Photographing a boa constrictor

[rj__]

I'm not making this up.

 

I've agreed to photograph a gentleman and his quite large boa

constrictor. The photos will be done sometime this week outdoors,

in early morning, late evening or overcast light. Some of the

photos will be done in black and white. However, he (the owner, not

the snake) has just told me that he wants to do some colour shots

because the snake is not just brown, but has iridescent blue/green

highlights. He says that previous attempts to capture this on film

have failed. I did not notice the iridesence when I met the snake

on a sidewalk, but perhaps that is because the meeting was very

brief.

 

In any event, here is my question. What can I do to capture the

elusive iridesence?

[john_shriver]

I wonder if a specular (bright, point) light source might bring out the irridescence? Use basic fill lights to keep contrast under control, and then some bright point sources...

[pat_wilson1]

I am not at ALL experienced with this technique, but I was told that flashing color film to a specific color could help bring out certain colors. Like I said, though, I am not at all experienced with this.

[thirteenthumbs]

The irridesence will show only when at the correct viewing angle so position the snake at the angle where the irridence is visible on the ground glass. Light source and direction will affect it also.

[frank.schifano]

OK, here goes nothing. I could be completely off here but this is what I think. The iridescence you see is most likely the result of a prismatic effect by the scales of the animal. So you will only observe this effect if the light is hitting the animal in the correct orientation. I doubt that you will see this effect in diffuse light. Your best bet would be to use some sort of direct light (contant lighting would be the best) and experiment with the direction.

[oskar_ojala]

As said, the iridescence should be heavily dependent on the angle of the light coming, so using flash/strobes would be difficult. Just ask the snake to stay still, study it and place your camera at a good angle :-)

[patrick_f]

Having owned many many many many snakes (thats alot!) I can tell you that the effect will best be seen in the worst lighting condition - bright mid day sun (overhead). You could try side lighting, but still , the irridescence is somewhat a detail feature that you will not really be able to see from more than a few feet away. Think close ups... I hope this helped!

[fotoscopio]

Careful don't go around taking too close-ups with a heavily lighted, thus annoyed large BOA !! : )

Hope your shots turn out right!

[s._c.]

Another piece of advice: if you see the owner running, try to keep up. Good luck with the shoot.

[matt_parker3]

I think Frank is correct in saying that the iridescence is due to a prismatic (or diffraction?) effect. But I think part of what makes it look so cool to us may be that the light hitting our two eyes has been reflected off the scales at two different angles, so each eye sees a different color. That effect is of course impossible to record using a camera with only one lens.