I set myself the challenge of trying to show the iridescence in the plumage of a starling.
I started by doing some research on how to capture the iridescence on humming birds, as I couldn’t find anything online about starlings.
What I found out was that it is all down to the angle of the light falling on the feathers. The colours show best when the light source is in line with the camera lens. Normally, I have my flash units set about forty-five degrees either side of the camera and high up, to give a modelling effect and avoid shadows on the background. To show the iridescence, I really needed to bring the flash closer in to the camera and down. The only problem with this is that it gives a much harsher light with less modelling. I also had to make sure that the lighting stands did not appear in the photo, as they were so close to the front of the lens. Finally, I had to light the background separately, as the main flash units cast a shadow on the background.
I had a lot of fun experimenting and thankfully the starlings were very obliging, being more interested in the mealworms.
I am not quite there yet, but I am pleased with the results so far and I am really amazed by just how much iridescence there is on our humble starling.
Now that I know that it works, I can slowly improve the overall quality, looking at modelling and contrast. Until then, here are a couple of shots that I managed to get.
I started by doing some research on how to capture the iridescence on humming birds, as I couldn’t find anything online about starlings.
What I found out was that it is all down to the angle of the light falling on the feathers. The colours show best when the light source is in line with the camera lens. Normally, I have my flash units set about forty-five degrees either side of the camera and high up, to give a modelling effect and avoid shadows on the background. To show the iridescence, I really needed to bring the flash closer in to the camera and down. The only problem with this is that it gives a much harsher light with less modelling. I also had to make sure that the lighting stands did not appear in the photo, as they were so close to the front of the lens. Finally, I had to light the background separately, as the main flash units cast a shadow on the background.
I had a lot of fun experimenting and thankfully the starlings were very obliging, being more interested in the mealworms.
I am not quite there yet, but I am pleased with the results so far and I am really amazed by just how much iridescence there is on our humble starling.
Now that I know that it works, I can slowly improve the overall quality, looking at modelling and contrast. Until then, here are a couple of shots that I managed to get.
