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How to Photograph Birds
(by Lee Harper)
Introduction
For me, taking images of birds flying is a real passion. It is a challenge to get these types of shots, even if the bird is relatively tame. You can take hundreds of images of birds that are all good, but then you can go on a shoot and catch an image that is so good that it makes you smile for the rest of the day. You will find on your first attempt at trying to photograph wild birds that you don’t have a long enough lens, this is the case no matter what lens you have (and don’t worry this happens to everyone). You may start with a 300mm zoom lens, this will get you very nice images of relatively tame or garden birds, but most of the time you will still need to crop the image to get it anywhere near full frame. So you will need, at least, a 300mm f2.8 or longer to get a decent image of most birds. The reason for a 300mm f2.8 is that you will need to add a 1.4x or 2x teleconverter to the lens to get a length that will be of any use, so the f2.8 will then be a f4 (450mm) with a 1.4x teleconverter or f5.6 (600mm) with a f2.8 Tele which then takes it to a good working option, plus this is the cheapest option (though still pricey). On a bright day you might get away with a 300mm F4 and a teleconverter, but you will soon get issues if you start to lose the light.You need these longer lenses as the main issue with bird photography is getting close to wild birds, this is the same if you are taking a bird in the garden or out in the wild. You have to remember that garden birds are used to people and will let you get a little closer than a wild bird. You also need to remember that a lot of good bird photography is taken either early or late in the day where the light will be less.
So far I have talked about taking images or birds that you can not get close to; there are places where this is not so much of an issue. In the UK we have conservation areas that are run by the WWF (Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust). When taking images at these centers you can get away with a 70-200mm lens as a lot of the birds are used to the people and are also very interested in the food that people can buy to feed them. This makes taking images of Swan / Ducks, etc… a lot more fun and a much smaller kit cost.Even when going to these wetland centers you will see photographers with huge lenses, mostly the trusted 500mm f4 as this is smaller and lighter than both the 400mm f2.8 and the 600mm f4. These coupled with teleconverters will be about as good as it will get for long distance photography of birds. Though I do know somebody that owns the new Sigma 500mm-800mm zoom lens. This lens seems to be a very good option and can be cheaper than some 500mm f4’s. One thing you also have to remember is that a lens like the 300mm f2.8 has the ability to give you a nice soft background. I often use a 300mm f2.8 when taking images of humming birds as it gives a much shorter Depth of field, with this type of photography you want the background as blurred as possible as you don not want the viewer’s eye to be distracted by anything in the background.
Getting the perfect bird photo?
Background
Try to get the background as a common colour; if the background has too many colours in it then the bird will not stand out enough. This is where depth of field needs to be considered. A background that is the same colour and is nicely blurred will make the bird stand out to the viewer.
Time of day / Light
You need to be aware of shadow with bird photography, shooting up at flying birds on a bright day will only get you a silhouetted bird with very little detail. Unless it is close enough for the cameras metering system to make the bird the primary metering object, but you will still end up with a bird in a white blown out sky. Make sure the light is right as this will make all the difference.
Movement
Try to get the image with something interesting happening in it, this will catch people’s eye better and people will show much more interest in it.
What you will need
Camera
(DSLR or SLR) that has a high frame rate, I have an old Nikon D70 and though it is a very good body and a lovely backup body as it is small and light, the frame rate and buffer does let it down and can be frustrating when you have the perfect shot and your buffer is full.
Lenses
Every shoot will be different and you will find different lenses work better. But you will still need over 300mm (at least). But don’t let this stop you as I did see a photo recently of a Kingfisher that the photographer said he had taken with a 135mm lens.
Teleconverters
Try and get the best teleconverter you can afford, it will last you many years so it is worth paying out now for something that has been tested with your lenses, try and get the lens manufacturer branded teleconverter as well. I have had many teleconverters in the past from many different manufacturers and not all of them are worth the money and most don’t work well with all lenses.
Tripod
If you are going to use a large lens that the chances are you are going to need a sturdy tripod. The last thing you want is your very expensive lens and body to be falling over. Especially if you are near water!!!! MemoryAll types of digital memory are getting cheaper and cheaper, you don’t want to be in a perfect position with the perfect shot in front of you and run out of memory, it is cheap so get yourself some 8gb cards to stop this from happening.
Clothing
You don’t want to stand out so make sure your clothes are dark and not made from that noisy nylon stuff. Camouflage is good and can be cheap from your local Army stores (or online stores). Plus if you have not paid a lot for the latest “North Face coat” then you will not mind laying in the mud to get the perfect photo.
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