Flash for bird or wildlife photography

How offen does everyone use a flash with or without a better beamer for bird or wildlife photography? I'm wondering if it pays to buy a flash setup? Does it really improve your shots that much at the distances you usually are from the birds or wildlife?

Thanks Troy.

troyhattemer wrote in post #17791135
How offen does everyone use a flash with or without a better beamer for bird or wildlife photography? I'm wondering if it pays to buy a flash setup? Does it really improve your shots that much at the distances you usually are from the birds or wildlife?

Thanks Troy.

Heya,

Yes. Definitely worth it if you're shooting something perched. Even in good light, gentle fill flash is a massive help in increasing micro-contrast on feathers and it really gives it more of a pop.

A basic ETTL capable flash will do the job, with a cable, on a bracket to get the flash off axis so that you can avoid steel-eye.

I like using flash even in normal light. It just enhances the feathers so much. And when I'm shooting stopped down, and slow shutter speed, flash is a great way to fill shadows when shooting on bright sunny afternoons or mornings with the bird having the sun behind them. Being able to blend flash and ambient so that you have both exposed, instead of just one or the other, is awesome.

Here's an example of what I mean in feathers. Pay attention specifically to the branch shadow across the bird's shoulders. Normally that would have been all shadow and nothing to see. But the fill flash brings out the detail in the feathers even in shadow.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/AGdt​Bd

MalVeauX wrote in post #17791139
A basic ETTL capable flash will do the job, with a cable, on a bracket to get the flash off axis so that you can avoid steel-eye.

Could you recommend a bracket? I have one with a 1/4" screw, but it is big and not very convenient with the Arca-Swiss plate that is on my 7D2.

Also I'm wondering about the better beamer, which gives a stronger light - but I suspect my 580EX is already strong enough.

Archibald wrote in post #17791160
Could you recommend a bracket? I have one with a 1/4" screw, but it is big and not very convenient with the Arca-Swiss plate that is on my 7D2.

Also I'm wondering about the better beamer, which gives a stronger light - but I suspect my 580EX is already strong enough.

Heya,

The above was without my better beamer, just bare flash zoomed to maximum. If you're close enough you can get away without a beamer, and even use HSS at close range. A beamer with HSS can be helpful if you're farther away and the subject is moving a little (where you might want a higher shutter speed). If sync speed is enough, then any flash and a beamer from a larger distance will actually still work out. I've done both bare flash and beamer. Using it either way, ETTL does the job without having to 2nd guess which is great. I use the beamer when range is the issue.

So I researched a long time on a bracket. There's expensive stuff, cheap stuff, etc. Looked at other folk's setups here. Figured out what I wanted, inexpensive, but arca, and generic so it will fit anything.

I wanted something that would work with a gimbal with arca style mounts and have enough clearance and range for use with 600mm lenses even. I ultimately did it a little different. So on my 600mm lens, I mounted an extra-long arca foot plate to it. That way the lens foot is covered, but there's a lot of extra foot available for mounting things to. I then used a bidirectional arca mount mount so that I could attach it to the foot plate, and essentially make a new platform to mount a bracket from that can be moved. It's a quick release too. So I can take the flash on/off with the bracket in one move. Makes taking and using it easy so I'm not fiddling to get it all together for a shot. Also note, I mount the bidirectional arca release UNDER the lens foot plate. I could mount it on top too, but I did it under so that it would easily clear any lens and component. Also note, I mount the flash bracket opposite of my gimbal, so I can move it without it getting in the way. Comes off with a single knob when I'm done with it.

Here's the bidirectional quick release I use: link. This is the doohickie that ultimately let me build a quick release bracket that was all arca style on the cheap without getting some fancy expensive thing built for gimbals.

A 120mm or longer lens foot plate is like $20 or so (longer is better, so you have more room to center your lens on the gimbal and have enough overhand to attach the flash). A generic L bracket for flashes is about $25 maybe. This quick release bidirectional mount is $25. So all together that's what it cost. $60 maybe as I bought some of it used.

From there, a simple arca plate with a flash bracket (generic L bracket) with my flash in the cold shoe with an ETTL capable cord to my camera.

Edit: Here's some examples of everything, probably will make more sense. Built this for $60 I guess, parts from Amazon. Labeled in first image. Should make sense how it's put together.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/BhWC​9K

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/AkwM​QK

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/BfCG​PA

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/AG7i​Qx

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/AQNx​Ro

OK, thanks, very useful.

What does that bidirectional QR do? It looks like a clamp on both sides, to grab a plate above and below. Does it swivel?

All these brackets and connectors are very confusing. There must be hundreds of different ones, and it's very hard to visualize how they connect and how they would work in use. So it is useful to see your examples. Can the flash be placed off-center? Or is it always right above the lens?

I went for a Better Beamer with on-camera flash.

I found it needed a ittle tweaking as my Yongnuou 568 will drop below 90° and the light would be too low - this was rectified by fitting the rensel lens about 1cm higher on the velcro fastening.

I still need a little practice in the settings, but I am seeing an improvement (not the greatest of pic, but shows a difference):

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rJ8b​xE

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rJej​iv

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rrf8​2N

Archibald wrote in post #17791281
OK, thanks, very useful.

What does that bidirectional QR do? It looks like a clamp on both sides, to grab a plate above and below. Does it swivel?

All these brackets and connectors are very confusing. There must be hundreds of different ones, and it's very hard to visualize how they connect and how they would work in use. So it is useful to see your examples. Can the flash be placed off-center? Or is it always right above the lens?

The Bidirectional QR grips the flash bracket and then grips onto the foot plate. It grips on both sides and can be taken apart to be changed to however you want. They bolt together. It doesn't swivel, it tightens up.

The flash can be placed off-center (and is off center from the camera and off-axis; the point really).

I can put that behind the camera if I want. The way mine grips to the lens foot plate, I can put it any where there is a grip to grab on to. The flash can be mounted any where on a bracket.

Very best,

Trugga wrote in post #17791383
I went for a Better Beamer with on-camera flash.

I found it needed a ittle tweaking as my Yongnuou 568 will drop below 90° and the light would be too low - this was rectified by fitting the rensel lens about 1cm higher on the velcro fastening.

I still need a little practice in the settings, but I am seeing an improvement (not the greatest of pic, but shows a difference):

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rJ8b​xE
IMG_7640 by Lawrence Fowler, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rJej​iv
IMG_7639 by Lawrence Fowler, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rrf8​2N
www.Loz.Pics 20150321_104500 by Lawrence Fowler, on Flickr

Lawrence

so what sort of distance can the better beamer be used to where it remains effective? Im interested also for my 5dsr and 100-400 with 1.4 extender setup...I have a couple of canon flashs I could use it with ....either a 580 or a 540

I'm not a birder but the idea of flash for wildlife seemed funny. I mean, wouldn't it scare them away? Interesting that it's an accepted practice. Thanks for illuminating it for me (pardon the pun).

However, the first example above looks a little flash-burned. Like with people, it seems like subtlety is key. Dark shadows are OK as long as they don't create unflattering situations (under eyes esp) - it sparks the imagination and creates contrast. Lightening shadows where there should be shadows can make it look contrived. Catchlight in the eyes and lifting the colors on the coat seem like a good thing.

clipper_from_oz wrote in post #17791553
so what sort of distance can the better beamer be used to where it remains effective? Im interested also for my 5dsr and 100-400 with 1.4 extender setup...I have a couple of canon flashs I could use it with ....either a 580 or a 540

Heya,

Quite a lot of distance actually, especially if talking just fill flash. I haven't measured it, but I've yet to come up short.

Very best,

NBEast wrote in post #17791577
I'm not a birder but the idea of flash for wildlife seemed funny. I mean, wouldn't it scare them away? Interesting that it's an accepted practice. Thanks for illuminating it for me (pardon the pun).

Just a quick note on this. From experience flash doesn't tend to scare birds off. However, it does seem to produce a startle sort of reflex reaction, especially with small birds on the ground. Either the base of the wing twitches, or their wings can flick open completely without them actually taking off (in other words with flash, I got lots of shots with their wings open). This happens when using TTL flash, where the pre-flashed causes the startle reflex reaction, and the main flash captures it. When using TTL flash as fill-in, you get get a ghost image around the base of the wing caused by the twitch from the natural light part of the image. It looks like a strange sort of blurring around the wing base. The solution is to use the flash in manual mode, but it isn't easy judging the exposure as the distance you encounter a bird obviously varies.

I have similar but limited experience with deer. The deer seem to be more bothered about you and shutter noise, but with flash the shoulder muscles do a sort of reflex twitch. Although as I said, in general birds don't actually take off when the flash goes off, and things like shutter noise, or movement by the photographer are the most likely trigger to cause the bird to actually take off. The other thing, is after this startle reaction a few times, it dies down when the bird gets used to it by habituation. Overall the bird or other animal seems to be far more scared by the presence of a human, than a flash from a flashgun.

SteB wrote in post #17792417
Just a quick note on this. From experience flash doesn't tend to scare birds off. However, it does seem to produce a startle sort of reflex reaction, especially with small birds on the ground. Either the base of the wing twitches, or their wings can flick open completely without them actually taking off (in other words with flash, I got lots of shots with their wings open). This happens when using TTL flash, where the pre-flashed causes the startle reflex reaction, and the main flash captures it. When using TTL flash as fill-in, you get get a ghost image around the base of the wing caused by the twitch from the natural light part of the image. It looks like a strange sort of blurring around the wing base. The solution is to use the flash in manual mode, but it isn't easy judging the exposure as the distance you encounter a bird obviously varies.

I have similar but limited experience with deer. The deer seem to be more bothered about you and shutter noise, but with flash the shoulder muscles do a sort of reflex twitch. Although as I said, in general birds don't actually take off when the flash goes off, and things like shutter noise, or movement by the photographer are the most likely trigger to cause the bird to actually take off. The other thing, is after this startle reaction a few times, it dies down when the bird gets used to it by habituation. Overall the bird or other animal seems to be far more scared by the presence of a human, than a flash from a flashgun.

Thanks.

Frankly, just because a few people do it I wasn't sure if they're the outliers or if it's actually common place. I've been to bird sanctuaries with a dozen birders lined up and never seen a flash.

It doesn't seem to be raising any eyebrows on this thread so maybe its one of those techniques reserved for special circumstances.

NBEast wrote in post #17792594
Thanks.

Frankly, just because a few people do it I wasn't sure if they're the outliers or if it's actually common place. I've been to bird sanctuaries with a dozen birders lined up and never seen a flash.

It doesn't seem to be raising any eyebrows on this thread so maybe its one of those techniques reserved for special circumstances.

I use flash less than natural light.

Flash is great when the light is so low, that you normally would just pack up and go home. Or, when you want to purposefully produce an exposure where ambient is low and subject exposure is higher. Or when you just want fill for back-lit subjects.

Take a look in the 500 F4L thread the past 1~2 days of posts. There's some owls in there that were done with flash (HSS; bare flash). Gives you an idea. Most of the time you look at images, unless someone tells you, you would never know they used fill flash.

Very best,

I use a 580ex2 with a better beamer on the 7D with my 400/5.6 lens in poor light. I am the only person I've seen out and about doing birds with flash around here. I get quite a few questions about it too.

Beekeeper wrote in post #17793462
I use a 580ex2 with a better beamer on the 7D with my 400/5.6 lens in poor light. I am the only person I've seen out and about doing birds with flash around here. I get quite a few questions about it too.

A question from me too....If I used my 580 with a better beamer in real life do I get similar or longer distance than the Guide Number of the flash in its normal state?....Also can you give me some examples of what type of bird position activity you like it for?

Clipper