Reptilia Pictures

[bubbbab]

Just took our 3 units to Reptilia, Reptile Zoo. All through glass, and a little overhead lighting in each pen. Just wondering, would those experienced people out there, expect to see about a 50% plus amount of spoiled pictures? By spoiled, I mean blurred, reflections etc.

Thanks,
Steve.

[BBPhoto]

Shooting through glass is tough. Especially so with the high humidity often causing condensation on the glass of the vivarium. I would expect a high percentage of unusable shots at first. With practice and careful attention to focus (AF doesn't always produce what e expect under these conditions) you'll get more keepers.

[TheObiJuan]

Blurred comes from too slow of a shutter speed. I'd rather have a noisy, sharp image, than a blurred image.

Can you use a circular polarizer with your cameras? It can cut reflections a lot--at the cost of some light.

[tim11]

Flash should be turned OFF. It will do nothing but causing reflection anyway. Personally, I raise ISO, use widest aperture to get a highest shutter speed possible.
There is a trick: you can put the lens flat against the glass for extra stability. The lens won't come in contact with the glass anyway, only the metal part surrounding it.

[bubbbab]

Thank to all for the responses. Flash was off. These are Fuji's (S2000HD, S8100FD, S1000FD). In regards to the AF, I'm not sure I can focus manually with these, or at least I don't know how yet. All shots so far have been full AUTO.

Again, thanks for all of the really informative comments!
Steve.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I put my fingers around the front of the lens so it never touches the glass but just comes damn close.
The closer the lens to the glass the less light gets between the lens and the glass and therefore the less glare from the glass in your shot.

[James DeRuvo DHQ]

Another thought is to experiment with shooting at an angle from the glass. That way you won't be bouncing right back into the camera. But reflections may be a fact of life due to the ambient light.