Birds’ photography is quite adventurous and rewarding though it is never easy to capture the images hence the need to get the necessary skills to get the required photo shot. Some essential things include patience, skill and the right equipment, which enable a photographer to get the best photo. Due to their quick movement nature and unpredictability, birds become a complex subject for photography; finding the right lighting conditions may make photography wait for long hours, and sometimes the efforts become futile. Despite the challenges, bird photography is quite rewarding and captivating once the moment gets captured. Various bird photography tips guide armature photographers on the best ways to get a good bird picture.
Understand the birds
As a bird photographer, one needs to do homework and learn about the birds they intend to capture. Understanding the bird’s behavior enables a bird photographer to anticipate their behavior in advance, making it easy to plan and pick great spots for bird photography and capture and frame them easily. Take the time to observe the birds intended to photograph and learn everything necessary about their behavior while adjusting the camera using the appropriate bird photography settings as one waits for the perfect moment.
Selecting a camera that’s best suited for bird photography
Given the birds’ slippery nature, selecting a camera with the proper settings is vital to capture the intended purpose. The various features to look for in bird photography include shutter speeds of at least 1/2000 of a second with a capacity to shoot at six to nine frames per second. Also, photographers should ensure they bring their camera with a sound autofocus system for quick focus acquisition and invest in one or two-leg telephoto lenses. Because the photographer has no possible way of getting close to the birds, the telephoto lens aids in achieving elegant zooms.
Aperture
The aperture needs to get kept wide open as one might not have light when shooting pictures using faster shutter speeds. When one needs to improve the image sharpness, there’s an option of adjusting it one stop down and using a field depth of around f/4 or f/5.6 comes best suited for outdoor bird photography conditions. Additionally, limiting the depth of field works perfectly well, especially if one has the intention to throw the background out of focus. Once the settings are done well, a photographer can capture a clearer bird image to achieve the purpose. Setting the aperture from f/8 to f/11 works flawlessly to achieve the best effect and result despite the present conditions.
Using burst mode
The burst mode, also known as a high FPS mode, enables your camera to keep taking pictures whenever the shutter button gets held down. Some cameras can shoot photos at ten to thirty FPS, and every camera is different, so photographers should check their FPS settings since some shoot at a higher FPS than others. The mode works perfectly for taking shots of birds in flight and varying actions.
