If you’re a budding bird photographer, you’ve probably asked yourself some of the same questions I’ve been asked over the years.
How do I get the perfect exposure? What shutter speed should I use? How can I keep my subject in focus? Can I use my smartphone to take pictures of birds? Yes! To help answer those questions, here are 15 tips for capturing stunning images of birds.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| Bird photography requires skill and patience. |
| Understanding bird behavior is essential for capturing great photos. |
| Choosing the right camera gear can make all the difference. |
| Composition is key in bird photography. |
| Lighting and timing can elevate your bird photography. |
An Introduction to Bird Photography
Bird photography is a challenging yet rewarding pursuit that requires a lot of patience and skill. The ability to capture the perfect image takes time, but with these 15 tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to mastering bird photography.
This guide will cover everything from equipment recommendations to camera settings and more! Let’s begin with an introduction to bird photography: what it is, why it’s fun, how you can get started with it…
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Using Manual Mode To Get The Perfect Exposure
Manual mode is an easy and fast way to ensure you get the perfect exposure, focus, white balance and ISO.
You can use manual mode on any camera as long as it has manual settings. You can also use it with your smartphone or tablet too! Now let’s take a look at how this works:
Using Manual Mode for Perfect Exposure
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
|---|---|
| Full control over settings, resulting in greater control over exposure. | Requires knowledge of exposure settings and their impact on image quality. |
| Allows customization of depth of field and shutter speed to achieve desired effects. | Requires time to adjust settings, meaning you may miss a shot. |
| Ability to maintain consistent exposure across a series of shots. | Can result in underexposed or overexposed images if settings are not adjusted properly. |
| Better suited for shooting in challenging lighting conditions. | More advanced than automatic or semi-automatic modes. |
Keeping Things in Focus
To ensure that your subjects are in focus, try using one of these techniques:
Use a tripod to keep the camera steady. Tripods can be bulky and awkward to carry around, but they’re invaluable when you need to capture sharp images of birds in flight or perched on branches.
Use a remote shutter release to keep the camera steady. A remote shutter release is an accessory that allows you to trigger your camera’s shutter without touching it directly; this gives you more control over how much movement is captured in each shot (especially useful if you’re shooting handheld). Some cameras come with built-in wireless remotes, while others require an external accessory like the Canon RS-80N3 Remote Switch shown above.
Use the focus lock feature available on most DSLRs or mirrorless cameras (including Sony Alpha models).
This feature lets you pre-focus on something before pressing down halfway on your shutter button and keeping it there until after taking your photo whether or not your subject remains centered within the frame during that time depends entirely upon whether or not it moved significantly between pressing half down and fully depressing said button!
If used correctly though (which again means making sure nothing moves), this can help ensure that whatever object was targeted will remain sharp regardless of what happens afterwards
But remember also: if someone else were looking at what was happening instead then they might think “What happened? Why did he stop shooting right there?!” because they don’t know about this cool technique yet either
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Remember That Birds Are FAST!
If you have any experience with bird photography, you know that they can be difficult to capture on camera.
For example, they’re so quick and unpredictable that it’s hard to follow them with your eyes in the air, let alone a camera.
In fact, most of the time when people try to photograph birds in flight they end up getting an image where the wings or tail feathers are out of focus due to their speed (the same problem happens when trying to photograph hummingbirds).
Capturing Fast-Moving Birds
| Tip | Description |
|---|---|
| Use fast shutter speeds. | A fast shutter speed helps to freeze motion and capture sharp images of birds in flight. A shutter speed of 1/ 800s or faster is ideal. |
| Track your subject. | To capture sharp images of birds in flight, it helps to pan your camera with the motion of the bird. This technique helps keep the bird in focus and blur the background. |
| Be prepared and anticipate flight. | Birds have flight patterns and preferred perches. If you’ve spent time observing the birds in your area, you’ll have a better chance of anticipating their movements and being ready to capture the perfect moment. |
| Use a burst mode. | Burst mode allows you to capture a series of images quickly and can ensure that you don’t miss the perfect shot. Be prepared to delete any shots that don’t turn out well. |
| Practice, practice, practice. | Capturing birds in flight takes practice. Take as many photos as possible, pay attention to your camera settings, and review your images to see what worked and what didn’t. The more you shoot, the better you’ll become. |
Using the Right Shutter Speed for the Subject
Shutter speed is the amount of time your camera’s shutter remains open when taking a picture. When you move the dial to change your settings, shutter speed is typically expressed in fractions of a second (for example: 1/1000).
Shutter speeds are measured in seconds or fractions of seconds and are always shown using full seconds on cameras (for example: 1/125).
If your camera has a built-in flash, it will automatically shut off if it detects that there’s enough light for an image to be taken without one!
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Focus Points and Keeping Your Subject In Focus
Although the autofocus is one of the main reasons why people love shooting with their DSLR, it can be a bit of a double-edged sword when trying to capture birds in flight and not have them blurry. This is because the camera will focus on whatever object is closest to it.
If you are photographing stationary subjects, then all this means is that you need to make sure your subject is clearly visible by using your manual focus ring as well as looking through your viewfinder/live view screen at just how sharp things look.
But if you are photographing something moving like birds or even small animals like squirrels, then things get trickier since they will move before the camera has time to focus.
To keep your subject in focus in these situations, there are two main things that can be done: 1) Use Single Point Focus Mode 2) Use Continuous Autofocus Mode
How to Get Your Camera to Keep Up With Fast Moving Subjects
The general rule is that you want to keep your shutter speed as fast as possible. For example, if you’re photographing a bird in flight, try using a shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second or faster. If that doesn’t work, switch from autofocus (AF) to continuous autofocus (AI Servo AF).
This mode allows you to track the subject while keeping it in focus so there aren’t any out-of-focus shots.
If none of these solutions work for you and your camera just can’t keep up with the action, there are two other options: use a tripod or switch to manual focus mode and manually adjust the focus on your lens.
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What Settings Should I Use For Bird Photography?
When it comes to camera settings, there are a few things you should know. First, you’ll want to set your camera’s ISO around 800 or 1600. This is important because the higher the number, the more light will be allowed into your camera and onto your image sensor.
If your ISO is too low, then not enough light will hit your sensor and all of those beautiful colors of a bird flying through an open field will be lost in darkness!
Next up on our list of camera settings are aperture and shutter speed: Aperture Priority Mode allows users greater control over depth-of-field while keeping shutter speeds fast enough for handholding without blurring images (recommend 1/1000th per second).
Manual Mode allows photographers total control over every aspect of their picture including exposure time (1/1000th per second) via shutter priority mode with auto focus locked by pressing down halfway during composition phase before releasing finger when ready for exposure phase which begins after clicking button again while still holding down halfway down until finished capturing image(s).
How to Use a Telephoto Lens For Bird Photography
You’re going to need a telephoto lens for this one. These are typically lenses with focal lengths of 150mm and above.
They allow you to capture more details in your images and also get closer to your subject without disturbing them.
For example, if you want to take an image of a bird sitting on a branch in the middle of its habitat, you would need a shorter lens such as a 70-200mm or 200mm prime lens (which is also known as ‘prime’ because it doesn’t zoom).
This is because you cannot get close enough to that particular type of subject using such short focal lengths while still maintaining sharp focus on both the foreground and background. It would be like trying to take pictures from across the street!
Find out how to snap the most beautiful bird photos with these expert techniques in our guide on snapping the most beautiful bird photos with expert techniques. From choosing the right camera to understanding bird behavior, this guide will give you practical tips for capturing stunning bird images.
When to Use Manual Mode Vs. Auto Modes With Your Camera
There are times when you will want to use manual mode and other times when you may find it easier to leave your camera on auto.
Use manual mode: When shooting in low light or when you want to control the exact settings of your shot, such as controlling your aperture or shutter speed.
Leave it on Auto: If you are using a tripod and are using a long exposure for example, then leaving your camera on auto will keep the image sharp because there isn’t any movement during the exposure time.
If you plan on doing any type of panning or tracking shots then leave this feature off otherwise it will cause blurring of moving objects in an attempt to track them with no success!
Using Continuous Autofocus (AI Servo AF) For Birds In Flight
To capture birds in flight, you need to use Continuous Autofocus (AI Servo AF) which will keep the focus on your subject.
This is especially true when shooting fast-moving subjects, like birds in flight. When using single shot autofocus (AF-S), it takes time for the lens to stop at one point and lock onto the bird’s position before snapping a photo.
With continuous autofocus enabled, however, your camera will continuously adjust its focus point so that it stays locked on your subject even if they’re moving quickly!
Creating Colorful Sunstars And Bokeh In Bird Photos
Bokeh and sunstars are two of the most popular effects among photographers. Even beginners who want to improve their photography skills can benefit from learning how to create these effects in bird photos.
Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas in a photograph, or even an image that has been digitally manipulated to produce an effect similar to this.
It’s commonly used in portraiture and can be achieved by adjusting aperture size, focal length and moving closer or farther from a subject.
The more pronounced bokeh appears, the more “swirly” it will look. Sunstars are created by light reflecting off small points on your camera lens when shooting towards bright lights such as suns or flashes (cameras have multiple lenses).
If you’re interested in creating either type of effect when taking pictures of birds then read on!
Using a Tripod For Sharp Images Every Time
Using a tripod for sharp images every time is a must whether you are photographing birds, macro, landscapes, night scenes, sports or portraits.
The stability of your camera allows you to take your time and compose the shot with confidence. A tripod will help eliminate camera shake caused by wind or your own movement which can show up as blurry photos.
Tripods are also useful in low light situations where the shutter speed needs to be faster than what is possible hand held.
Conclusion
We hope this article gave you a solid introduction to bird photography, as well as some tips on how to capture better images.
Remember that the best way to learn is by practicing, so get out there and start shooting!
Further Reading
If you’re looking to learn more about bird photography, be sure to check out these resources:
Tipling: Top Ten Tips for Bird Photography – Nature TTL offers this guide with expert tips to help you capture stunning bird photos in the field.
20 Tips for Bird Photography – Photography Life provides this comprehensive guide with tips ranging from equipment suggestions to the nuances of fieldcraft.
15 Breathtaking Examples of Bird Photography– Photography Talk’s exclusive collection of breathtaking bird photographs will inspire you to go out and photograph the birds around you.
FAQs
What tips are there for bird photography?
There are a variety of tips for bird photography, including understanding bird behavior, choosing the right camera settings, and using appropriate equipment. Resources like the guides listed in the “Further Reading” section can provide more detailed information.
What camera gear is best for bird photography?
When it comes to bird photography, having a telephoto lens and a camera with a fast burst rate can be advantageous. Additionally, choosing the right camera settings, such as shutter speed and aperture, can also impact the quality of your photos.
How can I get closer to my bird subject?
In order to get closer to your bird subject, it’s important to understand their behavior and habitat. Using a blind or camouflage clothing can also help. Additionally, being patient and waiting for the bird to come closer can improve your chances of getting a great shot.
How can I improve my composition in bird photography?
Understanding the rules of composition, such as the rule of thirds, can improve your composition in bird photography. Additionally, being mindful of the background and the positioning of the bird within the frame can also make a difference.
What is the best time of day to photograph birds?
The best time of day to photograph birds is typically during the “golden hour,” which is the hour after sunrise or the hour before sunset. At these times, the light is soft and warm, which can create stunning photos. However, depending on the location, the time of day when birds are most active may differ.
Hello! I’m Hellen James, and I’m a birdwatcher and birder. I have a personal interest in bird behavior and classifications and have been following the latest research on the topic for years.