{"id":564,"date":"2014-06-22T11:35:29","date_gmt":"2014-06-22T18:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ocbirds.com\/?page_id=564"},"modified":"2016-08-20T11:03:23","modified_gmt":"2016-08-20T18:03:23","slug":"tips-on-birding-photography","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/?page_id=564","title":{"rendered":"<b>Tips On Bird Photography<\/b>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Date:\u00a0 Revised &#8211; August 20, 2016<\/p>\n<p>Bird photography is quite unique and would be challenging to learn in a day.\u00a0 If you&#8217;re here as you&#8217;d like to improve your skills then I surely hope my experiences will further enhance yours.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve spent many hundreds of hours honing these skills and they come from continuous trial and experimentation, exploitation of camera gear and knowing the surroundings along with subject matter. \u00a0 I share these tips so that you may try them on your own and obtain your own decisions.\u00a0 These are the rules I abide by when in the field but may not work for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Many have written and asked from around the world if I can share photography tips on how to best photograph birds.\u00a0 This of course is a broad based question as each scenario offers different lighting, different species and what camera gear you have accessible to you.\u00a0 Some bird species are easy subjects such as geese or ducks in a pond vs. a wood warbler which are constantly moving and hopping from branch to branch with only momentary lapses in between.\u00a0 This can be quite challenging. That&#8217;s not to mention constant lighting changes, obstacles such as branches, other birds and the luminous color of the wood warblers.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s imperative to know as intimately as possible the outer limits and capabilities of your camera and your lens(es) of choice.\u00a0 What you choose and how to use them in Bird Photography will make the difference of turning average photos into great photos.\u00a0 A few examples of this are understanding how to control your Exposure on a whim, working your camera&#8217;s ISO settings as needed, whether or not your lens has image stabilization and your ability to handhold your lens by limiting body movement. We can add more complexity if you choose to use a monopod or tripod and your choice of shutter speed.\u00a0 If I&#8217;m using the Canon 500mm I will confess due to its bulkiness, I have found after much experimentation (and injury) that the monopod (or tripod) is the way to go.\u00a0 After much contemplation I chose the <a title=\"Gitzo 3551\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/569171-REG\/Gitzo_GM3551_GM3551_6X_Carbon_Fiber.html\">Gitzo 3551<\/a> monopod.\u00a0 Others will debate this and use a tripod with a Gimbal head.\u00a0 Again, all personal choice but I would say to sample both a tripod and monopod or carry your gear handheld prior to determine what best suits your needs.\u00a0 This would be from a physical standpoint (your strength and endurance) and as a photographic necessity to obtain your objective.<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Basic tips for new birding photographers:<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 If you plan your journey in advance that may be of help so you know what to expect from several aspects.\u00a0 Being familiar with the terrain you plan to visit may help.\u00a0 On this site for example, the section entitled:\u00a0 <a title=\"Local Birding Spots\" href=\"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/?page_id=42\">Local Birding Spots<\/a> offers photos, trail assistance and also in some cases species tracked and logged.\u00a0 A trail map is also of consideration as some of these places can be quite remote here in southern California.\u00a0 Quite a few of our trails house Mountain Lions and Rattlesnakes.\u00a0 If your trail is an actual OC Park listed trail (which is maintained and owned by OC Parks) then their site offers actual <a title=\"OC Parks trail maps\" href=\"http:\/\/ocparks.com\/parks\">trail maps<\/a>. Plan the time of day you plan to shoot as even lighting is best vs. a bright sunny mid afternoon.\u00a0 A further example is glaring sun on a beach when shooting shorebirds.\u00a0 This can be quite challenging especially with birds in flight and obtaining their natural color and field markings.\u00a0 If this is your destination, you&#8217;d best avoid mid day sun and plan on early morning or late afternoon provided of course your schedule permits.\u00a0 An immediate exception to this rule is a rare bird sighting..then just get there as fast as you can!<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example of the gear I might choose for a field hike lasting more than say 2-3 hours.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Canon EOS series body (a good choice is the EOS 7D Mark II)<\/li>\n<li>Canon zoom lens such as the 100-400 or a lower cost prime lens such as the 400mm 5.6 L<\/li>\n<li>Canon 1.4 teleconverter \/ extender for additional reach if necessary.<\/li>\n<li>Minox binoculars such as the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.minox.com\/index.php?id=hg1&amp;L=02\" target=\"_blank\">Minox 10 x 52<\/a>.\u00a0 These offer excellent optics by having wider diameter (52mm) to allow more light in early morning or late afternoon along with a magnification of 10x.\u00a0 Should you have any interest in binoculars, scopes or other optical gear, we are an authorized <a href=\"http:\/\/www.minox.com\/index.php?id=11576&amp;L=2\" target=\"_blank\">Minox Dealer<\/a> and can drop ship to your door.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Personally, if you are going to choose only one lens, I wouldn&#8217;t recommend anything shorter than a 400mm focal distance lens though a Canon 300mm with a 1.4 extender offering 420mm is a rather good choice as well.\u00a0 The reason I mention this as the more you crop your photos the greater the chance of image degradation if trying top obtain optimum quality.\u00a0 Since birds are not typically at close range, this would be the case.\u00a0 Image quality may suffer further especially with higher ISO&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>Ok, let&#8217;s discuss Camera Settings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Auto ISO<\/span> &#8211; (with exceptions as later noted) &#8211; you&#8217;ve got too much to worry about and the camera knows how to determine the right choice based on dynamic lighting scenarios.\u00a0 I would only use a static ISO setting when you&#8217;re lighting isn&#8217;t going to change or say your shooting landscape photos as some examples.\u00a0 One other possible exception as with cropped sensors such as the Canon EOS 7D, Canon Rebel, etc typically anything past 800 ISO can result in image noise.\u00a0 Be sure you&#8217;re aware of what type of image sensor your camera offers:\u00a0 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">cropped<\/span> or <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">full frame<\/span>.\u00a0 Full frame is the equivalent of true 35mm film, cropped sensors are not.\u00a0 They actually capture less information on the image sensor.\u00a0 Camera manufacturers depending on model will inform you of the sensor type.\u00a0 Here&#8217;s an article that explains <a title=\"Cropped vs. Full Frame\" href=\"http:\/\/digital-photography-school.com\/full-frame-sensor-vs-crop-sensor-which-is-right-for-you\">cropped vs. full frame sensors<\/a> &#8211; I&#8217;ve used both.\u00a0 The image quality (IQ) on any full frame camera when cropped &#8220;to equal&#8221; what was photographed on say the Canon 7D had less noise and was easily the winner with respect to Image Quality. The Canon EOS 7D Mark II is considerably better than the Canon EOS 7D Mark I though again a steeper price tag than the now outdated 7D Mark I.\u00a0 I know of a few bird photographers who insist on the 1.6 cropped advantage.\u00a0 Once you step off the cropped sensor to a full frame sensor you will see the difference by comparison especially in higher ISO images.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Shutter speed<\/span> &#8211; choose 1\/400th or higher &#8211; 3 reasons why:\n<ul>\n<li>Though your species may be stationary at the moment, that scenario can change in a split second.\u00a0 A faster shutter speed will have you prepared to capture an instant in flight shot with a reasonably good success rate and minimize blur if properly focused.<\/li>\n<li>The second reason is your shutter speed should be faster than your camera&#8217;s focal length. If your using the same 400mm as I am, then 1\/500th would be your slowest shutter choosing.\u00a0 Again there are exceptions with IS (Canon) or VR (Nikon) set to &#8220;on&#8221;, you can shoot under the focal length but with a bird in flight, their fast motion more than likely may not be enough to acquire a sharp, clean image.<\/li>\n<li>Third: run personal tests. Try your scenario in advance before heading on your journey.\u00a0 When I first acquired the Canon 400mm I wanted to know my hit rate when hand holding this lens without IS \/ VR.\u00a0 I ran test shots at: 1\/1600, 1\/1250, 1\/1000, 1\/800, 1\/640 and 1\/500 of hummingbirds.\u00a0 I was unable to consistently obtain sharp images under 1\/640th.\u00a0 It&#8217;s important to know your personal limitations (strength, endurance, body shake, etc.) as this will determine how slow you can shoot reliably. In case you get into a low light situation the need to reduce your shutter speed to allow more light in your camera (or zoom out if a zoom lens) will be your options to allow more light.\u00a0 I might note since there was plenty of late afternoon daylight, I&#8217;ve several hummingbird shots at 1\/6400 (yes, 1\/6400) were remarkable (some cameras such as the Rebel however are limited to 1\/3200 shutter speed).<\/li>\n<li>Exception to using Shutter Priority:\n<ul>\n<li>If you have two subjects at fairly close range that are not in a horizontal straight line (not equidistant) such as a male and female duck, only one of the subjects will be in focus. I would suggest Manual Mode to allow for a smaller Aperture such as F8 to F13 if you want to be at close range, with Auto ISO adjust your shutter speed accordingly to the camera&#8217;s light meter.\u00a0 Or simply move further away.<\/li>\n<li>If a subject is facing you, not to its side and at close range.\u00a0 This reason for this is the Depth of Field is too narrow this will also create a &#8220;Bokeh&#8221; effect.\u00a0 Easy solution is to move further away.\u00a0 Conversely, many of us use this &#8220;Bokeh&#8221; technique (widest aperture) to put more concentration on the subject by blurring out the foreground and background.<br \/>\nHere&#8217;s an example:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1731\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 300px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/IM5D_021779-Northern-Rough-winged-Swallow.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1731\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/IM5D_021779-Northern-Rough-winged-Swallow-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Bokeh Effect\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/IM5D_021779-Northern-Rough-winged-Swallow-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/IM5D_021779-Northern-Rough-winged-Swallow.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">Northern Rough-winged Swallow (21779)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is typically achieved in Av (aperture mode) or Manual Mode.\u00a0 Moral of the story:\u00a0 Don&#8217;t be afraid to explore your gear.\u00a0 Most photo programs offer EXIF data (search Help menu within your photo app to display this information about your image.\u00a0 EXIF (Exchangeable Image File) info tells you the settings you chose to take a particular photo.\u00a0 There&#8217;s no longer a need to take notes on your trial and errors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Exposure<\/span> &#8211; perhaps one of the most important aspects here is exposure primarily for in flight sky shots.\u00a0 This can enhance or degrade a potentially great image.\u00a0 Depending on your lighting of course, over exposing can be key if using RAW (Canon=CR2 \/ Nikon=NEF files types).\u00a0 Recovering dark or shadowed areas on a bird can create additional unwanted noise.\u00a0 Testing is encouraged so you get the results you want.\u00a0 If I&#8217;m shooting in flight shots (depending on sky light and subject), I&#8217;m typically over exposing by 1 full stop and as high as 3 full stops.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve might also switch from Evaluative Metering to Partial or Spot Metering if back lit which has saved the day.\u00a0 Also, time permitting, I&#8217;ll quickly review the image and look at the histogram to give me pointers as well as on camera zooming during playback. Unfortunately many cameras do not have exposure compensation (EC) in M (manual Mode) including such higher end cameras as the Canon 5D Mark III.\u00a0 If this is your scenario, I might recommend shooting in Tv or &#8220;shutter priority mode&#8221; which should enable adjusting your Exposure Compensation manually as mentioned or again try Spot Metering or Partial Metering which adjust the Exposure according to the subject in center.\u00a0 Stay <em>away from any Automatic Program modes<\/em>.\u00a0 This is where you let the camera choose the shutter speed, exposure, etc.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Aperture<\/span> &#8211; (some of this section is repetitive as in Shutter section) though its important to consider, it weighs less importance than obtaining the correct shutter speed in my opinion. There are exceptions where Aperture would be a priority choice such as obtaining a male and female in the same photo whose depth of field is not exactly lateral.\u00a0 Also, if you tend to walk up too close on a subject or are just outside the minimum focus distance (MFD) the DOF (depth of field) might be razor thin (too narrow) where only the subject&#8217;s eye is in focus.\u00a0 An example of this would be if the subject is facing you.\u00a0 Detail of feathers and other key markings beyond the facial area will dissipate quickly.\u00a0 Best to choose a narrower Aperture again such as F8-F13 light permitting as well.\u00a0 If the bird is faced sideways then this will have little impact as most if not all of your subject should be in focus.\u00a0Still Shutter priority is typically my primary choice as its all about in focus bird images.\u00a0 If you&#8217;re unfamiliar with this concept I would advise understanding Depth of Field.\u00a0 Here&#8217;s an excellent web site offering how to calculate the Depth of Field from where your standing and where your subject is located &#8211; the <a title=\"Depth of Field Calculator\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dofmaster.com\/dofjs.html\">Depth of Field Calculator<\/a> .\u00a0 Being right on top of or closer to a bird is not always beneficial.\u00a0 Always keep this in mind especially when in shutter priority mode as the camera select can select a wider aperture automatically.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">RAW vs. JPG<\/span> &#8211; if your camera offers RAW then this is the choice that you want to make when post processing your images.\u00a0 Recovering highlights and dark shadowy areas is far more beneficial than JPG.\u00a0 I won&#8217;t spend the time explaining this here but would encourage you to read on this further.\u00a0 There are numerous articles online explaining the difference provided your camera offers both options. In short, a RAW file is your Digital Negative and JPG is a like a print of your negative.\u00a0 You can&#8217;t undo what&#8217;s been burned into a JPG (your printed image) but you can surely revert all settings back on your original RAW file (Digital Negative.).\u00a0 Remember you can tweak your RAW file images numerous ways and &#8220;Export&#8221; your finished view to a JPG without altering the original RAW file.\u00a0 The RAW file never changes just like an original film negative.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">sRGB vs. Adobe RGB<\/span> (optional) &#8211; these are color profiles much like if you were to go to Home Depot and look in the paint section your likely to find a Pantone color chart.\u00a0 Think of these two choices in this sense.\u00a0 I choose Adobe RGB as this palette offers a slightly larger color scale and its rather easy to choose Adobe RGB as my color profile for the monitor I use and also the color printer.\u00a0 This way I know what I see in the camera is also exact on my screen and exact on my prints.\u00a0 If your camera has this feature, consider changing to Adobe RGB.\u00a0 Do the same for your monitor and printer.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Servo Mode vs. One Shot<\/span>\u00a0 &#8211; when birds are moving your camera will perform better and have a higher success rate if you choose Servo mode.\u00a0 Conversely, if the bird is stationary be sure to revert back as your camera may continue to search endlessly and you may find yourself unable to obtain a sharp image.\u00a0 Some may find the Canon AI Focus mode as a happy compromise when you unable to determine how your subject will react.\u00a0 its not perfect but a good solution if you want the best of both worlds.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Picture Styles (Canon users)<\/span> &#8211; I&#8217;ve ran several tests and have found the default Picture Style called &#8220;Standard&#8221; is not an optimum true choice for color reproduction.\u00a0 I photographed a black T-Shirt outdoors as a test during daylight and noticed a purplish cast.\u00a0 Several hours later I discovered by switching to Faithful mode produced the truest colors and black was black.\u00a0 The processing of bird images should remain as exact as possible.\u00a0 The slightest color change could get one to think you&#8217;ve shot a completely different bird or perhaps you photographed a female Common Yellowthroat but you might believe its a Nashville Warbler.\u00a0 Avoid over saturating your bird photos in post processing.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">AF Points<\/span> &#8211; many photographers like to recompose and use a single focus point for all of their bird shots.\u00a0 If you are unfamiliar, recomposing is when you lock on focus then sway your camera to frame the subject as you see fit.\u00a0 I usually avoid this technique when possible as there&#8217;s a greater chance of losing focus for starters.\u00a0 If your camera offers multiple focus points such as the Canon 5D Mark III I have found in Single Point AF mode, that I would prefer to maneuver the focus point the camera where via the view finder where the focus poto fvs. me moving the camera to frame.\u00a0 Sure it takes an extra second but once your practice this process you&#8217;ll then have the choice of recomposing OR moving your single AF Point.\u00a0 Not every scene calls for having a center focus point.\u00a0 Additionally, if your camera offers AF selection choices such as Canon&#8217;s Single Point AF, AF Point Expansion and Zone AF, you may be best served knowing and trying each of these modes.\u00a0 Personally I only use Single Point AF (manual one point of focus) when the bird is stationary and I can focus on its eye.\u00a0 I prefer to choose AF Point Expansion for small birds in flight and Zone AF for larger birds in flight though in some cases when there&#8217;s no contrast and the camera is hunting in a bare sky for your subject, 61 point Point Automatic Selection (provided the lens supports this) will find the bird quickly.\u00a0 As you can see, knowing your lens and camera&#8217;s capabilities will improve your rate of success.\u00a0 Here&#8217;s a helpful link explaining more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inkling.com\/read\/canon-5d-mark-iii-from-snapshots-to-greatshots-perello-1st\/chapter-1\/5--set-your-autofocus-mode-and\">AF Points and AF Modes<\/a><\/li>\n<li>White Balance &#8211; in most cases this can be left on AWB (Automatic White Balance).\u00a0 If shooting in RAW (not fixable in JPG without a lot of effort), this can be very useful in Post Processing with programs such as Adobe Lightroom.\u00a0 An example of this is a late afternoon shot of a bird in the sky or an in the shade photo.\u00a0 I have found AWB doesn&#8217;t always work and adds too &#8220;cold&#8221; or a bluish appearance.\u00a0 This can be fixed on the fly by changing the AWB setting in LightRoom to Auto or Daylight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you wish to add additional suggestions to this section by all means please use the <a title=\"OCBirds.com Contact Form\" href=\"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/?page_id=129\">Contact Form<\/a> and drop me a note.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Date:\u00a0 Revised &#8211; August 20, 2016 Bird photography is quite unique and would be challenging to learn in a day.\u00a0 If you&#8217;re here as you&#8217;d like to improve your skills then I surely hope my experiences will further enhance yours.\u00a0 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/?page_id=564\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-564","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P5Rhss-96","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=564"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2430,"href":"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/564\/revisions\/2430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbirds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}