Photographing birds is one of the toughest challenges in photography. It can also be one of the most satisfying. In the first of a new two-part series, wildlife and travel photographer Dale Morris shares four great tips to help you take your bird photography to the next level.
Birds are beautiful. They are also nervous, secretive, flighty, fast and infuriatingly difficult to photograph. Imagine the following scenario. A ‘code red’ goes out on the birders’ network – a lesser spotted booby tit (or something similarly rare!) has been spotted in a tree just a few suburbs from your home. You grab your best camera, biggest lens, heaviest tripod, jump into the car and race off down the highway. This will be your best shot yet – no one has seen a lesser spotted booby tit in 30 years! Ah, but it doesn’t have to be this way...
01 GET KITTED OUT
If there’s one form of photography which really does benefit from owning a great telephoto lens, its bird photography. For those who can afford it, a 400mm, 500mm or 600mm prime will set you up. In fact, why not sell your car, house and organs and go for an 800mm? Converters are pretty good at extending the focal length of smaller lenses, but you’ll lose a certain amount of light and creative bokeh.
It’s pretty hard handholding a bazooka-sized lens without getting blurry shots and a buggered back, so a sturdy tripod and a rigid gimbal head are strongly recommended. Flash units can come into play in bird photography, but the distance between you and the subject can render flash units almost useless. Attachments (such as the Better Beamer) are available and will extend the reach of your flash gun.
Black Eagle. When an opportunity presents itself try going for portrait style, or even abstract shots, such as head and shoulders, talons, or plumage. DSLR, 400mm focal length, 1/250s @ f/4.
02 WHICH CAMERA SETTINGS?
If the idea is to get a razor sharp shot of a fast-moving bird, then switch to shutter priority. Set your speed to at least 1/400s (or preferably faster) and keep your aperture at around f/6.7 to f/8. You’ll likely have to fiddle with the ISO settings to achieve this balance, especially in low-light conditions. If the bird is quite close to you (not at the extremes of your focal range) wider apertures such as f/2.8 and f/4 can sometimes cause depth of field problems between the bird’s beak and its eyes.
Lenses with built-in stabilisers (VR, OS, etc) won’t give you any advantage at high speeds, so switch them off if your objective is to capture fast birds in flight. If your camera has focus tracking, switch it on. This will help you pan and track any birds that are on the move. It’s also a good idea to lock your focus point at the centre of the frame. Composition and cropping can be sorted out later with your editing software. Spot metering
can often help, especially if the bird is small within the frame.
Open Bill Storks in flight. Use focus tracking, high shutter speeds and gently follow the bird through the viewfinder to get sharp images of birds in flight. DSLR, 210mm focal length, 1/2500s @ f/4.
03 MAKE A ‘BIRD STUDIO’
How about getting some 35mm style shots, or even a panoramic shot or two? That’s easier said than done when your subject tends to fly away at the drop of a hat, but you could always try setting up a remote rig. Bird tables and feeders are natural magnets to our avian friends, and it’s often possible to coax the little creatures down to where you can get great shots.
Perfectionists will go as far as rigging up a nice background on a frame and placing food in strategic positions in front of their cameras. You can do some fun stuff with remote triggers and flash guns this way. Stay ethical though! Calling birds close with voice playbacks can stress them out, as can too much disturbance to their territory.
Hornbill on the ground. This photo was taken by setting up my camera to a remote trigger and then throwing a few bread crumbs on the ground in front of it. With patience the birds got used to the camera making it possible to get this close-up wide-angle shot. DSLR, 14mm focal length, 1/125s @ f/18, with fast sync flash. Wireless remote shutter release used.
04 BE ARTY
It’s all too easy to throw away composition for the sake of a super sharp shot. Birders tend to prioritise the technical aspects of photography, like sharpness, in favour of things like composition. You got the shot. It’s sharp. Great! Move on to the next bird on the list. But think again! Birds are beautiful creatures that are an integral part of the landscape. Try to capture something aesthetically pleasing in your images if you can. Don’t forget the basics of what makes a good photo – good lighting, good subject matter and, above all else, good composition. Also remember the simple rule of thirds. Divide your frame with a ‘noughts and crosses’ type grid, and place the key subject on one of points where the lines intersect.
Blue crane. Use metering to your advantage. I spot metered on the brightest part of this crane, which had the effect of blacking out the already very dark background. A slightly diffused filter was also used. Be careful not to overexpose a bird’s plumage - it often happens! Often an intentional underexposure of a third of a stop or more is needed. DSLR, 400mm focal length, f/4 @ 1/250s.
How to Shoot Stunning Bird Photos (Part 2)
Excerpt from an article first published in Australian Photography + digital, November 2013.