Bird Photography

[yanikphotoschool]

Hi all

I just posted "8 steps to Perfect Bird Shots" on my blog and thought I would share it with you guys... There are some other great tips here as well!
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I’m an animal lover. That’s one of the reasons we moved out to the country last year. And since then, I’ve been blessed by having the best neighbors in the world: animals! Of course my camera’s been going crazy shooting anything that moves around here. I’ve often been asked, “Yanik, how do you get those lovely bird shots?” and I thought I would share with you a few tips to help you shoot birds or any other critter from a distance. Here we go.

1 - Patience. Yes, that’s right! Patience. These aren’t models in your studio that you can just direct… “move a little more to the left”, “tilt your head to the right”…. you have to wait for them. And once they’re there, you have to wait for the right pose, the right branch, the right light. I can take hundreds for chickadee shots a day but only have 2 or 3 that I really like. Patience also means being in the same spot for a while, so have a seat and get comfortable.

2 - Get out of town! Yes, some will argue that you can get some great urban bird shots and I agree (like my black bird nest in a brick wall) but, for me, there’s nothing like shooting them in nature. You’ll probably end up seeing more varieties as well. And what’s not to like about a lovely nature hike to clear the mind.

3- Try to blend in. Mornings here are still a bit chilly and the other day I went outside, camera in hand, to shoot a beautiful pair of geese on the river. Usually not too skittish, they’re easy to shoot but this time they started panicking and making loud sounds and flew away. Now, what got them all excited? I looked around to see if there was a predator and could not see one and they really seemed to be looking at me. So I looked at me…. and there I was in a bright red fleece! I stuck out like a sore thumb. They must have thought I was some sort of evil alien hunter.

4 - Get a long lens. Yes, some birds might get close enough for you to shoot them with your 10-20mm or your 50mm but they are the exception. So what’s left to do? Pimp up your gear! If you have a point and shoot, make sure it has a good zoom (at least 300mm on the long end) with some sort of image stabilization in the camera. If you have a DSLR, you have many options depending on how much you want to spend. If you use Nikon like me and if you have money to burn then the Nikkor 600mm VR is for you! I have the Nikkor 80-400mm VR and it’s a joy to work with because of the zoom range. You could also combine a 70-200mm with a 1.7 teleconverter to give you up to 340mm. For a less expensive option, I recommend the Nikkor 70-300mm VR.

5 - Keep your camera close. How many times have we missed out on some amazing shots because we left the camera in the car or didn’t bother to bring it along? More often than I’d like to remember! As humans, we’re just lazy by nature so we don,t always want to bring our gear along.. and then we regret it. When I first moved in to our country home, I kept my camera in my studio… in the basement. After running down a few dozen times just to get back up to take that perfect shot of…. the one that got away, I now keep my D300 with my trusty 80-400mm lens close to the living room window.

6 - Be a rock. One of the reasons I recommend point and shoots or lenses with image stabilization technology is that it allows you to shoot at a slower speed without having movement blur. Remember that the longer the lens, the faster speed you’ll need to get that crisp shot. For example, when I’m at 400mm, I know that even with image stabilization, my shutter speed needs to be at a minimum of 1/250 sec. I know some that can get sharp images at a lower speed but not me (never woulda been a surgeon!). So what do I do if I need a slower speed to get the shot? I bring a tripod and my trusty remote cord trigger. For weight reasons, I always bring my plastic tripod so that’s why I hook up my remote trigger since the camera could move if I press the on-camera trigger. If you don’t have a tripod, find anything that will stabilize your camera. Find a rock, lean it against a tree… Once you’re all set, be the rock! Take in a deep breath and slowly exhale… and take the shot.

7 - Preselect your camera settings. There’s nothing more frustrating than grabbing your camera in a hurry and getting that perfect shot…. until you see that you were at ISO 1600, f22, 1/30 sec. Crap! If you know you’re going out to shoot birds, make sure you settings are set before you leave. Here are my default settings: ISO 400, Aperture priority set wide open (lowest f-stop #), -1 EV. These settings are to ensure that I have the highest shutter speed possible. With those settings, all I need to play with after that is my ISO depending on Mother Nature’s mood.

8 - Build it and they will come. If you can’t get to the birds, brings the birds to you! Get a bird feeder or two. I recommend getting a bird book of your region to know which birds live around you. That way you can get the right food to attract them. Once that’s done, follow step #1.

[dognutmom]

7 - Preselect your camera settings. There’s nothing more frustrating than grabbing your camera in a hurry and getting that perfect shot…. until you see that you were at ISO 1600, f22, 1/30 sec. Crap! If you know you’re going out to shoot birds, make sure you settings are set before you leave. Here are my default settings: ISO 400, Aperture priority set wide open (lowest f-stop #), -1 EV. These settings are to ensure that I have the highest shutter speed possible. With those settings, all I need to play with after that is my ISO depending on Mother Nature’s mood.

Oh boy, is this ever true. I have lots of trees around my house, so we have never had bluebirds here until this year! I sat out there on a bench and finally got some shots. ISO was set at 3200 from some indoor, low light stuff from last week which is when I had my camera out last

[brimbo]

some very good tips,I have been taking some photos from the backyard,I set up some feeders hanging from the apple tree,cut away a few branches that would be in the way,I then set up a water drinker so as to try and get some action shots from that,anyway, here are a few shots from my backyard,sorry if the images are to big,so if they are, please deleat as you see fit.,here we go,this is a blue tit getting stuck in

this one is a hedge sparrow,

then here they are havin a drink,

so don't forget,birds need water, as well as food.

[kencaleno]

I use Trap focusing with a 70-300 non-VR/IS lens (Nikon):

“Trap” focusing:

This is a neat way to use auto focus especially for fast sports/wildlife action, I don’t know other maker’s settings but these are the settings for Nikon users:
Custom (pencil) menu:

Autofocus set to AF-S
AF area mode set to single
AE-L/AF-L set to AF ON

Compose your shot and set the focus by aiming the centre focus icon at a definite target at the precise distance you want, (Say a tree branch where a bird is about to land, or on second base where the baseball player's foot will land) and pressing the "AE-L/AF-L" button near the viewfinder. This will focus the lens, let go of AE-L/AF-L button. Turn away,
press and hold the shutter button all the way down. Point camera at pre-focused point when subject approaches, and your camera will take the shot
Much faster than Human reflexes.

[supercelts7]

Lens + Teleconvertor


I count myself very lucky in that I have found a reservoir, within 30 mins drive of my home, which holds a pair of breeding Ospreys. Unfortunately, although I have been watching these birds since March this year, I still haven't managed to get a crystal-clear shot.

I started out with my 40-150mm kit lens on my Olympus E420. I then splashed out on a ED 70-300mm and kept it on C-AF. I have now added a EC-20 2x Teleconvertor, which works great until you reach about 450mm and then the autofocus goes all to hell.

The annoying thing is that I'm getting the exposure settings quite good but the autofocus can't keep up with the flight of the bird. I'd love to get that 600mm close-up (1200mm in 35mm equivalent) but either myself, or the lens doesn't seem fit for purpose.

I'm using the centre (of 3) AF point & spot metering. As the distance of the birds vary AF-L is out (which is just as well because I haven't a scooby how to use it ).

I'll try the "keeping both eyes open tip" mentioned in this thread. Any other tips would be helpful. Thanks.

[gmom]

This is my first DPS post, so I hope I'm doing it correctly. I'd greatly appreciate tips on the best settings for catching hummingbirds in "frozen" flight in less than optimum light. My feeders hang under the eaves of a north-facing wall and if the shutter speed is high enough, the photo is dark. An ISO higher than 400 is impossibly noisy. Ap priority just won't give a fast enough shutter speed. I've tried shooting in the morning, high noon and evening and the attached is the best effort so far -- a dark and muddy looking background that is, in reality, a white wall; and still blur in the wings.

I use a Nikon D40 with a 55-200 VR lens (I'm a beginner and this is my first DSLR). I shoot in RAW and make adjustments in ACR and Elements.

Help!
[IMG][/IMG]

[idcrewdawg]

On Identifying the birds, I always do it after I get back. This way I can concentrate on composing the shots, and enjoying the bird in its element.

The site I've learned to love (for north America at least) is eNature. Great for identifying all manner of things, bugs/birds/flowers ect. What I really like about it is you can select your region, and it limits the search to species that would be in your area. Helps to prevent saying one bird that looks close to what you have captured but doesn't even live in your area. Something I've done a couple times at least, since I'm not familiar with all the terminology that goes with birding.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by supercelts7

... I then splashed out on a ED 70-300mm and kept it on C-AF. I have now added a EC-20 2x Teleconvertor, which works great until you reach about 450mm and then the autofocus goes all to hell.

Yup. Most of the consumer dSLR camera bodies will quit autofocusing when the max. aperture of the lens reaches f/8. Your 70-300 has a variable max. aperture--the more you zoom in, the smaller the max. aperture gets. A 2x tc will add two stops to the lens's own max. aperture, so when you hit f/4 is when everything goes to hell in a handbasket, autofocus-wise. This is why a lot of people will recommend getting a 1.4x tc instead, since it only adds one stop. You'd only go wonky when you hit 600mm.

TCs and slow consumer zooms are not a great combination. Most folks would say you should only use them with f/2.8 zooms. But hey, if it gets you what you want....

I find that TCs get in my way when I'm shooting birds in flight. They're great for perched birds, but the slow AF issue crops up over and over again. It's one of the many reasons why having a tc is not the same as just having a longer lens. I'd actually recommend trying it without the tc for a while, and just cropping and learning how to sharpen in post.

Originally Posted by gmom

I'd greatly appreciate tips on the best settings for catching hummingbirds in "frozen" flight in less than optimum light. ...I use a Nikon D40 with a 55-200 VR lens....

Hate to say this, but... find a better lighting situation:


Canon XT/350D, EF 135 f/2L USM. iso 100, f/2, 1/250s.

I was shooting one of the exhibit animals at the zoo when I got buzzed by the freeloading Anna's, hence the less-than-optimal settings.

Obviously, you can't move the feeder into the sunlight (mold in the sugar water not good for little hummers), but maybe if there's a time of day when there's more light hitting that side of the house, or maybe setting up some kind of reflector for while you're shooting might not be a bad idea, either.

I say bump up the ISO or buy a faster lens (larger max. aperture), and check your histogram carefully to avoid underexposure. Underexposure can often cause more noise than the higher ISO setting. Shoot RAW, expose to the right, and bring it back down if you have to. Also, investing in some noise processing software like Neat Image or Noise Ninja might be worth it.

[OjaiAnna]

Originally Posted by inkista

Yup.
I was shooting one of the exhibit animals at the zoo when I got buzzed by the freeloading Anna's, hence the less-than-optimal settings.

.

Hey my name is Anna so I'm not even going to ask what a "freeloading Anna" is Yes I am May I asked what or who is the Anna that is freeloading and buzzing you at the zoo?

[gmom]

Thanks for the response and the tips. Will put them to use as best I can. Your Anna is gorgeous, and just the sort of pic I wish I could come up with. Our young rubythroats don't have much color, yet, and the few adult males have proved particularly elusive.