots were.
I'd love to know "how" you're shooting, auto or manual, and if manual, what the settings for these shots were.
Thanks. I think when I save the photos in Photoshop it erases the Exif data. I shoot in the Aperture-Priority mode. My ISO was set at 1000; white balance was set on Auto-2. The next set I shoot I will leave the exif data and post them in this forum.
Actually, those turned out really well. Using a white or black background makes it tough, sometimes, to get a good exposure on the subject, but that worked out really nicely in these shots.
Thanks. I have found that bouncing the flash off the ceiling and using a higher ISO setting makes a difference, with my camera at least. Sometimes I still have to brighten the exposure in Photoshop but for the most part the images come out like I want them to.
I wondered how the last two animals would look on a black background, they seem a bit washed out with the white...ummm.. but on the whole the current frame is visually pleasing.
Yes, I haven't quite gotten the exposure thing figured out yet. I think that's the hardest thing for me, getting the image to have perfect exposure. Any suggestions anyone?
Here's some really close up eye shots I took awhile back. I love photographing my geckos. None of my leo breeder close friends enjoy this; they always bitch about having to take pictures for their websites and available pages. I have leopard gecko photo sessions all the time, just because it's fun.
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Nickrows
New member
I cant get my geckos to stay still long enough for pictures haha. I would try using more light in your pictures so you can lower your ISO. Lower ISO's normally yield sharper images. I'm not familiar with any of the SB flashes, but if you can increase the power, I think that would help a little.
Those eye shots are AMAZING. The first one is my favorite, the colors and textures are just fantastic. (And yeah, I do the same thing with my cresties and balls, I'll go do photo shoots just for fun!)
Lightroom (also by Adobe), which I strongly prefer to Photoshop, does preserve the EXIF data (as well as RAW data if you shoot in RAW).
Thanks for the suggestions! My Flash is at maximum power, but I like the effect of less shadowing when I bounce the light off the ceiling, so I compromise with the higher ISO setting. The D7000 performs really well at higher ISO settings, which is good for my images.
Thanks! Yes I can amuse myself for hours in my gecko room with my camera.
I've never heard of Lightroom, but I will check it out, thanks for the suggestion.
Thanks! Yes I can amuse myself for hours in my gecko room with my camera.
I've never heard of Lightroom, but I will check it out, thanks for the suggestion.
It usually runs about $200 (on amazon), $300 directly from Adobe. They have a 30 day free trial from Adobe's site. Info on it (and a link to the trial download button) is HERE
It's basically, as I had it described to me, Photoshop re-imagined for actual photographers. You can't really do image "editing" or creation like Photoshop lets you do, but it lets you do all the image tweaking very, very easily -- white balance adjustment, color curves, cropping, noise reduction, clarity, etc, etc.
A friend of mine who's a professional photographer (and who I continually bother with inane beginner questions, poor guy!) pointed me at Lightroom, and I love it.
That sounds perfect for me! Thank you for the additional info. I'll let you know if I end up getting it.
Well, I always gauged exposure based on the 18 percent gray rule of thumb. What that means is that typically cameras expect the entire frame of a photo to average at to being 18 percent gray. Which means a PERFECT exposure will meet that requirement. So the more background you use that is as close to 18 percent gray as possible (and bear in mind that COLOR can also resolve to that 18 percent gray if converted to gray scale) the more likely that your total exposure will be dead on.
That is why light subjects on black backgrounds get over exposed, and dark subjects on light backgrounds get underexposed. The camera is trying to adjust the ENTIRE photo to that 18 percent averaging. In other words, it is trying to make that background into gray instead of black or white. And that correspondingly shifts the exposure on the subject. Once you understand what the camera is trying to DO, you can compensate for it either by under or overexposing at the camera, or if you are using a chosen background medium, by choosing carefully the gray scale of the background to match the exposure you are trying to get.
Bear in mind that with colored backgrounds, they can also affect the color BALANCE of the subject as well, so you can get quite a bit of leeway by not only choosing the exposure balance, but the color balance as well. White balancing is the technique that many people use to try to adjust color balance, but I honestly never used that technique much.
Hope that helps, but it might be more "old school" than is relevant these days. A lot of exposure problems can be fixed quickly and easily simply by using spot metering, if your camera has that capability.
But if there is one notable advantage that digital media has over film, that is that you can take as many practice shots as you want, and it doesn't cost you the development costs just to learn your camera. So PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
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I actually prefer to learn the old school techniques when it comes to photography. I'm still stuck on shooting in the Programmed modes. I haven't ventured into full manual mode yet!
Here is a shot I just took of a couple of my beardies, Lucy and Ethel. The composition is crap, really just a snapshot, but I wanted to share the exif data. These are the same settings I used when I took the above leo pics.
Here is a shot I just took of a couple of my beardies, Lucy and Ethel. The composition is crap, really just a snapshot, but I wanted to share the exif data. These are the same settings I used when I took the above leo pics.
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BTW, I spend a lot of time on this website-
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm
I've learned a lot just from that.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm
I've learned a lot just from that.