Photographing Baltimore Orioles

Are there any tips/tricks to this ... when I think I have a good shot the eyes are tough to get because o the black head ... most of the pictures I have seen don't show the eye detail like I would typically see on other birds is it because of the contrast between the two colors?

Steve

I think that if you spend a lot of time observing these orioles at close range, you will notice that their eyes and head plumage appear differently depending on the ambient light and how it falls on them. Pay close attention to their heads as they move around and turn their heads at various angles - you should be able to see that there are brief moments when the light falls on their head so that both the eyes and the head plumage are illuminated in a pleasing fashion. Now the tough part is to try to make sure you click the shutter during the brief moment when such favorable lighting occurs. This really isn't any different than what we have to do with any subject, it is just more difficult with the orioles because the times when the light is falling favorably upon them is both infrequent and short-lived.

So kind of an attention to detail mixed with a whole lotta luck and I should be able to get a decent shot of an oriole lol

Steve

IAbowhntr wrote in post #17545119
Are there any tips/tricks to this ... when I think I have a good shot the eyes are tough to get because o the black head ... most of the pictures I have seen don't show the eye detail like I would typically see on other birds is it because of the contrast between the two colors?

Steve

Heya,

Kind of like any bird with a black feather head and black eyes, it's hard to get them both unless you over-expose it to get enough data to have something to do with. Alternatively, flash, because it pops micro-contrast on feathers and will bring them out even more so than natural light will. Sheen plays a big part too, so if the bird's head is one direction and reflecting, you get that micro-contrast and feathers will appear more detailed, but it also is easy to under expose that shot if you're not shooting manual.

It does take a lot of luck waiting for the right pose.

Exposure though, doesn't take too much luck. Shoot manual, over-expose a bit, and just be patient!

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Example, not an Oriole, but similar situation. Here I failed to over-expose, and there wasn't any additional ambient light reflecting, so I didn't get any micro-detail in the feathers on the head. So the head and eye are just "one" basically, not very interesting, and under-exposed too much. The rest is good, but I lost the head, so not a good shot for me.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rmit​e4

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rg8B​Ab

So maybe on these shots to slightly over expose? obviously ambient light is a big deal ... and probably the key to this more so then camera settings ... Ill have to be more patient and wait for "the shot" ... more practice lol!!!

Thanks for all the input I really appreciate it!!

Steve