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Introduction “A Journey of a Thousand Mile Begins With Single Step” - Confucius I started my blog Nature Photography Simplified with Simplified with this very quote in my Coming Soon page Soon page on December 2013. I have started my journey as a blogger with one article at a time. I know it is a long process to get noticed in this crowded internet, but I am sure I will succeed if I take baby steps...yes, steps...yes, baby steps! steps! If I start beating up myself everyday to get thousands of visitors in a day, then I am sure to be frustrated. It may probably force me to quit blogging too. But if I keep sharing very good content every time, then slowly and steadily I will be able to build a loyal audience audience like you and you may spread spread this word word far and wide to reach my goals faster! faster! Hold on...but why am I saying this to you? how does it ever make sense to you? Believe me, it does! You are starting off to a thousand mile j ourney of becoming a great bird photographer...don’t photographer...don’t you? And I am very happy that you have taken the first step by reading this ebook. But remember, it is not not different in your case. case. You have to take baby steps as steps as well. You have to take it easy, one step at a time. Understand each of these incredible tips one at a time and put them into practice. practice. Make one wonderful bird photograph at a time, then share it. Your friends and family members will start to notice your improvement and start sharing your work! You will be on your way of becoming a great bird photographer slowly and steadily. Good Luck and Happy Reading...
1
Camera and Lenses
Bird photography is by far the most expensive of all other photographic genre. One of the most debated topics is about camera and lenses. The reason is simple, birds are almost always very far, which dictates for telephoto lenses, and hyperactive, which dictates for faster AF performance. But everything comes at a greater cost. I would like to tell you that I got my first and very favorite of my bird photograph, Seagull Landing, Landing, with Nikon D60 and kit lens Nikkor 18-55mm lens! Believe me...I did.
Seagull Landing on a Lamp Post
Wide Spread Wings of a Great Egret
I made plenty of successful photographs photographs with my Nikkor 18-200mm lens as well for 4 straight years. I should admit that I learnt most of the photography concepts with lens alone. alone. Later I did use Nikkor 70-300mm lens and I was blown away with its performance with D300s and
D7000. It was more than sufficient to get most of my best photographs photographs with that. I have won several appreciation for the Great Egret photograph I took with Nikon D7000 + Nikkor 70300mm lens.
I have used Canon 5D Mark III + Canon 100-400mm lens for 1 year and had reasonable success it too. The left photograph of Great Blue Heron with a fish is made with Canon. Now, I own Nikon D7100 + Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 lens, after more than 5 years of photography experience. I am definitely able to make sharper and more detailed photographs now. Most of the photographs in this ebook are taken with 300mm f/2.8 lens.
“Whichever camera or lens I have used, it is always been the patience, perseverance and the love of photographing those beautiful creatures, which has made it possible to capture beautiful moments”
Great Blue Heron with Red Fish
I want you to always remember these lines:
“It is not just the lens or the Camera you use, which makes you a good photographer. It is the passion to capture those beautiful creatures, that inner drive to go out and wait for hours to get a live their life, is what makes you a wonderful photographer” Start with a good entry level or semi-pro DSLR camera and a decent telephoto lens like 18-200mm or 70300mm lens preferably with VR (Vibration Reduction) on Nikon lenses or IS (Image Stabilization) on Canon lenses. Start taking pictures of bigger and easier to approach birds like Ducks, Geese, Seagulls, or Swans. Learn and apply each and every concept that I describe in the rest of this e-book. Master them all.
Create some kind of a bond with a bird by visiting it often and just watching it without ever scaring it away. It will open up a new possibility in your life to communicate in silence! I was fortunate to make bonds with a Juvenile Blue Heron and a Green Heron, the one in the cover page. I have been watching them for over 6 months and they have given me so much joy that I cannot express. Try it...You will know it! There will be a time, when you realize that you are passionate enough to pursue this hobby more seriously. That is the time when you will consider buying more expensive gears if necessary.
2
Bird Photography Settings
There are many options to use for bird photography, depending on the needs and what suits you the best.
the camera decide on rest of the settings like Shutter Speed and ISO to get proper exposure.
I will try to explain some of the most widely used bird photography settings here. These are the settings which I use in my daily bird photography.
This is by far the most widely used mode in Bird Photography because of following reasons: ●
You can decide whether to blur the background completely to achieve most sought after “Bokeh” effect or to achieve deeper depth of field by showing the bird and its habitat
●
As the birds are very active and always on move, the light and the background changes drastically, making it quite difficult to change the shutter speed and/or ISO in fraction of seconds
Remember that, no matter which settings you use, the photography composition and the concepts remains the same.
Aperture Priority Mode Aperture Priority mode enables the user to select the Aperture to control the Depth of Field (DOF) and let
Shutter Speed Remember that the shutter speed should be atleast (1 / effective focal length) to avoid any kind of camera shake. If you are shooting at 300mm on a Crop factor camera (1.5x) then the effective focal length is 450mm. It means you need shutter speed of atleast 1/450th of a second to reduce the camera shake. Whereas, in case of Full Frame camera you can use 1/300th of a second.
conditions and aperture settings may not allow us to get higher shutter speeds. VR or IS system compensates for any camera shake normally due to slow shutter speeds. Depending on whether you have VR/IS (first generation systems) or VR-II/IS-II (second generation systems) you will get close to 2 stops to 4 stops of exposure compensation. Which means, if you are using VR/IS and if you are shooting at 300mm in a cropped sensor, then you can avoid camera shake with shutter speed of (1 / (effective focal length /4)) which is 1/112. Note: Each stop is typically multiple of 2.
VR (Vibration Reduction) / IS (Image Stabilization)
Shoot in Burst or Continuous Mode
I strongly recommend you to go for a VR (Nikon) or an IS (Canon) lens. It is not always possible to reduce the camera shake in the field, since the lighting
This is no-brainer I think. More frames per second you have, better it is. You do not want to miss that next unexpected movement of the bird.
Use the high continuous burst speed always.
Focusing modes Use single point for perched or static birds. This will allow you to focus on the bird which is off-centered and get a composition in the field itself. However, as you are aware, it is generally not easy to get a bird to sit obediently. Especially true in case of small birds. They will atleast be moving their head to check their potential threats. Larger birds like Herons and Egrets are generally not that threatened and can sit still for a long period of time. Most of the times you have to use cross-point focusing points like 9- or 15- or 21-points. Or sometimes all point focusing.
I would recommend you to use the cross-point focusing points if you can, as they are very responsive and can quickly achieve the focus. In general, smaller the number of focusing points greater will be the chance of achieving focus. But don’t stick to one or the other. Try using all the focusing settings and check which one you are very comfortable with and then stick to it.
“As a general rule of thumb, use focusing points which covers the entire body of the bird and some surrounding space” This way you will ensure that you give enough focusing points to the camera to achieve focus.
Spot Metering Mode
Shoot In RAW
The spot metering mode will be the best bet in bird photography since we want to perfectly expose for the bird always as opposed to it’s background.
Always shoot in RAW mode. Apart from its obvious advantage of having complete control over the processing, this will allow you to keep Auto White Balance in the field.
Of course, it is important to get the right exposure for background too, but there may not be enough chances if you miss the exposure on the bird.
If you get the white balance wrong in the field then you can correct it in the post.
“Spot metering will also be very helpful in getting the right exposure for white birds like Egrets and dark birds like Crow or Grackles”
But if you are shooting in JPEG, then there is no way to fix it or probably very hard if there is any latest software to do so.
However, use evaluative or matrix metering for birds in habitat since you are interested in the background too. Try using all the other metering modes that you have and see which suits the best for a given scenario.
3
Light
If there is no light , then there is no photograph.
“Photography is all about light” Light has quality and direction. Quality of light is as important as the direction of the light.
Based on the geographical location, season and weather conditions, you might have difference in the duration of time you get soft light and hard light. You may have more soft light during early spring, late autumn and winter months. Or you may get soft and well distributed lighting conditions during cloudy days.
Quality of Light Quality of light can be broadly classified as Soft light and Hard light. Soft light is generally the early morning light, generally 2 hours post Sunrise and late afternoon light, generally 2 hours before Sunset. Hard light is usually all other times of the day.
As the name suggests, it is almost always required to go with soft lighting for the bird photographs.
“The soft light is more diffused and helps to bring out the subtle and beautiful colors of the bird, without casting any unwanted shadows”
On the other hand, the hard light may cast unwanted shadows on the body of the birds as it is usually very directional. It is better to avoid it if possible.
The name of these categories are very much selfexplanatory. However, let us understand how each can affect the bird photograph.
Bird photographers do not have to care too much about hard light, since birds are very active during the early morning and evening. Most of their activities seize during the harsh sunlight when they normally take rest.
Front Lighting is when the bird is lit from the front, which means that Sun is behind you.
Direction of Light Along with quality of light, bird photographers should also consider the direction of the light. The Sunlight is always directional. It can be broadly classified as: Front lighting, Side lighting, and Back lighting.
Front light is the best lighting condition in the bird photography for obvious reasons that: ● it does not cast the shadows, ● it gives the catch light in the bird’s eye, and ● it helps to bring out all the beautiful colors in the bird’s feathers Most of the photographs in this ebook are examples of front lighting.
Side Lighting is when the bird is lit from the side. It is generally not ideal for bird photography since it will cast the shadow on the opposite side of the bird. It is better to avoid this lighting condition and change your position until the Sun is behind you or the bird is front lit.
Green Heron distracted while fishing
River Tern or Common Tern in backlight
Back Lighting is when Sun is behind the bird and you are facing the Sun. Back lighting has a unique characteristic of giving a rim light around the bird which gives bird’s feathers a translucent quality and also helps the bird to stand-out.
“Back lit bird during Sunrise or Sunset will almost always be most wanted bird photograph due to its orange-reddish rim light around the birds”
4
Rule of Thirds
The Rule of thirds is a guideline to compose a photograph which is visually compelling.
“The Rule of Thirds is probably the only photography composition technique that is necessary in Bird Photography”
If you divide a photograph with 2 equally spaced vertical and horizontal lines you will get 4 intersection points and 9 equal parts.
It is the most simple composition technique to understand and apply.
As per the statistical data, it is said that a photograph is more compelling or visually interesting if the main subject of interest, is placed on one of the 4 intersection points.
The Rule of Thirds photography composition can be applied to birds portraits, birds behavior, birds in action, birds in flight or any other type of bird photography.
In case if the main subject of interest is big enough, that it cannot be placed on the intersection point, then you can place the subject either on left or right third (vertical line) OR top or bottom third (horizontal line).
Composition Tips - Place the main subject of interest (bird in this case) on one of the 4 intersection points - Place the vertical subjects, like bird walking or perching, on either the left third or the right third line (vertical lines) - Place the horizontal subjects, like bird in flight, on the top third line (horizontal line) The Rule of Thirds Grid and the 4 Intersection Points
5
Get Proper Exposure using Histogram
Histogram is a graphical representation of the distribution of light and color components (RGB) of a photograph. In digital world, an image is made of collection of pixels and a pixel is made up of Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) color components.
Same concept applies to RGB histograms, where each histogram represents how Red, Green and Blue values are distributed in a photograph.
You will find two types of histograms in modern DSLRs. One which is represented in all white and a histogram for each color component R, G, and B. The white histogram represents the light distribution across the photograph that is captured. It just plots a graph by calculating how each light (or gray) value ranging from 0 (darkest or black pixel) to 128 (mid value or gray value) to 255 (brightest or white pixel). Check this in-depth article on Histogram.
Histograms showing RGB Composite (white which represents Light distribution), Red, Green and Blue components
If the distribution in the histogram is towards left hand side of the graph, then the photograph is said to be underexposed or is mostly dark.
Great Egret Staring
On the other hand, if the distribution in the histogram is towards right hand side of the graph, then the photograph is said to be overexposed or it is very bright.
Blue Heron in Flight
You must have realized how the histogram should look like for a proper exposure. It has to be distributed well within the extreme left or the extreme right side.
The histogram showing proper exposure of a Belted Kingfisher photograph
Expose to the Right It is usually better to avoid the distribution towards the left hand side of the histogram. The chances are that you will lose the fine details in the shadow regions.
To preserve the fine details, it is usually better to push the histogram towards the right hand side without overexposing the photograph.
6 It’s All in the Eye Have you ever wondered why some photographs of beautiful birds seems to lack the charm? Everything seems to be correct in such photographs but something important will be missing.
But how about the catch light? The light indicates life. Without the light in the eyes, the bird look boring or lifeless. It is always very important to get the catchlight in the bird’s eye.
That important thing is: ● The bird’s eye is not in focus ● There is no catch light in the bird’s ey e
Catchlight simply means a spark in the eye. It can be produced by any light source like Sunlight, reflected light, flash light, etc.
Birds look charming and lively only when their eye is in sharp focus and there is a catch light in their eye.
Since birds are found outdoors, it is not tough to get the catch light in their eyes. As you already are aware, you will always have to try to photograph a bird in the front lighting, which will make sure that there is catchlight in the bird’s eye!
When you look at the photograph of a bird, your eye goes straight into the eye of the bird. It acts as an anchor point for your eyes to rest, after scanning the entire photograph. We always strive to make an eye connection with the bird. So, it is very important to get the bird eye in sharp focus.
Peacock’s Portrait
Behind the Scenes Important Tips The peacock was probably few feet away from me in this instance. It was actually perched on a fence making it easier for me to try out few compositions.
- If the bird is perched or static, then choose single point focus and focus specifically on the
Since the subject distance was quite less I had to choose a smaller aperture leading to greater DOF that gets the bird’s entire body in focus of course with the sharp eye and catch light.
eye
- If the bird is in action or in flight, then choose an aperture value of f/5.6 or f/8 to make sure that eye is always in focus
- Check for the catch light in the eye. Make sure the bird is front lit - Use Rule of Thirds by placing the bird’s eye on or close to one of the 4 intersection points
7
Shoot at Bird’s Eye Level
A most common mistake among the beginners is that they photograph the bird from their eye level! Most of the birds are very small and stands only few inches to few feet on the ground. If you take photographs from your eye level then you are looking down towards the bird. This makes the bird to look dwarf or intimidated in the photograph.
“Instead, if you photograph the bird from bird’s eye level, then you will be able to transport the viewer in to bird’s world!” This is the most important factor in bird photography. It is about birds and their life. You should strive to portray that in the best possible way!
Initially you may feel bit uncomfortable sitting down or lying down in the outdoors. Every bird photographer would have faced this when they started taking an eye level shot. To be honest, I am really very shy when I am outdoors while taking bird photographs. I usually photograph birds in my apartment complex where the lakes are surrounded by apartments. I will be photographing birds in some crazy styles sitting down or lying down or sitting for hours sometimes. Sometimes I think what might people think about all this...but then...very thought of getting that next beautiful photograph makes me forget everything!
If you pre-visualize how you want to photograph the bird, then you will be so involved in watching the bird that you might not notice what is happening around you! You will be amazed how involved you are in photography. This will be an indication that you are becoming more passionate.
“The most important advantage of shooting at eye level is that you will get a beautiful bokeh effect in most of the cases. Which is probably another driving factor for bird photographers to photograph at bird’s eye level”
Red-headed Sparrow
Behind the Scenes Important Tips This beautiful red-headed sparrow was having its breakfast one day as I was on my everyday morning photoshoot.
- Always try to get an eye level shot of the bird to create an intimate photograph
It was like a red dot in the green playground. As usual I was standing still for few minutes until the bird started ignoring me and continued to enjoy it’s breakfast.
- If possible, try to use single point to get perfect focus on bird.
I lied down to get an eye level shot with focusing points set to 9-points and focused on the upper part of the body to get the bird in sharp focus. Used the maximum aperture to throw both foreground and background outof-focus by making the bird standout.
- If you have to use more focus points because bird is moving, then try to focus on the upper body of the bird
- Use maximum aperture to throw everything out of focus except the bird
8 Fill the Frame One of the most widely used composition in bird photography is to fill the frame with the bird. Which means, the bird takes anywhere between 50% to 80% of the frame giving very little amount of space for the background. This is one of the reason why the background is almost always blurred to give emphasis only to the bird. You do not always need a long telephoto lens to do this. A decent telephoto lens like 70-300mm will be more than enough to begin with. Consider using far end of the telephoto, like 300mm and maintain the subject distance such a way that you can fill the bird in the frame.
The pleasing blur or the famous Bokeh effect is achieved based on the below factors: ● The longer the focal length of the lens, greater is the bokeh effect or more blurred the background is ● The bigger the aperture opening (maximum aperture), more the blur is ● The shorter the subject distance (i.e., distance from the camera to the bird), greater is the blur ● The longer the distance between subject and it’s background, greater the blur Now you must have realized that longer focal length alone cannot give you pleasing blur effect . It definitely increases your chance to get better pleasing bokeh, but that alone is not the deciding factor.
“Remember to pay closer attention to the background and the distance between the bird and the background. You can get away with beautiful bokeh effect if the bird is far away from the background and you are closer to the bird” It may not be possible to always fill the frame with the bird, but you can do it in the post. Just make sure you give enough space around the bird so that you can compose it with Rule of Thirds.
Juvenile Blue Heron with a Fish
Behind the Scenes This is the Juvenile Blue Heron I spoke about. It took me several months to get this beautiful photograph.
Important Tips
- If the background is not that great, then try to
It is a very tough life for the Juvenile Blue Herons and the Great Egrets as any other predators. If they do not learn to fish properly, then there is no survival.
fill the frame just with the bird
I am very glad that this blue heron went onto become a very skilled fisher! and hopefully will survive for many more years to come.
background out of focus
In this photograph, the blue heron was probably 15 feet away from me which made it easy to fill the frame just with the bird and it’s prey.
- Try to use maximum aperture to throw the
- Try to get an bird’s eye level shot
9
Show Bird in it’s Habitat
Several times you can make a bird photograph more compelling by including bird’s habitat. In such scenarios, the bird acts as a main point of interest covering 25% to 50% of the frame and it’s habitat (or background) acts as a secondary point of interest. You have to pay more attention here because you want give only small portion to the bird as oppose to it’s habitat. Which means, you need to compose the photograph with much greater attention. Just by including it’s habitat does not make the photograph any better rather it will make it worse if you do not compose it properly.
How do you compose it then? Follow either or all of these to get compelling photographs: ● Make the habitat slightly blurred by choosing the right aperture value. For instance, if f/16 brings both the bird and it’s background in clear focus, then try using f/11 or f/8 until the background becomes slightly blurry ● Wait for the perfect light conditions, when bird is slightly better lit than it’s habitat. This will usually yield amazing results ● If you cannot do either of the above, then use wise judgement to include only portion of the habitat which is not asking for too much attention Essentially, your focus should be to make sure that bird is quite visible and well focused compared to it’s habitat.
Blue Heron pair in their Natural Habitat
Behind the Scenes Important Tips On this occasion, there were several blue heron families building their nest for the breeding season. I was photographing their flight for almost 2 hours but could not get a family photograph. The female in the photograph (standing) was in the nest peeping its neck outside waiting for the male. I was keeping an eye to see if the male arrives. After an hour, the male arrived and took over the nest while the female got ready to go!
- Use minimum aperture values like f/8 or f/11 to get both bird and it’s habitat in focus
- Wait for perfect lighting conditions to make the bird pop-up
- If the bird’s habitat is too intrusive, try to throw the background a bit out-of-focus by
With beautiful sunset light illuminating the subtle feathers of the birds, I had a chance to take couple of memorable photos.
playing around with aperture setting
10 Capture Birds in Action Birds are always on the move and ever active subjects which makes it challenging to photograph them. More challenge it is to photograph, more interested we will be to photograph them, since we love challenges! Though birds in action may also comprise of bird’s behavior and flight, I have kept them as separate topics to have more focused discussion. Here is simple difference between action and behavior: Behavior is reflex of the bird due to external stimuli and Action is the activity of the bird done consciously. Bird in action is always preferable to a bird perching or sitting quietly. Aim for photographing the bird in action like preening, walking, turning around, hanging upside down, etc.
All the composition principles have to be followed for birds in action also. Remember that:
“Even if the action is great, but the composition is not good, then photograph will fail to impress the viewer”
Juvenile Great Egrets in Action
Behind the Scenes Important Tips As said, Egret is my favorite bird and I never get tired of taking their photographs. Fortunately, there were atleast 20 juvenile egrets in a small pond! for few days giving me enough opportunities to make some wonderful photographs. This ballet action shot of two Juvenile Egrets came after 3 visits each of atleast 2 hour duration. These kind of action are very rare and definitely the one we should always look forward to. Aperture Priority, Spot Metering, and an aperture of f/4 did the trick of capturing this moment in a split second. Because the birds were atleast 25 feet far, aperture of f/4 was more than enough to keep them in focus.
- Make sure you get shutter speed of atleast (1 / effective focal length)
- Keep track of the bird and it’s movement
- Half press the shutter to lock the focus when you see a slight movement in the bird
- Once bird makes a move, track it for few split seconds and take multiple shots the moment focus is locked
11 Show Bird’s Behavior Bird’s behavior probably requires the most patience from us than any other type of bird photography. Why? Because the birds are always on watch. They watch us and our steps much more carefully than we watch them! Once they know that you are behind them to photograph, they are very much alert and watching you. They think you are a potential threat to them, which makes them to be on their toes. It can take from few minutes to hours to days to really get the bird feel comfortable and be on its own upto some extent. Once it starts to ignore you or starts to get comfortable with your presence, you will get to observe it’s actual behavior.
“The secret is...be patient and you will be rewarded with never before seen behavior of the birds, sometimes scary and sometimes funny!” Most bird photographers live for those moments when something crazy happens... and they seize that opportunity to proudly show it to the world. Remember to keep an eye on the composition. Since you are not sure when do you get that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, remember to have enough space around the bird to allow for any sudden movements. You can always do the required composition in the post.
Green Heron Standing Tall!
Behind the Scenes Important Tips Another favorite buddy of mine in the recent past is Green Heron. I have taken numerous photographs of this green heron and I am very thankful to the bird for all those poses. Generally, green heron stands with head retracted, making it’s neck almost invisible. It only extends to the full extent when leaning forward for fishing, as you see in the cover page. This instance was different. It was standing still with it’ s neck stretched completely and observing with utter attention. It was very clear to me that it is sensing some impending danger, though I couldn’t see it’s usual predator in the area, a falcon. I lied down to get an eye level photograph and also to give a sense of it’s real height!
- Do research and get to know it’s common behaviors!
- Be patient and stay still and far from the bird until the bird ignores you and be on it’s own
- Wait for the subtle signs of the birds
- If you are attentive, you will get an indication that something is going to happen, and probably that’s the moment you were waiting for!
12 Capture the Magnificent Flight Birds in flight is the most exciting and probably the most challenging task a bird photographer faces. It is the most popular type of bird photography who does not want to see birds in flight? Everyone is interested to see birds in flight.
Most of the birds, especially the big birds, are reasonably slow in flight and have a known flight characteristics. The more you spend time observing the birds in flight, the more you will be aware of their flight path, their takeoff and landing techniques.
The longer the lens better it is for sure. However, remember that the high-end lenses are very heavy and potentially require expensive tripod gears and a well built personality. Despite that, it does not guarantee any better results unless you have required skills to track the bird with those heavy lenses.
Most of the times, it boils down to how prepared are you and how knowledgeable are you about the bird’s flight characteristics.
Think about carrying those heavy lenses for hours, even worst if have to carry those tripods! It is not easy. It requires lot of patience, perseverance and of course passion.
“Camera and lens comes into play only when you are well equipped with the knowledge of bird’s flight characteristics!” Spend most of your time knowing about the bird and enjoying the bird in the field. You will start making most beautiful and appreciable flight photographs that will get noticed.
I have taken my most notable bird photographs with 18200mm and 70-300mm lenses. Because of just one reason...I love birds and their magnificent flight. Just follow these steps to get the best flight photographs. 1. Track the bird by focusing on the bird by halfpressing the shutter button 2. Track until the focus is achieved 3. If possible, wait until you get reasonably good background 4. Take burst of shots It is very important to allow the lens to achieve focus. If you just start clicking from the beginning till the end, then chances are that you will get frustrating results.
“The secret is in waiting for the focus to lock and then waiting for the bird to appear in the desired background and then going for burst of shots” By doing this, you will see your bird-in-flight photographs stand-out in the crowd!
Sandhill Crane Pair in flight on a Beautiful Autumn Morning
Behind the Scenes Important Tips I cannot express how delighted I was when I first saw Sandhill Cranes pair dancing in the Sunset, way back in March 2013.
- Make sure you get shutter speed of atleast (1 / effective focal length)
It took me several months to really get to photograph these birds. The longing for the bird for several months, made me visualize a lot about how I will photograph them, if I see them.
- Use the lower aperture values like f/5.6 or f/8
When I finally got to photograph them, I made sure to turn my visualization into reality.
- Track the bird atleast for sometime to let the
to make sure entire bird is in focus
focus lock on the bird
I love this photograph of Sandhill Cranes pair in the beautiful autumn morning and their synchronous wings position. By using the autumn colors in the background, I emphasized the story a bit more.
- Take multiple shots
13 Background Makes the Picture Let us consider the fact that you learnt all the above concepts thoroughly and ready to apply in the field. If you fail to get the perfect background, then it can ruin your photograph. No matter how you compose, what was the lighting, or what were the settings used, if the background is messy or cluttered then your bird photograph is ruined . I am covering this topic so late in this ebook to make sure that you won’t forget when you go to the field. Most of the great bird photographs will almost always have a clear or complementing background.
Well known bird photographers always try to get the pleasing background which complements the bird or which helps the bird to stand-out in the photograph.
“It is the background, not the subject, which gives the wow factor to the bird photograph” You can check it yourself by browsing your favorite bird photographs. Most of your favorite ones should be having a clean, complementing and out-of-focus background. Isn’t it? If you imagine the same bird in a messy or cluttered background, then probably it wouldn’ t have been your favorite. Even when bird is shown in it’s habitat, the background has to be complementing the bird.
A Green Heron Leaning forward, while perching on a fence, to have a better look at it’s prey
Behind the Scenes Important Tips As I said, this green heron has given me tremendous opportunities to photograph. And this photograph is by far my best. This green heron was relentlessly fishing on that day. It was my first photographic outing with 300mm f/2.8 lens. I was extremely happy as I was photographing with my new lens. After an hour, the green heron began to perch on the fence to take a better look at it’s prey from above. I put my lens on the fence to get an eye level shot and was waiting for some good photographs. Little did I expect the green heron to come so close to me and then lean forward before plunging into the water giving me a wonderful photograph to cherish for a very long time...
- Always strive for out-of-focus background choosing maximum aperture value like f/2.8, f/4 or f/5.6
- Try to avoid plain background like white or pale blue. Wait for bird to assume a different position until you get a desirable background which complements the bird
- Remember that background makes or breaks the picture
14 Practice Makes Perfect No matter how much you know about any subject, you will only master it by practice. Practice every tip to the best possible extent. Make them your second nature. You will see yourself using the camera as an extension to your eye. Your reflexes will develop really well over time.
“It’s all about your reflexes when it comes to capturing the bird’s behavior, birds in action, and in flight” You will be rewarded with excellent results despite the fact that there are plenty of other photographers next to you failing to see the opportunity when it strikes!
One of my most appreciated bird photograph, Great Egret with its widespread Wings in the beginning of this ebook, was taken in a spur of moment on a photography trip with friends. To my surprise, I was photograph while my completely. My passion always keeps me on opportunities.
the only person to get that friends missed the action towards those white beauties my toes to grab that rare
You can concentrate on the moves of the bird and seize those rare opportunities only if you have practiced the techniques to an extent to make them your second nature.
Above all, I personally feel that my passion towards birds is increasing day by day as the years pass by.
“Several times I just go out in the early morning and spend an hour or so just watching the Mallard Ducks, Canada Geese and Seagulls” It is quite amazing to see how beautiful these common birds are and is very interesting to understand their behavior which may lead to some extraordinary photographs.
Juvenile Great Egrets Fighting for the Fish
Behind the Scenes Important Tips I don’t want to repeat how much I love Egrets. I always wanted to photograph an egret flying away with a fish in it’s beak. It is not a good idea though... because they generally don’t!
- No matter what equipment you have, it all
But on this occasion, the pond was filled with Juvenile egrets and there was a lot of competition going on.
- You should know, in a split second, what
I was pretty sure I will be able to get a decent photograph with an Egret flying away with a fish. But, as always, luck favors the prepared. I got lucky with an Egret flying away with a fish and another chasing it! I made sure that Egrets are properly exposed using spot metering.
boils down to practice
settings work the best for a given situation
- Try capturing photographs of the same bird hundreds of times and you will improve your skills
15
Post Processing
Post processing is abused to a large extent after the DSLRs are getting into everyone’s hands. Any photo taken in RAW needs to be processed for sure, since you cannot see a RAW image, but the idea is to process it in a way to make it closer to reality!
“A RAW image by nature is flat, lacking contrast and the colors. The goal of post processing is to bring back the contrast and the colors that were present in the actual scene” Sometimes it is fine to make it a little bit more to give POP to an image. However, it should not be overdone to an extent that it looks unnatural.
Recompose Most of the bird photographs cannot be composed perfectly in the field. In such cases, it is necessary to recompose an image in post. Use Rule of Thirds composition guidelines to make a compelling photograph. If it does not work out, then compose it in a way which makes the photograph compelling. But avoid the 9 composition mistakes.
Adjust Color and Contrast Adjust the color and contrast as needed to increase the dynamic range and get back the colors.
Resize the Image
Noise Reduction
This is probably not followed by many beginners. You have to resize the image first, based on whether you intend to share it in the web or display it or print it.
Noise reduction should be done with care. If you reduce the noise too much, then it will soften all the subtle features in the bird’s feathers.
Because, image looks oversharpened when it is resized to a smaller size. So, if you sharpen it before resizing, then the sharpening artefacts will make the image unusable.
Bird’s feathers being the most attractive ones, it should always be preserved.
On the other hand, an advantage of resizing is that sometimes you might get away with a slight blur that you see in a bigger image! Which is definitely more desirable.
“This is a very common mistake I see in many photographs. The photographs with too much noise reduction look like a wax statue of the bird ” While reducing the noise, make sure you do it selectively . Apply noise reduction to the entire image, then use layers and masks to undo noise reduction on the bird to bring back the bird’s features.
Sharpening This is the worst mistake committed by beginners and intermediates!
“Oversharpening kills the image completely in bird photography” The feathers, the subtle textures, the features of the bird are the most important elements of a bird photograph. They are generally very soft in reality. When you oversharpen the photograph, all these subtle features of the bird will become very rough and halos will show up around the edges. This is one of the major difference between a great looking bird photograph versus an odd looking bird photograph.
Sharpening should be done with extra care. Most of the times, sharpening is necessary only for the bird since most of the photographs are filling the frame with the bird. While sharpening the bird alone, remember to sharpen just enough so that just the bird as a whole looks sharper in the picture but all the subtle features are still smoother.
“In other words, if the image looks blurry to your eyes, then only sharpen it!” Check all the images in this ebook to understand how the images have just enough sharpness. Several times, I keep it a little less sharp to keep that smooth roll-off of the edges.
