Helpful tips for getting good shots

I would like to start trying to do some bird (and small wildlife) photography. I have been given a hint that I will see a telephoto lens under the tree on Dec 25th. (Hopefully 100-400 IS II). Up to this point I have been mainly a portrait photographer, with some kid sports action.

So what kind of general advice can you give me to get started? One of my main questions is what kind of light is best? For portraits, I am looking for open shade, or late in the evening, and then using flash. Obviously, that will not be practical for birds, so do I want very sunny days?

This is definitely not something to replace my portrait business, but just something to do on my on time, and maybe use as an excuse to get out more and do some hiking and walking.

Thanks

Tim

For me...

The lower the sun angle the better so less shadows are produced.

Full sun or filtered light depends on the color of the subject I may be photographing. I prefer photographing lighter colored birds in filtered sunlight and darker colored birds in full sun. I like to photograph Bald Eagles who happen to have white heads and a dark body....I'll take either light in that situation depending on the background.

Maintain the highest shutter speed possible because birds are constantly moving.

The three main things I pay attention to photographing wildlife is light, background and shooting angle. Observation goes a long way when photographing wildlife as well because it helps you predict what a subject is going to do or where it will be.

This is just my opinion and in the end you have to do what makes you happy and what you like to see in your photographs...have fun.

Heya,

1. Get close to your subject. Long focal length simply doesn't make up for being closer. Everyone thinks they want a 1000mm F2.8 lens (obviously doesn't exist) until they try to shoot it through environmental conditions or over water and wonder why it doesn't look nearly as detailed, crisp, etc, as someone with a 500 F4 at 20 feet does. A really big tip for wildlife & birds is simply to get closer. Study your subjects. Get to know where they will be to do their thing. Be there first. A blind or hide is a great way to make yourself not obvious. Just walking a trail and hoping to get a shot might work sometimes, but not the great shots more often. Also when you go out, choosing time and location helps you choose how to control where the light will be coming from based on what you want to see. So scout, get to know your subjects, get their early, stay there, be patient, prepare, and get your shots. Easily the best thing you could do for getting "good" shots that is totally independent of good gear, this applies whether you're sitting in a blind near a feeder with any quality dSLR and a short but great 200mm lens, or an awesome 600mm lens. Still applies.

2. Get low. Perspective is a big changer in the "look" of a shot. Some shots are just typical from one angle, but amazing from another angle. I find that getting low is more often that angle you're going to get the "wow" shots from. Why? Well, it's about making the background as distant as possible and getting a perspective of the animal/bird that you normally don't see every day from your standing height. If you think about it, a small animal/bird or anything really from a standing height looking down a little will have the ground as the background all the time and it's not that far away, so it doesn't isolate the subject as well, regardless of having an awesome super telephoto with F2.8 or F4 even for depth of field purposes, even at close range. But if you drop down, and the ground is not behind the creature from that perspective, and the background is very distant, your subject will have great isolation, and you'll see a perspective less commonly seen from standing height. It pops. Obviously this applies to things on the ground. For things in the sky, or up in a tree, this is not something to worry about. But I will stress, no matter where or what it is, try different perspectives and angles, it changes things a lot.

3. Super bright hard-shadow-casting light is not the best light for most things, but it can be used. I like overcast days the best, more even light, less hard shadows. Requires more ISO or a slower shutter, but I'm ok with that. Be mindful of the sun's position. It will tell you what will be in shadow, while your eyes see it fine, the camera will not. Light really depends on weather, time of day, and using it to get the look you want is all on you. When I shoot song birds, I ideally want them out of direct sunlight completely, under canopy, in shade. It's dark really, and requires high ISO, large aperture, or slow shutter speed--all of which I'm fine with. When I'm at the coast, I have no choice, I'm in super bright reflecting sun with hard shadows, so I try to keep the sun on my back so I'm not getting underexposed subjects that are strongly backlit.

4. Expose up. Over expose your subjects a little. It really helps with detail and getting more pop out of your animals/birds. Nothing too crazy, but I go as far as 1.5 stops over exposed on birds, especially if using higher ISO. This may mean using more ISO. Be ok with that! Keep in mind that if handholding or shooting something in motion, a fast shutter is very important, so it may mean a lot more ISO than you really thought was ok. But be ok with it!

Very best,

Read the Free Textbook for Beginners sticky at the beginning of this forum; it contains just what you want to know.

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tim1970 wrote in post #17830440
I would like to start trying to do some bird (and small wildlife) photography.
So what kind of general advice can you give me to get started?
One of my main questions is what kind of light is best?
For portraits, I am looking for open shade, or late in the evening, and then using flash.
Obviously, that will not be practical for birds, so do I want very sunny days?

I find it very refreshing that you are asking questions about light, rather than questions about gear or settings. .Light is much more important than either.

I do not like "very sunny" days for bird photography. . Rather, I like "kinda sunny" days or overcast days. . Come to think of it, I don't think I like "very sunny" days for any kind of photography.
Of course, on sunny days the early mornings and evenings produce the best light, as mid-morning, mid-day, and mid-afternoon light will not be as aesthetically pleasing.....but you already know this, being a portrait photographer.

The best thing to do is to spend a lot of time observing the bird through your viewfinder. . Watch how the light plays on the plumage differently as the bird flits about or changes positions. . Sometimes just a turn of the bird's head can cause it to be illuminated in an entirely different way than it was just a moment before. .The best images usually come not when you are trying to quickly get an image snapped, but when you are able to spend a lot of time with the bird and wait for the most advantageous pose, lighting, background, behavior, etc.

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I enjoy reading.... but finding a good birding book was a bit of a challenge.

This one is actually quite good: http://www.amazon.com …s-Varesvuo/dp/1937538109​/

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17833665
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I do not like "very sunny" days for bird photography. . Rather, I like "kinda sunny" days or overcast days. . Come to think of it, I don't think I like "very sunny" days for any kind of photography.
Of course, on sunny days the early mornings and evenings produce the best light, as mid-morning, mid-day, and mid-afternoon light will not be as aesthetically pleasing.....but you already know this, being a portrait photographer.


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Are overcast days the same as low contrast days, which is what bird and wildlife photographers want to avoid?

tim1970 wrote in post #17833839
Are overcast days the same as low contrast days, which is what bird and wildlife photographers want to avoid?

Overcast day:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/npdm​8o

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/qB4F​SN

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tim1970 wrote in post #17833839
Are overcast days the same as low contrast days, which is what bird and wildlife photographers want to avoid?

I am not familiar, specifically, with the term "low contrast day". But on overcast days you typically do have less contrast. But it is not always preferable to have less contrast. When the sun is low and the light is rather soft, then you usually want contrast because you can use it to bring out the texture of a bird's plumage or a mammal's coat or musculature.

When shooting in direct, spectral light, if you shoot directly with the direction of the light source, then you get a rather flat looking image that is devoid of texture. In such conditions, shooting at a given phase angle will allow the texture of the hair, fur, or feathers to reveal itself - which is often (but not always) preferable. But keep in mind that there are times when the aforementioned "flat looking" image can be a great looking image that you actually want to capture! "Flat looking" isn't necessarily a bad thing - but it can be a bad thing in various situations.

There really are no rules or guidelines - it is really about your artistic vision, and your vision for each situation will (and probably should be) unique to that situation.

Each time an opportunity presents itself, your aesthetic goals for that opportunity should be unique. It works best if you have a reason for shooting a particular bird in that particular light from that particular angle. Each time you release the shutter, there should be something specific about the subject that you are trying to capture, and the light should be used to best accentuate the characteristic or behavior that you are trying to convey in that photograph.

There is some good discussion and explanation on the topic of using ambient light more effectively for bird and wildlife photography. One good discussion is here:
https://www.naturescap​es.net …iewtopic.php?f=​1&t=253104
The relevant posts start about halfway down the first page with post #8.

Here is a good article that is very relevant to the questions you raise:
http://www.clarkvision​.com/articles/lighting​.part4/

The questions you are asking are really the heart and core of what photography is all about, and it is a refreshing change from the endless prattle about camera settings, focal lengths, etc.

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tim1970 wrote in post #17833839
Are overcast days the same as low contrast days, which is what bird and wildlife photographers want to avoid?

Hey, your profile pic is a good example of the juggling act between bright light and contrast/shadows! It's a fun pic of a running dog, but for good wildlife photos, you don't want the dark shadows blotting out the "portrait"!

Lots of good advice here.

If it's bright and sunny, get the sun behind you so the subject is fully illuminated like this screaming Golden-Crowned Kinglet. For brightly coloured birds it can work well. The sun low on the horizon (morning and evening) is best.

Overcast days can provide decent shots like this Cardinal. No shadows to worry about, but the colours will be muted. A good idea on overcast days is to shoot monochromatic birds...white, gray or black...the loss of sunlight wont be as bad as there are no colours to mute, and the texture of feathers can be highlighted.

I have the 100-400 II also. Its a good lens. As others have said, overexpose a bit and bring down in post processing (helps keep detail and avoid noise, especially on Canon cameras), and keep the shutter speed up.

Find perches and birds where the background is uncluttered and the background is far away...helps the birds stand out.

Good luck.