Need help with glare when photographing frogs

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

I have poison dart frogs that I love to take pictures of and post to
dart frog boards and my web site. The camera I use is a Canon PowerShot
A95 with a ring adapter and a set of macro lenses (1X, 2X, 4X, and
10X). I use a tripod to take the shots when possible, but I have a
problem with glare, either from a bounced flash or from the fluorescent
lights on their tanks. You can see what I'm talking about with the
following pic. 56K warning on the pic:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/ [...] zureus.jpg

I did not use a flash for this one, as you can tell by the shadows, but
there's glare on the frog's back and legs from the light on the tank. I
can't exactly take the frogs out and stick them in an environment
that's more suitable for photography. Are there any settings or filters
I should look into to get rid of the white spots?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On 24 Jul 2005 00:35:08 -0700, kobun37@yahoo.com wrote:

> I did not use a flash for this one, as you can tell by the shadows, but
> there's glare on the frog's back and legs from the light on the tank. I
> can't exactly take the frogs out and stick them in an environment
> that's more suitable for photography. Are there any settings or filters
> I should look into to get rid of the white spots?

Perhaps a polarizing filter? If not, consult a TV makeup
technician to find out what they apply to news anchors to reduce
glare from their faces. The frogs may not appreciate it, but it's
probably less fatal than painting the backs of turtles.

Also, maybe you could eliminate the tank's light and either use a
diffuse light source or move the tank outdoors or near a bright
window?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

You may place a diffuser in front of the illumination of your tank. That
should give you softer light. Or use a flash unit connected via a butterfly
bracket to your camera. For instructions on how to make such a bracket see
http://biology.fullerton.edu/peopl [...] y-bracket/

It is obvious that your camera lost all image information in the highlights.

Gregor

<kobun37@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1122190508.181435.195230@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>I have poison dart frogs that I love to take pictures of and post to
> dart frog boards and my web site. The camera I use is a Canon PowerShot
> A95 with a ring adapter and a set of macro lenses (1X, 2X, 4X, and
> 10X). I use a tripod to take the shots when possible, but I have a
> problem with glare, either from a bounced flash or from the fluorescent
> lights on their tanks. You can see what I'm talking about with the
> following pic. 56K warning on the pic:
>
> http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/ [...] zureus.jpg
>
> I did not use a flash for this one, as you can tell by the shadows, but
> there's glare on the frog's back and legs from the light on the tank. I
> can't exactly take the frogs out and stick them in an environment
> that's more suitable for photography. Are there any settings or filters
> I should look into to get rid of the white spots?
>