NZ Bush Robin

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Would you mind critiquing this shot for me, any issues at all?. It was a fluke shot, I have barely moved out of "auto" and "P" settings. The luck is in the fact that the robins are so friendly on our pest free wildlife island sanctuaries that they have no fear and come in quite close. Because of this shot(which I sent to a friend who passed it on) I have been invited to visit the island again in September and submit some photos, along with a number of other photographers, for an exhibition "Through The Seasons", *gulp!* There's no guarantee my photos will be used and it scares the beejeesuz out of me but I'm on a steep learning curve and will give it my best shot(no pun intended).

Any tips on taking photos in dark bush(I have plenty of shots that are under-exposed) would be appreciated too. Although I have learnt alot since this shot I'm struggling to pull it altogether.



Exif-
Sony DSLR-A350
f/6.3
1/125
ISO400
Focal Length 250mm

[NgaiHill]

Nice shot. Can't help you much with advice on shooting birds in the bush - hope to have a go at that myself this weekend! However I did just spot this link on another thread, its definitely worth the read. Small and Twitchy
What island are you going to visit? I'm so jealous!

[karen_s]

It is an excellent bird photo. I can see why they would like you to come back. It's clear and crisp and you have a great little catchlight in the eye. About the only thing I might play with were it my photo is the crop, more specifically I'd try a vertical crop. I'm just not that wild about the branch on the right and a closer crop would get rid of it and bring even more emphasis to the bird. But, it's fine the way it is too. He is a CUTE little bird.

Anyway, as for shooting in darker areas ...

1. If you are shooting in P mode or one of the priority modes (shutter or aperture), learn about your cameras exposure compensation controls. (I know nothing about Sony's but since it's a DSLR, I'm assuming your camera will have this feature.) Anyway, using this can help you get proper exposure in camera.

2. Play with your cameras ISO settings in low light and find what your tolerance is for noise. I try to shoot with as low of number as possible (100) but I am also comfortable with up to 800 if needed. (And I have needed it where I do my bird watching.)

3. Work towards getting proper exposure. Noise creeps in in the underexposed areas of an image and can sometimes lead to lost details. If you don't shoot in RAW, give it a try. RAW will give you a bit more to work with in post processing should you miss a bit with exposure.

4. Tripods and monopods are quite useful for bird watching. I hate them but they are effective.

5. Watch you shutter speeds in relation to your focal length, mainly if you are handholding. Rule of thumb is that the shutter speed should equal or be greater than your focal length. For example:

Focal length = 250mm, then
Shutter speed = 1/250th or faster

If you are using a tripod, then you just need a fast enough speed to stop movement.

Hope that gives you some things to work with.

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Originally Posted by NgaiHill

Nice shot. Can't help you much with advice on shooting birds in the bush - hope to have a go at that myself this weekend! However I did just spot this link on another thread, its definitely worth the read. Small and Twitchy
What island are you going to visit? I'm so jealous!

Thanks so much NgaiHIll for that link, it will be of great help, I had actually seen Fraser's photos on another thread but must have missed the link.
The island is Mokoia Island in the centre of Lake Rotorua, full of saddlebacks(tieke), kokako, kiwi, robins and others.

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Originally Posted by karen_s

It is an excellent bird photo. I can see why they would like you to come back. It's clear and crisp and you have a great little catchlight in the eye. About the only thing I might play with were it my photo is the crop, more specifically I'd try a vertical crop. I'm just not that wild about the branch on the right and a closer crop would get rid of it and bring even more emphasis to the bird. But, it's fine the way it is too. He is a CUTE little bird.

Thankyou very much for your response Karen, I chuckled reading that second sentence; I'll post another photo shortly that I took that day and you'll wonder why on earth I got invited! Great tips for me to follow and as I have a bush garden I'll be able to do some trial and error shots before the big day.

I like that you recommended to do the vertical crop, don't know why I didn't think of that before as that branch was annoying me a little too. I had played around with where to crop half a dozen times. So simple when you have an eye for it, thanks. Although I have a query regarding the crop; on such a close up do you still allow for the "thirds" rule or is it OK to centre the subject, I"m always in two minds.

Here's the new crop;

ETA- I think I've cropped a little to close to his tail??

[karen_s]

I'm glad I could make you chuckle. Bird photography is hard and you will get many clunkers but it's shots like these that keep you going back.

Anyway, I'm a bit short on time this morning but wanted to add a note on the rule of thirds. Most think of the rule strictly as placing a subject in a third or on an intersecting point of a third. I use it most often in that way. But, along with placing a subject on the third, you can expand your interpretation of the rule to place a focal point on the third. In this case, the bird is the subject, but the eye is soooo strong that it can easily become the focal point. So, rather than placing the bird on the third, you can also consider centering the bird and placing the eye on and intersecting point of the third (I try this approach when I can't get a good shot with the bird on the third). Does that make sense? If not, I can draw lines on one of my shots to better illustrate the point and post it this evening.

As far as your new crop, I like. The scene is much less distracting without the limb. If it were mine though, I would probably try centering the bird to see if that little eye falls near the intersection of the thirds lines.

By the way, my first bird shots were pretty much dots in the sky.

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Originally Posted by karen_s

I'm glad I could make you chuckle. Bird photography is hard and you will get many clunkers but it's shots like these that keep you going back.

Anyway, I'm a bit short on time this morning but wanted to add a note on the rule of thirds. Most think of the rule strictly as placing a subject in a third or on an intersecting point of a third. I use it most often in that way. But, along with placing a subject on the third, you can expand your interpretation of the rule to place a focal point on the third. In this case, the bird is the subject, but the eye is soooo strong that it can easily become the focal point. So, rather than placing the bird on the third, you can also consider centering the bird and placing the eye on and intersecting point of the third (I try this approach when I can't get a good shot with the bird on the third). Does that make sense? If not, I can draw lines on one of my shots to better illustrate the point and post it this evening.

As far as your new crop, I like. The scene is much less distracting without the limb. If it were mine though, I would probably try centering the bird to see if that little eye falls near the intersection of the thirds lines.

By the way, my first bird shots were pretty much dots in the sky.

Thanks once again Karen, you've been a huge help and making the eye the focal point makes so much sense too. I do exactly get what you mean, I'm off to re-crop, cheers!

[sk66]

You did well, and what makes this image work is the flash... ( I prefer the crop BTW). In all honesty the flash seems just a bit strong.
Exif doesn't show it, but I'm guessing you were in Aperture priority mode....Even though the camera is looking for "fill flash" in A mode it is often just a bit hot.
My main recommendation for bird photography in shadowy situations would be an external flash and a "better beamer" ( and some practice w/ them)

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Originally Posted by sk66

You did well, and what makes this image work is the flash... ( I prefer the crop BTW). In all honesty the flash seems just a bit strong.
Exif doesn't show it, but I'm guessing you were in Aperture priority mode....Even though the camera is looking for "fill flash" in A mode it is often just a bit hot.
My main recommendation for bird photography in shadowy situations would be an external flash and a "better beamer" ( and some practice w/ them)

Thanks for your comments sk66, I was actually in "auto", I've learnt a lot since this shot was done a couple of months ago and have slowly progressed into "P" mode and some manual. Haven't much worked in A or S mode yet but can see their benefits as I'm learning more. I have had no experience at all with an external flash or "better beamers" but have googled and also found and read an excellent article here on DPS regarding external flashes, great food for thought, thanks for the tips.

And I've recropped again, and now I am HAPPY! Thanks guys.