Bird photography: How to photograph birds

I crept toward the harbor.  There was the heron, perched uncertainly on the motor of a boat.  Beside it were green hedges.  I lifted my camera and waited.  Sure enough, the bird launched itself into the air, glided effortlessly, and settled on the blue Florida water.  A series of shutter clicks later, I lowered my camera, confident I had captured the heron in flight.

Taking pictures of birds is delicate work.  It requires patience, good reflexes, and luck.

Professional nature photographers can spend days silent in a blind to get that one, beautiful, perfect photograph.  We tourists don’t have the time or desire for that kind of effort.  But this article will help you take good photographs of birds, even in flight, that will please you and remind you of your vacation.

In advance, think about your equipment.  If you use film, choose a fast film speed (800 at least) for action shots.  If you want to get details of birds at rest, you can choose a film speed that’s slower.  For both film and digital cameras, set your shutter speed to as fast as the light will allow to capture sharp images of birds in flight.  You will want a telephoto lens, as birds are difficult to approach.  A tripod can be useful, but make sure you can remove your camera quickly if you see action elsewhere that you want to photograph.  Zoom lenses are useful, as approaching birds, particularly water fowl or birds high in trees, can be impossible.  if you’re really hardcore, you can practice at the zoo.

Pay attention to these things in the photo.  Note the shape of bird – birds have a very distinctive silhouette, and try to capture that.  If the bird is in the sky, open wings may suit the picture better than folded wings, for example.  Notice background – do you want just the bird, or do you want a sense of place as well?  A fast shutter speed tends to blur the background, so this is not as great a concern with shots of birds in flight.

Understand that what you see will seem smaller in print.  Birds, especially, tend to appear almost insignificant unless you make an effort to come close to the animal or use a telephoto lens and to avoid distracting backgrounds.

Be patient.  Birds tend to move not at all or very quickly.  Remember that as soon as you give up on a bird, it will move to the perfect photography angle, but you won’t be ready.  So be patient.

Don’t be afraid to burn film.  If you camera has a setting that allows you to take several photos in rapid succession, use it, especially when photographing flying birds.  That way you are more likely to get an image of the bird with outstretched wings.

Afterward, display your photographs!  A montage of nature scenes can be a much more interesting memento of a vacation than a group of smiling people.  Also note what you learned.  Were some birds less easy to photograph than others?  Did some birds startle and fly away more easily?  Take note of that for next time.