How do you take your bird photos? (1 Viewer)

As a newcomer to photographing wild birds (although not a newcomer to photography), what would you say is the single best advice to give someone starting out. There are some absolutely first class pictures in the gallery and there are some which don't work so well.

What are the secrets?

• Do some people simply walk around with camera in hand waiting for opportunities to present themselves?
• Should I purchase a hide? (if so, how do you handle strange reactions from the public when they see you huddled inside with a long-lens camera?)
• Do I focus on one patch, get to know it well - and then hang around regularly visited trees/bushes waiting for the right moment?
• Should all photos be taken at 5.30 in the morning?

You get the picture.

I have a Canon 350D and a 400mm f5.6 (plus 1.4 X Tele converter)

Hi Kevin

The best piece of advice I could give you is to just hunker down in a likely spot. You can usually tell by the sounds you hear upon your approach. You would be amazed just how close the birds will come to you w/o a blind if you are fairly still. Also, clothing that blends in with the surroundings is a good idea.

I'm sure you will get lots of suggestions.

I'm scared to answer in case I'm one of the gallery contributors of "don't work so well" pictures!

Keith Reeder said:

I'm scared to answer in case I'm one of the gallery contributors of "don't work so well" pictures!

Click to expand...

:clap: LOL


Believe me, having checked out your website - you've got nothing to worry about. Stunning!

Kevin,
Like Keith I am a bit hesitant to answer. I am pretty good at capturing "don't work so well" pictures. But on those occassions when it does seem to work well, here's what I do.

Yes, some people wander target-rich areas and shoot what presents itself. Personally, I like to have some sort of plan. You know, I scope out the area if it is new to me. I look for a good direction to shoot (light-wise) and try to find a spot with activity that also gives me good light on my subjects. If you know your quarry's habits, this can be figured out fairly easy. IOW, if I am shooting waterfowl, I will stay close to the water. If I am shooting raptors, I will place myself near their food source.

I've never shot from a hide, so I don't feel qualified to comment. I have a fairly decent "stalking technique" and try not to get too close to my subjects. Especially if they are nesting or eating.

Focusing on one patch, or getting familar with one area is always a good idea. Like fishing, you have to know where they are biting. With birds, it helps to know where they will be. I wouldn't totally limit myself to one "patch" unless I was looking to shoot one particular type bird. You know what they say about variety

You will get the best lighting during the early morning and late afternoon. It is also easier to get well lit underwings when the light isn't coming from a mid-day angle. If you shoot white or dark birds, or a mix, the softer morning/evening lighting will lessen the difference in tones. No harsh whites and no deep shadows. You can also use something like a Better Beamer on your flash to "fill" during hours where the light is harsher.

Other things that come to mind. Try to show some unique or viewable behavior. Shoot from the birds perspective if possible. It might mean laying in wet grass or soil, but it will result in a more interesting perspective. Whatever you do, try to get sharp eye focus and expsosure. Good feather detail is fine, but without a visible eye it really doesn't do much for me. If shooting fliers, work on you panning technique. Shoot ducks or gulls as practice for capturing smaller fliers. Preset you gear to make sure you are ready to fire when the opportunity presents itself. You should have your ISO, aperture (allowing a fast speed) and focal length already set up. Scan the skies to see what the fliers are doing or where they are going. You can then try to place yourself in that path for the next group/bird that comes along. I notice that raptors will follow the same hunting routes. Place yourself along the route. Also, you can place yourself between nesting birds and their food or nest material sources.

I'm sure the great shooters here can add hundreds of other tips

Steve

Kevin said:

Believe me, having checked out your website - you've got nothing to worry about. Stunning!

Click to expand...

Blimey! Are you sure it was my site you looked at?



Where I live, circumstances where I'd feel happy hunkered down in a hide waiting for the perfect opportunity are thin on the ground: not only is my part of the the world environmentally pretty impoverished, but the local "yoof" would doubtless see a hide as a perfect opportunity to test their arson skills on something new!

I've no doubt though, that in an ideal world, that's the way to go for "showstopper" shots: getting unobtrusively close to the birds and picking (or setting up) the perfect shooting environment is what the professionals often do, and it shows in their results.

So I make the most of the limited opportunities available to me by being familiar with my patch: I'm actually hoping to make some use of this knowledge to get some owl shots this summer (little owl in particular), but then I'll have to do the 5:30 am thing - and I hate that!



Thing is, I'm only doing this for fun, and in order to document what I see on my wanders, and so what I do is a good "fit" for my needs - I'm a birder with a camera, not a photographer who likes photographing birds.

If I was after something more serious than that, I'd probably adopt a more serious - or anyway, more disciplined - approach, but I quite like the "wandering around and seeing what opportunities present themselves" way of doing it, even though I'm in no doubt that I could get better pictures by being more selective in where, when and how I shoot.

A thought: if my pictures work, it's often in spite of any technical photographic quality they demonstrate - more often than not it's the composition and the crop that make the difference with my pictures, which can be noisier and not as full of really fine detail as some people might like (just a trade-off of the gear I use, the conditions I use it in and how I use it), so maybe another question to ask is "what kind of images are you looking to take?"

C'mon Keith ! - your images are fantastic !! Don't underestimate your photographic capabilities.

As for technical advice - i suppose there are as many advices as there are photographers.... every one finding what suits him\her .
But i'm sure about one thing : no matter what gear you have , if you have the patience and will - you'll get top notch photos .

Great answers so far guys.

The reason for asking the question is that I have had the camera equipement for 3-4 weeks now, and although I've had a couple of 'pleasing' shots - the number I've had to discard is huge.

I've not adopted any plan - I've simply gone out either with or without a tripod and tried to seize opportunities as they arose.

I'm a bit dissatisfied and believe there could be a whole bunch of things I ought to be doing to get better results.

When I see so many excellent photos in the Gallery, I figured I ought to see what everyone else is doing that I'm not.

Just keep a camera at the ready.If you see a bird perched on a branch and it flies off when you are near,just stay perfectly still and wait.There is a 100% chance the bird will return to the same perch,whereby you will have your camera ready to take a shot.Listen as you walk/cycle around your local patch.The birds you can hear in the bushes will undoubtledy(misspelt-methinks!!!)will come out and sit atop the bushes once they think you have passed by.
Many good bird shots are pure luck,one just happens to be in the right place at the right time.Lots of patience and waiting can produce the elusive shot.

Well I'm no expert, but here's my take on things...

I take a camera everywhere with me, you never know when the opportunity for a good photo will arise. As others have suggested, it's good to have your camera set up before you go out, you don't want to miss a shot becuase you're altering settings.

When I first got the camera I deleted a higher percentage of shots than I do now (though I still bin more than I keep), the reasons for this are simple. I think about light, if a shot won't work I just don't take it and I use a tripod a lot more. I find that all of my better photos are taken using a tripod or beanbag for support so I always try and use one.

I have spent some time getting to know a few sites well and now get a lot more out of them. I've learnt which birds show well at each site and where and when is best for photographing them. I'm often to go out to try for a specific photo/species and will happily put many hours in to get it. I certainly plan my shots a lot more now, if you can capture a bird 'behaving' in some way it often makes for a more interesting shot.

All those great photos in the gallery will have been processed in some way. Many will have some cropping, adjustment of levels and sharpening... learning how to use a program like Photoshop will help you get the best out of the shots you take. One of the biggest advantages of digital (apart from the running costs) is the fact that you can crop an image to improve the composition, this can vastly improve a shot.

One of the best pieces of advice I got from my "old photographer mate" was to walk slowly and stop frequently to watch and listen. Most birds are creatures of habit and will use the same perches/feeding/bathing areas on a regular basis. I like to develope about 3 regular spots to go back to at different time of the day/year. I also think it's worthwhile getting around your local patch at sunrise and sunset at least once a week or as often as possible. Also I do 90% of my bird photography sitting down benches/rocks/ground as birds will come closer. I hope this and the other good advice in these responses help to improve your success rate. Neil.

I can relate to the hesitancy of others to answer this question, as it’s easy to feel under qualified, but I love photographing birds and I get very excited about the thought of doing it and talking about it, so it’s difficult to resist!

You have been given some excellent advice here and there’s probably a lot more to come. This is an excellent forum and the knowledge and experience here is invaluable. I also suggest you try to learn from those who earn their living from photographing birds (if you haven’t already done so). There are some excellent books out there (I’ve read nine of them over the last two years), and you’ll learn something from all of them.

When I first started, I would find a location in a book or on the Web, and set off with my camera and hope for the best. I’ve got some of my better shots this way, but I’ve also spent a lot of time wandering around without using my camera.

If I were starting again I would do the following:

1) For practising technique, I’d go to those places where I know there’d be lots of birds to photograph – Red Kite feeding stations, WWT reserves, Gull colonies like Walney Island, Bempton Cliffs, etc. I would then learn quickly, and make the most of the other, less frequent opportunities that came along at other locations.

2) I’d find and get to know my local patches (sooner) and the species that are there at all times of the year (it was over a year before I discovered my favourite patch, which is less than 5 miles away!). Some reserves will produce a list of the species that were there at various times of the previous year. I often visit these in the evening after work in the summer.

3) I’d think more about what I was doing. If a noticed a bird in particular area, but didn’t manage to get a shot, I’d make a note of where it was, go back at a later time, and wait and watch. If visiting the coast, I’d check the tide times (seems obvious, but...) and the species likely to be there. These things don’t guarantee good photographs, but do increase the chances I think.

4) I’d take my tripod EVERY time and use it ALL the time (3 exceptions). I notice you have the same lens as me, which is very sharp, but in my opinion it needs to be mounted on a tripod to produce consistently sharp images.

I suppose it boils down to your objectives. As Keith says, you might be a birder with a camera or a photographer wanting to photograph birds. This can determine the type of photograph you produce and the lengths to which you’ll go to get that photograph. If you fall into the latter category, what you will need I think, are time, patience and perseverance!

The very best of luck!

Kevin said:

Great answers so far guys.

The reason for asking the question is that I have had the camera equipement for 3-4 weeks now, and although I've had a couple of 'pleasing' shots - the number I've had to discard is huge.

I've not adopted any plan - I've simply gone out either with or without a tripod and tried to seize opportunities as they arose.

I'm a bit dissatisfied and believe there could be a whole bunch of things I ought to be doing to get better results.

When I see so many excellent photos in the Gallery, I figured I ought to see what everyone else is doing that I'm not.

Click to expand...

Kevin,
You say you've had your equipment 3-4 weeks now. Even if you shoot everyday, I think you may be working under a false assumption. As Pete mentions, his "hit rate" is much better than it was when he first started shooting birds. Same here. I shot thousands of bird shots (good thing the film is free before getting somewhat decent results on a consistent basis. An by consistent, I mean less shots taken and a higher keeper %. You will have to pay your dues (no matter how much you read up on the subject) before you will be satisfied with what you come home with. Additionally, as you get better results, your standards will probalby increase too.....LOL Meaning that you may never catch the brassring ;-) But the ride is oh-so-enjoyable I know some birders who shoot stunning shots and still aren't satisfied. I guess that's one way to keep improving and challenging yourself.

I didn't mean to wax philosophical, but I had to make sure you understand that, like with any other type of photography, you have to work to get the best results. It takes patience, time and failures. The more you fail, the better prepared you will be for your next shoot. The more you shoot, the better your results will be.

What settings to use will be the easiest thing to learn, IMO. But, there are so many other skills to master. Handholding skills, proper tripod usage and technique, panning skills, stalking skills, developing the ability to recognize interesting subjects and poses, composition skills, timing (not only shot timing, but being in the right place at the right time), post processing skills, knowledge of your quarry and its habits, just to mention a few. The final results will still be heavily dependent on the amount, direction and quality of light. Recognizing the differences in lighting may be the hardest skill to acquire.

I am far from the shooter I desire to be. I hope I didn't come off as some kind of know-it-all. Just trying to keep it (your expectations) real and share what I have experienced. Keep applying what you learn from reviewing your shots to your next shoot and your gallery pics will be drawing compliments before you know it



Good luck,
Steve

What Steve said..!



Another thing I'm re-realising every day is just how much difference the post processing can make: I know it's "obvious", but I've lost count of the number of times I've posted something "OK" on the gallery here, then gone away and tried something slightly different in PP and ended up with - to me - a far preferable result.

At the moment I'm going through that in spades, because I'm trying Bibble as my RAW converter, instead of Nikon Capture.

My initial impressions are that Bibble is a lot better than NC for to my tastes (a damn' sight cheaper too, Nikon users!) and I've been reworking lots of "nearly" pictures tonight, getting what I think are much better pictures for my trouble.

Even some of my "unusable" D200 disasters are coming out almost tolerable!!

Keith,
Let us know how the Bibble experiment goes. I just read a post where a shooter I respect said the NR issue you mentioned with your D200 RAWs, is a Nikon Capture issue. He said it adds the NR automatically and you can't bypass or disable it. If that's true, the NR isn't happening at the sensor-level. That's really good news, if true

Steve

Keith Reeder said:

What Steve said..!

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Ditto!

I think a number of BF members have bought equipment similar to what other members are using expecting to get similar results without fully appreciating how much time the other members may have put in over the years. Many were not on the internet at the time they learned their trade and were thus not in a position to inflict their early efforts onto an unsuspecting audience!

The best advice I'd give is to get yourself fully familiar with your kit so that you are ready to use it in any situation (not just birds) without thinking.

Adey Baker said:

Many were not on the internet at the time they learned their trade and were thus not in a position to inflict their early efforts onto an unsuspecting audience!

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Never thought of it that way. It kinda puts it into a sensible perspective.

Good thread this, some excellent advice in it. I'll come in as another reluctant contributor, someones gonna come into the latter category!

Not sure if this has been covered but time of year has to influence our photographic aims. I tried to map out a plan for the year with sites already researched (probably on this forum) to maximise my chances of a half decent result.

Winter. Feeding station. I think the easiest way to get results. Find, or setup a feeding station in the autumn where you'll be able to get close to the birds.

Spring. Wildfowl and Raptors. Places like Gigrin Farm are excellent in the early spring when the days are a bit longer but there are still big numbers of birds coming for the free handouts. WWT reserves are also full of immaculate plumage wildfowl and are easy to get close too.

Summer. Seabirds, and Warblers. Staggering from one disaster to another with this plan but the theory is: Somewhere like Bempton or further north should be good for seabird colonies (south stack was hopeless yesterday.)
Warblers need a bit of leg work to find singing males and then its a waiting game.

Autumn. Waders. Return migration is usually a less hurried affair than spring and there should be good numbers to go at.

Thats my basic plan but its certainly eye's and ears open for the other opportunities that will come along.

All the best

Paul

SMC2002 said:

Keith,
Let us know how the Bibble experiment goes. I just read a post where a shooter I respect said the NR issue you mentioned with your D200 RAWs, is a Nikon Capture issue. He said it adds the NR automatically and you can't bypass or disable it. If that's true, the NR isn't happening at the sensor-level. That's really good news, if true

Click to expand...

Not so sure it is good news, Steve.

It's true that Nikon NR is "added on", rather than at the sensor level - true at least, for all the Sony CCDs Nikon use.

If Nikon have implemented "always on" NR in the D200, it suggests to me (and I've believed this for a long time now) that it's because they know just what a noisy sensor the D200 sensor really is.

That's bad, because it presumably means that everything coming off the sensor is noisier than we want it to be, and Nikon are trying to hide the fact with always-on NR.

(They are actually open about the fact that at 800+ ISO the NR will always be on to some extent, but I reckon it's working at 400+ ISO, and possibly even lower).

I suppose the "good" lies in the fact that with Bibble (say) I can at least control the NR being applied: but if I'm right about the inherently high noise from the chip, the image won't have captured as much detail in the first place (there'll just be noise instead), and so even "better" noise reduction won't really help that much...

It's largely academic anyway, 'cos I've finally managed to get agreement on a refund on the D200, and I'll be joining the "Dark Side"..!

Hmmmm... Which lens do you think I should buy?



Oh - Bibble Lite really does seem pretty good though.

Keith Reeder said:

Not so sure it is good news, Steve.

It's true that Nikon NR is "added on", rather than at the sensor level - true at least, for all the Sony CCDs Nikon use.

If Nikon have implemented "always on" NR in the D200, it suggests to me (and I've believed this for a long time now) that it's because they know just what a noisy sensor the D200 sensor really is.

That's bad, because it presumably means that everything coming off the sensor is noisier than we want it to be, and Nikon are trying to hide the fact with always-on NR.

(They are actually open about the fact that at 800+ ISO the NR will always be on to some extent, but I reckon it's working at 400+ ISO, and possibly even lower).

I suppose the "good" lies in the fact that with Bibble (say) I can at least control the NR being applied: but if I'm right about the inherently high noise from the chip, the image won't have captured as much detail in the first place (there'll just be noise instead), and so even "better" noise reduction won't really help that much...

It's largely academic anyway, 'cos I've finally managed to get agreement on a refund on the D200, and I'll be joining the "Dark Side"..!

Hmmmm... Which lens do you think I should buy?



Oh - Bibble Lite really does seem pretty good though.

Click to expand...

Keith,
I sort of figured that Nikon had a reason for applying "always-on" NR :-( As a former Sony shooter, I have to admit that once they went to 8mpxls, their sensors seem to all have noise issues :-( My 5mpxl 717 did decently @ ISO800 (in emergencies). I wouldn't use my 828 above ISO200 for the same reasons you give regarding the D200.

Hey!! We aren't the darkside. We're the guys with the big white hats. Or, more correctly, the guys with the long white lenses...LOL

Afer all of the flak in the 400mm F5.6 threads, I hesitate to mention it as the lens you need ;-) But, it is a perfect solution, for us non-rich types. You will not only be extremely pleased with its perfomance (add that cheap 1.4X Tammy TC), but you will no longer have to tolerate those "you don't even have this lens" comments...LOL

FWIW, I respect your opinion whether you have the gear being discussed or not

Good luck with your new gear ^5

Steve