FEATHER PHOTOGRAPHY

Creative feather macro photography with water drops. – Watch on YouTube

Feathers of all kinds harbour some amazing detail. Details that can be revealed simply by getting close enough with a macro lens. In this tutorial, we are taking a look at some creative feather macro photography using colourful lighting and water drops!

Creative Feather Macro Photography

Feathers alone can be really interesting to photograph. The photo below is a shot of a plain feather, no effects or lighting added.

With light shining across the front of the feather, some very pleasing shadows are created. The quality of the feather is paramount to getting pleasing smooth lines as you see here.

Try to collect feathers while the weather is good, to avoid them getting wet and damaged out in the elements!

Lets get colourful

When it comes to creative macro photography, you might be inclined to go in search of some colour. Last time we were doing feather macro photography, it was with peacock feathers.

Peacock feathers provide their own colour, beautiful greens and purples that only need a little white light to bring out.

For more common, plain feathers, we need to get our colour from elsewhere. We used the coloured lighting arms and colour filters from the Adaptalux Studio.

Coloured light adds a huge amount of visual interest to a shot. It can help to catch the eye and make your photo stand out from the crowd!

Adding colour to your creative feather macro photography project opens up a world of possibilities. Subtle shades can add intrigue, and bright direct light can grab the eye and move into abstract realms.

Wetter is Better!

Feathers are a great macro and close up photography subject on their own, however, with a small addition, they can be explored even further!

Let’s try adding water!

You can place individual drops of water onto your feather for a single focal point. Alternatively, use a spray or misting bottle to add lots of drops!

Light gets caught in each drop creating highlights and bokeh in out of focus areas.

The drops can also act as a lens, focusing and distorting the features of the feather behind it.

Make your lighting and drops work for you!

Move your light sources around, and move around your subject with the camera. Every angle and change in light will affect both the feather and the water.

We think the key to creative feather macro photography or any creative close-ups for that matter, is experimentation. Explore your composition, lighting and, colour options and your images are sure to take flight!

Lastly, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more macro photography tutorials, ideas and inspiration!