How To Take Good Pictures Of Birds
One of the most popular aspects of animal photography is bird photography. Taking perfect wild bird pictures can be tricky, but you can create some great photo opportunities right in your own backyard.
Setting up your Backyard Photo Shoots
The biggest challenge isn't actually attracting birds to your yard. Once feeders are out and discovered, word will get around fast! The biggest challenge with bird photography is getting the birds to perch where you want them. So before setting up your feeding stations and birdbaths, consider the locations carefully.
Choose locations that won't make the birds easy prey for cats and other predators, and at the same time that will provide you with the opportunity to photograph them with nice backgrounds and good angles.
Do remember that if you set feeders out in the winter to consistently provide quality seed so your feathery subjects aren't filling up on something like bread that won't provide them with the energy needed to stay warm at night.
Birdbaths also provide good photo ops, and birdhouses will help encourage birds to hang out in your yard.
If you are trying to attract certain bird species, check with The Audubon Society to see what types of seeds or plants are best for them. You can also find good tips at the National Wildlife Federation's "Gardening for Wildlife" pages.
Don't limit your photographs to the bird feeders and baths either. You can also take pictures of birds in your yard that perch on tree limbs and fences nearby so make sure to look for these areas too.
Camera Settings
Have you ever noticed that birds are constantly moving? They are always moving no matter if they're foraging on the ground or sitting on a tree branch. With so much movement you want a higher shutter speed for bird photos, so use the Sports mode or set your shutter speed to at least 1/250.
If you have an optical zoom on your compact digital or have a telephoto lens on your SLR, this will make taking bird photos a lot easier. Depending upon the camera, an optical zoom of 6x can give you about the same magnification as a 200mm lens which means that a photo taken from 10 feet away will look close up.
Some of the "bridge cameras" offer zooms from 10-20 feet but not all produce quality results so do a little investigating before purchasing. When using a high range zoom, you should also consider using a tripod or other camera stabilizer.
Given a long enough lens, you can get some wonderful pictures of birds in flight or perched high up in trees too. Professional nature photographers often use a 600 lens to get photos with good detail.
Large telephoto lenses of this size are very expensive, but there is another way to take bird photos far away. It's called digiscoping. With this method, you combine the birder's spotting scope with a digital camera. Here is one of many good articles online introducing the digiscoping method to bird photographers: Birdwatchers Digest: Photography.
When taking birds in flight, blue skies are always best. And the bluest sky of the day is usually the hour after dawn. Also, look for patterns when you may have flocks of birds that fly over your yard at certain times of day. Or, if you're looking to take pictures of birds of prey like osprey, go to a lake or river early in the morning or evening when they fish. This is also a good time for soft, even and warm lighting.
Hopefully by using these tips, you'll attract more birds to your yard and be able to capture some great bird photos that you'll be proud to display.
Setting up your Backyard Photo Shoots
The biggest challenge isn't actually attracting birds to your yard. Once feeders are out and discovered, word will get around fast! The biggest challenge with bird photography is getting the birds to perch where you want them. So before setting up your feeding stations and birdbaths, consider the locations carefully.
Choose locations that won't make the birds easy prey for cats and other predators, and at the same time that will provide you with the opportunity to photograph them with nice backgrounds and good angles.
Do remember that if you set feeders out in the winter to consistently provide quality seed so your feathery subjects aren't filling up on something like bread that won't provide them with the energy needed to stay warm at night.
Birdbaths also provide good photo ops, and birdhouses will help encourage birds to hang out in your yard.
If you are trying to attract certain bird species, check with The Audubon Society to see what types of seeds or plants are best for them. You can also find good tips at the National Wildlife Federation's "Gardening for Wildlife" pages.
Don't limit your photographs to the bird feeders and baths either. You can also take pictures of birds in your yard that perch on tree limbs and fences nearby so make sure to look for these areas too.
Camera Settings
Have you ever noticed that birds are constantly moving? They are always moving no matter if they're foraging on the ground or sitting on a tree branch. With so much movement you want a higher shutter speed for bird photos, so use the Sports mode or set your shutter speed to at least 1/250.
If you have an optical zoom on your compact digital or have a telephoto lens on your SLR, this will make taking bird photos a lot easier. Depending upon the camera, an optical zoom of 6x can give you about the same magnification as a 200mm lens which means that a photo taken from 10 feet away will look close up.
Some of the "bridge cameras" offer zooms from 10-20 feet but not all produce quality results so do a little investigating before purchasing. When using a high range zoom, you should also consider using a tripod or other camera stabilizer.
Given a long enough lens, you can get some wonderful pictures of birds in flight or perched high up in trees too. Professional nature photographers often use a 600 lens to get photos with good detail.
Large telephoto lenses of this size are very expensive, but there is another way to take bird photos far away. It's called digiscoping. With this method, you combine the birder's spotting scope with a digital camera. Here is one of many good articles online introducing the digiscoping method to bird photographers: Birdwatchers Digest: Photography.
When taking birds in flight, blue skies are always best. And the bluest sky of the day is usually the hour after dawn. Also, look for patterns when you may have flocks of birds that fly over your yard at certain times of day. Or, if you're looking to take pictures of birds of prey like osprey, go to a lake or river early in the morning or evening when they fish. This is also a good time for soft, even and warm lighting.
Hopefully by using these tips, you'll attract more birds to your yard and be able to capture some great bird photos that you'll be proud to display.