This is an article by our guest author Diego who today explains how to photograph birds in flight and at rest. And if you want to delve into the nature photography, this is our most complete guide, with tips, tricks and lots of inspiration.
Photographing birds is not easy: they do not usually pose for you, and if you get too close, they will most likely fly away.
Therefore, the main difficulty of this type of photography is movement.
A hummingbird can beat its wings up to 60 times per second, and a imperial eagle can fly at 150km per hour!
It is very different to photograph a puffin
relaxed among the rocks than to do when you are fishing and continually diving into the sea.
Puffin on the coast of Dyrhólaey, Iceland.
Therefore, bird photography is classified into two types:
- Resting Bird Photography
- Birds in flight photography
In this article you will discover all the differences between each type of photography and some tricks with which you will be able to take spectacular photos of birds.
How to photograph birds at rest: types, tips and tricks
Photographing birds at rest is the type of bird photography more easy.
Although it depends on the type of bird you are looking for, if you want to be able to practice this type of photography, the easiest thing is to approach a lagoon, the rocks of a cliff, or pay attention to the branches of the trees.
Also, I recommend that you start photographing large birds because they are more predictable and their movements are slower. Large wetland birds such as herons, cranes or flamingos are the perfect models.
1. Bird Portraits
When birds at rest are photographed, it is most common to a portrait in which the bird is the main element of the photograph.
Bokeh of a small bird in the Oostvaardersplassen Nature Reserve, the Netherlands.
If you want to give a more professional touch to your photos can you make a bokehas in the previous photo, with which you will get the bird is focused and the background of the image is out of focus.
The technique is the same as for making a bokeh of people or objects, the magic is in reduce depth of field.
Keys to achieve a good bokeh
- Open the diaphragm opening of your camera to let in more light (f/2, f/1.8, f/1.4…).
- Focus distance matters: the closer you are to the bird the greater the out-of-focus distance behind it.
- Use a lens with a long focal length (between 70-400mm).
But the most important tip for taking bird portraits is to always (always!) try to focus on the bird’s eye.
Sometimes it’s complicated.
It might move just when you’re about to shoot or your camera might focus on the peak by mistake, but it’s essential if you want to submit your photos to a contest 😉
In addition to this, other important considerations for you to get the most out of your portraits are:
- Lightning: in the evening and in the morning you will have the best light. Find an angle where the light hits the bird’s face.
- Background: Look for a background that has a clean color composition (not too many different colors), and make sure there is enough distance between the bird and the objects behind it.
- Composition: do not frame the bird in the center. This will give the image a sense of direction.
After locating the bird you want to photograph and making all the necessary settings on your camera, you will have to wait for the bird to strike an interesting pose for your photo.
And sometimes the wait is long…
But is it worth it.
It is not the same to shoot when a tricolored egret is turning its back on you than to photograph it while it is fishing.
Tricolored Egret in Florida, United States.
While you wait, go shooting test photos. They will help you set up your camera better and you may not get any more chances because the bird flies away.
It is always better to have a normal photo than to have none at all.
If you don’t have a photo to prove it, no one will believe you when you say you’ve seen a demoiselle crane 😉 .
2. Bird photography and landscape photo
Another type of resting bird photography is integrate them as an element within a landscape photograph.
In these photos the bird does not appear isolated, but it can be seen within its habitat and allows us to know the context of the photo. It’s my favorite type of bird photography.
To make a good catch you have to shoot the photo as if it were one landscape photography and make the bird (or birds) the point of interest.
How to achieve better landscape photos with birds
To make your landscape photos more professional, I recommend:
- Use small diaphragm openings so that the background comes out in focus (it is just the opposite of making a bokeh).
- Use a wide angle lens (between 16mm and 24mm).
- Use a tripod
to stabilize the image and minimize vibrations. - Consider the rule of three thirds.
- take the photos with morning and evening light.
Wetlands are open and very bright landscapes, ideal for photographing flamingos, herons, egrets, etc. Although you can also photograph penguins in the Falkland Islands 😉
Group of penguins in the Falkland Islands.
How to photograph birds in flight
photography of birds in flight is more complex because you have to take into account two types of movement at the same time:
- The movement of the bird
- The movement of its wings
And some birds flap their wings really fast!
What birds do I start photographing?
I recommend that you do not start photographing hummingbirds and that you focus on large birds such as vultures, cranes, storks or herons. Herons only flap their wings a couple of times a second.
Ducks and geese are also a good option.
Although they beat their wings faster than other birds (between 4 and 9 times per second), they are easy to locate in lagoons, they are not elusive birds and their behavior is very predictable.
Goose flying in kråkerøy, Norway.
What should I keep in mind to photograph birds in flight?
If you want to be successful in bird photography you must have statistics on your side: the more times you shoot, the more chances you have to capture a spectacular photo.
Therefore, it is highly recommended that you go to places where there are large populations of birds such as natural parks, lagoons, wetlands or bird roosts.
Light is also very important. During the first hours of the morning and the last hours of the afternoon the sun is not too high and the bird will not be covered by its own shadow.
I recommend you to always shoot with the sun at your back: the light is better and you will avoid looking directly at it inadvertently.
Settings for photographing birds in flight
But, in addition to all this, the great challenge when photographing birds in flight is get the wings to stay frozen.
Snowy owl in Alberta, Canada.
The key to achieving this is use shutter speeds very fast. These are just a guide but they will serve as an orientation:
- With large birds: 1/1000s or 1/1500s
- For birds of prey in flight: from 1/2000s
- With small birds: from 1/2000s to 1/5000s
To be able to shoot with very fast shutter speeds you will have to open the aperture of the diaphragm very much (even as much as your goal allows) and raise the ISO to compensate the exposure.
Don’t be too afraid of noise (if you raise the ISO too high, the image will look grainy): it’s easier to fix in the post-editing process than trying to edit an underexposed photo.
To be able to photograph birds at great distances without making them appear too small in the image, use a telephoto lens of at least 300 mm.
When photographing birds in flight you have to be very fast and, for that, it is important that you have your camera ready to shoot at any time. With these tricks you will be able to shoot more times in less time:
- Disassociate the focus from your camera’s shutter release. This way you will use one button to focus and another to shoot, allowing you to have the camera focused and ready to shoot quickly.
- Use continuous focus (AI Servo on Canon and AF-C on Nikon). This option will allow you to keep the bird in focus while it is flying.
- Shoot in burst mode. This way you will shoot several photos consecutively and you will have more photos to choose from.
And with all this… you are ready to start photographing birds! oh! And the most important: don’t forget to focus on the bird’s eyes.
This is an article by Diego, passionate about astronomical observation and terrestrial observation. You can follow his work on his blog El Gran Observatorio.
If you also want to participate as a guest author, click here.
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