Photographing Birds

Left Image: Canon EOS D30, Tamron 200-400mm f-5.6, Bogen tripod and ball head, 1/350 sec at f-5.6 on aperture priority mode and manual focus.

Birds are one of my favorite subjects. They are simultaneously among the easiest and the most difficult subjects to photograph. They are easy to find and many types of birds are used to people, so approaching them is not difficult. On the other hand, many birds are shy and don't allow you to get too close. Even staying far back and using very long lenses may not be enough to photograph them. Birds have excellent eyesight. They see you long before you even notice there are birds around. Smaller birds are faster and more active, making them much more difficult to photograph. Understanding their behavior helps you take great photographs. You should approach birds slowly. Don't make any sudden movements or you can scare them away. Birds are very aware of eyes. Don't look them in the eyes, especially if you are walking towards them. Birds see this as a treat and will fly away. The best way to approach birds is by walking very slowly while looking at another direction. It is a good idea to change direction if you feel the birds are becoming nervous by your present. You will definitely need a long lens for bird photography. 300mm and 400mm lenses will cover larger birds. 500mm and longer lenses are great for smaller birds or when closer approach is not possible. Faster lenses allow higher shutter speeds, required for most bird photography. You can use a telephoto zoom lens, but you need to use a fast film, either ISO 200 or 400. A set of 1.4X and 2X converter can give you some extra reach. Use converters with fixed focal telephoto lenses. Zooms don't work well with converters, plus many zooms have a maximum aperture of f-5.6 which is too slow with teleconverters. With a 1.4X converter, your f-5.6 lens becomes f-8, and f-11 with a 2X. Your shutter speeds will be too slow with these f-stops, and overall sharpness will also suffer when you use zooms with teleconverters. Setting up a blind is another way of photographing birds. You can set up a blind close to places where many birds come to feed such as lakes. If you do a lot of bird photography invest in a small and portable blind.

Right Image: Canon EOS A2, Tokina 300mm f-4 ATX Pro , lens,  Fuji Provia 100, Bogen tripod and ball head. Multi-segment metering, shutter speed not recorded,  f-4 on aperture priority and autofocus.

Focusing is critical. You'll be shooting with a wide aperture most of the time which can give a shallow depth-of-field. Focus on the eyes. The eyes draw the viewers attention to the photograph. You need a fast shutter speed to freeze motion. If the bird is flying towards you, a very fast shutter speed is not necessary, but if it is passing in front of you and very close, a shutter speed of 1/500 sec or faster is required to freeze motion. A tripod is essential for sharp images, especially with longer lenses. However, when photographing birds in flight, tripods are difficult to use. Following a bird and changing your tripod's controls is not easy. A shoulder stock is the best support for birds in flight. It lets you pan and focus much easier than a tripod. I've used my 200mm, 300mm, and 400mm lenses with a shoulder stock with very good result. Spot meters are very useful for determining exposure. Select a middle tone area and take a reading. For white birds you must open up 1 to 2 stops. For black birds, spot meter a middle tone area in the same light as your subject and use that setting to take the picture. Successful bird photography requires patients, understanding of your subject and luck.