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by Lori A. Cash Tips for the Beginner Bird Photographer

Essential equipment for bird photography. If just starting out in bird photography, I strongly recommend using an autofocus digital SLR camera. It offers substantial technical benefits over film SLR’s. The histograms display on the digital SLR is a main benefit. In just starting out in photography, the histogram is a great learning tool while in the field shooting. It allows the photographer to make exposure adjustments while shooting your subject. A good intermediate telephoto zoom such as a Canon’s 100-400mm IS or Nikon’s 80-400mm vibration reduction lens and a telephoto lens such as the 500mm f/4 are invaluable in capturing images of birds. A good sturdy and lightweight tripod such as the Gitzo 1325 with a Wimberley head, which is a gimbal-type tripod head makes handling the big telephoto lenses easier. Teleconverters increase your focal length and make it easier to get closer to skittish birds. However, with teleconverters attached between the camera and lens you lose one f/stop with a 1.4 x and two f/stops with a 2x teleconverter. A 1.4x teleconverter will transform a 500mm f.4 lens into a 700mm f/5.6 lens, while a 2x teleconverter will transform the same lens to a 1000mm f/8.0 lens. Images may lose some sharpness, especially if you are not using a high quality professional lens. I routinely use a Canon 1.4x teleconverter with my Canon 500mm f/4 lens for bird photography. This setup allows for the camera to maintain autofocus control and results in sharp images.

Fast shutter speeds and wide-open apertures. Slower shutter speeds are fine for birds at rest; however, fast shutter speeds are required to freeze action in bird photography. I recommend at least 1/500th of a second for action shots. A wide-open aperture such as an f/5.6 will enable you to have a faster shutter speed. Fortunately, a plus for using a wide-open aperture is that it allows the background to blur, which gives a very pleasing image of your subject. On sunny clear days I set my camera to ISO 200 for the extra shutter speed. Depending on lighting conditions, increase the ISO as needed to maintain higher shutter speeds. Higher shutter speeds are essential in bird photography as you want to capture birds doing something interesting such as singing, yawning, squawking or flying.

Image composition. Blurring your background draws the eye to your subject. Cluttered backgrounds are distracting to the main subject of your image. The further away the background is from your subject the more it will provide a soft and non-distracting image even if the background is cluttered. Try to evaluate the foreground and background for displeasing distractions before pressing the shutter button. Sometimes just changing your camera angle will eliminate unwanted objects in your frame. Where the bird is placed in your frame; therefore, using the rule of thirds to draw imaginary lines in your frame is a useful tool. By using the rule of thirds you will leave enough space for the action to lead into the frame. Also, using a grid-type focusing screen makes it easier to compose your images because of the 3-line horizontal and 6-line vertical pattern on the focusing screen. Try to include some of the natural setting in your frame to help give your image perspective. Don’t forget to shoot vertical images as well as horizontal. Vertical format is almost always essential when shooting long-legged birds that fill your frame (such as herons and egrets).

Exposure modes. The majority of the time I use aperture-priority (AP) mode when photographing birds. When using this mode I set the aperture and let the camera set the shutter speed. This mode allows for the fastest shutter speeds available. I also use evaluative Through the Lens (TTL) metering to help determine the best exposure for my images. However, TTL metering in your camera measures the light that passes through your lens and will give correct exposures for middle-tone scenes. Learning to use exposure compensation is very important for adding light to dark subjects on sunny days and subtracting light on white subjects on sunny days. This is where having a digital SLR and using the histogram is helpful in making sure that you set the correct exposure for each image. There may be times when it is necessary to use manual mode (you set the aperture and shutter speed). For example, following an active subject where the background changes may present different metering situations; therefore, using manual mode would be beneficial in this situation. Shooting in RAW mode and converting to tiff files allows greater flexibility in processing your images. I use BreezeBrowser Pro to convert RAW images with further processing of my images in Adobe Photoshop CS2.

Stay at bird’s eye level. In photographing birds it is best to be on the same level as your subject by keeping it in the same focal plane as your lens. If shooting birds on the ground, the best method is to get down as low as possible such as lying on the ground. A Walt Anderson Panning Ground Pod is great for use with telephoto lenses while shooting from the ground. If shooting birds in trees, extend your tripod legs and get as much height as possible to get you as close to the bird’s eye level. Angles such as looking down on birds are not appealing to the eye.

Get as close as possible to your subject. Birds are difficult subjects to get close to as they are often nervous and skittish. Approach slowly and quietly with your camera and lens in the ready to shoot mode. Stop frequently and use objects such as trees or brush to hide behind. Avoid making any jerky motions or loud noises. As mentioned above, a good technique of getting close to birds, especially on the beach, is to get on the ground and scoot yourself towards the bird. Standing or walking toward the bird will almost certainly flush the birds. Fill your frame as much as possible. The longer your lens, the further you can be from your subject and the less likely to disturb it.

Early morning and late afternoon/evening lighting. The couple of hours just after sunrise and the couple of hours before sunset are the best lighting conditions for bird photography on sunny days. These lighting conditions are soft and yield better color and details. Sunlight during the day provides for harsh lighting and contrasting shadows. Cloudy to overcast days provide diffused lighting which allows for shooting all day. However, bird activity is at its peak during the early morning and late evening. The angle of light towards the subject is very important. When the sun is out be sure to use direct frontal lighting. This keeps the sun to your back and points your shadow towards the bird. Direct frontal lighting provides even lighting to your subject and prevents underexposure to the shadow side and/or overexposure to the highlight side of the bird that you get with side lighting.

Using fill-flash. By adding light to shadows and brightening colors on overcast days, fill-flash will greatly improve your images. TTL technology offered in most modern flashes provides reflective light off the subject that is measured through the lens by a sensor in the camera. Most flashes will have compensation settings and most SLR camera bodies have the ability to compensate depending on the various lighting situations. It is important to use high-speed sync mode on your flash as this enables you to use any shutter speed. The high-speed sync mode is usually turned on by your flash; however, with some brands of cameras this function is controlled by the camera custom settings. When using telephoto lenses over 300mm I recommend the Better Beamer Flash Extender. This will extend the distance of your flash range. Also, mount your flash off the camera’s hot shoe as this will reduce the chances of giving the bird flash eye. If hand holding a zoom telephoto lens, I recommend the Kirk’s telephoto flash bracket as it mounts to the foot of the lens, otherwise, I recommend using the Wimberley flash bracket while using your tripod. This bracket attaches to the tripod head and allows you to interchange lenses without removing the flash.

Know your subject and where to find them. Learning the behaviors of birds and their habitats allows you to anticipate the upcoming behaviors and allows you to know when to have your camera ready and poised to take a picture. I recommend searching on the internet and reading guide books about particular birds that you are interested in photographing. Also, while out in the field shooting or scouting areas, pay attention and take notes about bird behaviors. With digital photography, it makes it easy and cost effective to get out in the field several times a week photographing and practicing. The more you are out in the field the better your photographic skills will become and the more you will learn about the behaviors of your subjects. Knowing bird behaviors such as feeding habits, breeding season and migration patterns gives you the opportunity to photograph birds in action which adds tremendous impact to your images.

Practice in your backyard. Bird photography takes a great deal of practice and patience. A great place to practice shooting is in your own backyard. Place a couple of bird feeders in locations that will provide you good opportunities to photograph birds. Take in consideration the following when placing your bird feeders: lighting, perches, background and your position and distance from the feeders. In addition, if you have a big enough yard, place nest boxes on your property to attract nesting birds such as bluebirds, titmice, and chickadees. Using a blind or being able to shoot from a window in your house makes it easier to photograph backyard birds as they are not as alarmed by your presence. I recommend, if you can, to practice every day photographing birds in your backyard. This practice will pay off, and you will develop techniques for shooting birds in the field, which will greatly improve the quality of your images.

Copyright ©2006 by Lori A. Cash. All Rights Reserved. Posted with writer's permission.

See Lori’s work at www.lacphoto.com and www.lacstockimages.com