Shooting birds is not an easy task (and I don't mean just shooting them down with a rifle!). The birds can rarely stand still for a second and these few seconds are when the action starts for most photographers. Having the proper combination of equipment also helps to freeze motion a bit, maybe raise the ISO, lower the aperture and remove all filters from the lens. But have you ever wondered what really makes the shot?
In my opinion it is a combination of anticipating the right moment, having the right equipment, light conditions and lots of luck. Whoever tells you that a photographer does not need luck to make a shot, he is misled to say the least. Luck with patience and anticipation are the keys to success in every theme in photography. For bird photography you will probably also need a long lens (200mm is the minimum if you don't want them to fly away) with 300mm or 500mm to be considered a very promising setup. I would also suggest a tripod to minimize motion in the short end of the lens and lots of light to compose a steady shot, meaning a sunny day. You will also have to boost your ISO to 800-1600 or even 3200 depending on the purpose of the photo (where it will be published, in what dimensions etc) and if you are serious about bird photography you could also use a hideout made of branches and leaves.
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| Afternoon shot with Canon EOS 400D and Sigma 70-300 macro APO Super II @300mm, f7.1, ISO 100 and 1/500 |
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| Afternoon shot with Canon EOS 400D and Sigma 70-300 macro APO Super II @300mm, f7.1, ISO 100 and 1/400 |
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| Afternoon shot with Canon EOS 400D and Sigma 70-300 macro APO Super II @300mm, f5.6, ISO 100 and 1/500 |
Some techniques will also help clearing up the resulting shots, maybe some blur in the background, some selective shadow and contrast repair and so on. Do not get disappointed as you will get many blurred, out of focus and half-subject photos. If you are patient enough, another photo opportunity will come again and maybe better in composition and timing, since you will now anticipate the action. Always burst-shoot to make sure any movement or moment is not missed and you could also pre-focus so you will only manual micro-focus when necessary to increase the chances of not missing the shot because you tried to focus all the way and compose at the same time.
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| Trying to compose and focus at the same time resulted in this messy, worthless shot. Pfff!! ISO 400, 1/100 Tamron f8 mirror |
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| How do you say "Sitting ducks", evening light is not very easy to use when the subject is moving, even in low speeds. ISO 200, 1/100 Tamron f8 mirror. |
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| When the subject is almost still and light conditions help, well... even the bad-quality lens perform miracles! ISO 400, 1/100 Tamron f8 mirror. |
Longer lens suffer from lack of contrast and saturation, but the correction is easily done in any Post Processing program. I have used a Tamron 500mm f8 Mirror lens which is almost impossible to control in terms of light needs, focus and color. I am using the specific lens with an adaptal to Canon convertor and it works, but I need to be precise in focusing as its aperture is fixed in f8 and the slight back or front focus is not as forgiving as with any variable aperture lens where you can increase or decrease the aperture ring.
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| This is a cropped photo, in 500mm you can't frame the shot the way you want. Cloudy day, 1/100, ISO 400 Tamron f8 mirror |
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| Don't be fooled by the clarity of the photo. I used layered tonal contrast to increase details and boosted the saturation, but 1/1000 and ISO 400 helped very much with Tamron f8 mirror! |
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| Canon EOS 450D, Tamron 500mm f8 mirror, ISO 400, 1/1000. When the light helps even the bad lens turn good! |
Another problem is the lack of contrast and color. Long lens are notorious for this and this lens is not an 1000+ $ lens to make things better. This means that the crystals are of medium to poor quality (I am being polite here!) and the resolution is ...well not up to my standards for quality. It is ok to snap and post in 800-1024 pixels, but that's it, you can't expect miracles! Even the best technique cannot save you on this.
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| Afternoon shot with Canon EOS 450D and Sigma 70-300 macro APO Super II @300mm, f8, ISO 800 and 1/800 |
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| Afternoon shot with Canon EOS 450D and Sigma 70-300 macro APO Super II @300mm, f8, ISO 400 and 1/800 |
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| Afternoon shot with Canon EOS 450D and Sigma 70-300 macro APO Super II @300mm, f8, ISO 400 and 1/800 |
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| Afternoon shot with Canon EOS 450D and Sigma 70-300 macro APO Super II @300mm, f7.1, ISO 400 and 1/500 |
My suggestions after all these failures, out of focus, lack of light shots are:
1. Shutter speed of 1/1000 to make sure nothing is moving and burst shooting at will.
2. Aperture of at least f5.6 to f8 (depends on the light and lens)
3. Don't be afraid to boost you ISO, but never go over 6400
4. Go in the morning, when the light is soft and balanced and use a long lens (you can always crop later by the way...)
5. If the day is overcast, boost the ISO some more (it is better to get a noisy photo than to get a blurry photo!)
6. Bring a tripod with you, but don't fix the position so movement is free for horizontal and vertical axis.
7. Be patient and anticipate the moment, focus on one bird and STAY with it, don't get lost checking everything out, you'll lose many shots trying to recompose.
8. Pre-focus your lens, make test shots and MAKE SURE THE TESTS ARE AS YOU WANT THEM, so you can base your next shots at these settings and focus on composing and precise-focusing.
9. Bring some water and food with you, it might not take that short time to get the shots you want after all...
10. Enjoy nature and don't litter!!!
10. Enjoy nature and don't litter!!!
