Taking photos of birds...a short how-to

[SDB777]

Couple of things come to mind that I've learned over the last few years.


#1: Birds don't like movement. Meaning everything around them generally wants to eat them! I know, it's not a nice thing to think about...but it's very true. So, how do we as photographers take super close-up photos? Easy! Go to a hunting store a buy a blind, I have a few. My favorite is the AmeriStep G10 at $34.99, and you can find them cheap around Black Friday at those hunting stores!
Set the blind up, and leave it up for a few days before using it. Mine is sitting about 10 feet from my backyard feeder! Be sure that the blind is sitting so that the morning light(or whatever light your after) isn't blocked, but still at your back...no sense in taking pictures of the sun!
It has enough room for my tripod chair and a BenBo tripod(see #2). Unzipping the window, slowly, and waiting is all you need to do. And you still need to move slowly in the blind, they can't really see you well, but thet can see movement!

#2: A great tripod! You can not handhold a camera in the 'perfect light', unless you are using something like a 14mm f/1.2! I've tried, and it doesn't work. The Canon I use has up to 560mm of zoom(optical), but can go as far as 20x(digital), and my Sony wears the 70-300mm EX APO by Sigma all the time. When zooming out to 560mm at f/5.6 even a slight breeze can move the optic and give photos that 'fuzz'!

#3: Optical zoom only! I know it tempting to get into that digital zoom to get really close, but it makes the photos look blocky and out of focus.

#4: Use the lowest available ISO number. Generally I use ISO 80 or 100, and never anything over ISO 400(cloudy days only). If I've got to use a number any higher then ISO 400, I go back to the house and read a book.
If you can set the White Balance, set it to whatever your shooting. Leaving it on Auto give wild variations of warmth(JMHO, YMMV).
EV should be stepped down to -.66(2/3rd stop). You can always add a little light back to the photo in post-processing(another day). With the EV stepped back, you tend not to 'blowout' the whites.

#5: Use the timer. I do whenever possible! By focusing, and pressing the shutter button you move the camera....even with a two second timer the camera has time to 'settle down' before taking the photo.
Don't use the 10 second timer, it's too long of a period of time, and small birds move far too quickly.

#6: Shutter speed..... The quicker the better to stop motion of the intended target. I like 1/125 or 1/160 at f/5.6(again YMMV).

#7: Take a LOT of photos! You can't delete what you don't have available. I normally can take about 100 to 150 photos during a 1hr session! And yes, I'll 'weed-out' the bad ones during post-processing. Again....take LOTS of photos, digital film is super cheap!



My camera settings:
Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
ISO 80
Lense set at 560mm and f-stop set for 5.6
EV is -.7(actually -0.66, but the camera rounds in out)
White Balance "Sun"
Timer set on 2seconds
Shutter will be determined on the fly but usually 1/160th sec



I'll try to get my thoughts in order about post-processing, and make a topic on that tomrrow. Everyone does it a little different......




Scott (hope this helps) B