Q&A: What are some tips for photographing birds?
Winning photo of the Eastern Idaho State Fair’s Professional Sweepstakes/Best-in-Show, 2024.
So you want to photograph birds, eh?
Bird photography is a rewarding and exciting hobby, but it can feel overwhelming for beginners. You don’t need an expensive camera or years of experience to capture beautiful bird images—just some patience, practice, and a few key techniques. Here’s a guide to help you get started.
1. Choose the Right Equipment
While high-end cameras and long lenses can make bird photography easier, you can still capture great shots with an entry-level DSLR, mirrorless camera, or even a smartphone with a good zoom. The key is to get familiar with your gear and understand how to adjust basic settings like shutter speed, aperture, and ISO- learning how to use your camera and what the different modes and settings are will be the most important thing that you can learn to help you get great bird photos.
Lens Length: Your lens length is important but bigger isn’t always better. When I’m chasing wildlife, I usually sport a 2 camera setup, one body with my 600mm f/4 lens and another with a telephoto zoom lens, such as a Canon 100-400mm. I love my 600mm lens for large game or birds in trees or on the water but for birds in flight, it is too large and unwieldy to find the bird in the viewfinder and then to stay on it.
Megapixels: Let’s face it, even with my 600mm lens or even my 600mm lens and a teleconverter, I often still have to crop for bird photos. My favorite camera for birds is my Canon R5, a 45 megapixel, full-frame body that leaves me with lots of data for cropping and lots of with pretty low noise images. While I’ve had great success with a 21 megapixel body, its limited resolution means I cannot crop as much as with my 45 megapixel body.
2. Learn to Observe and Predict Bird Behavior
One of the best ways to get great bird photos is to understand their habits. Spend time watching birds in your backyard, a local park, or a nature reserve. Knowing when birds are most active (usually early morning and late afternoon) and anticipating their movements will help you capture natural, dynamic shots. Newer mirrorless cameras typically have amazing features like animal eye focus and I find that these cameras pick up on birds’ eyes very quickly and effectively- if you have one of these cameras, turn that setting on and use it.
3. Master the Right Camera Settings
For sharp, well-exposed images, use these essential settings:
Shutter Speed: For birds in flight or small birds that may fly without much notice, use a fast shutter speed (1/1000s or faster) to freeze movement and avoid motion blur. My general guide is that the smaller the bird, the faster I want my shutter speed to be.
Pro tip: Camera shake is a big issue with telephoto lenses. Even with lens stabilization and in-body stabilization, I try to keep my handheld shutter speed to at or above my focal length (e.g., if my focal length is 600mm on a full frame sensor body, the minimum shutter speed that I’ll handhold at is 1/1000”; if that same 600mm lens is on a crop sensor body, the effective focal length is 960mm and so 1/1000” is my minimum shutter speed for handholding). There’s no harm is going well above that minimum shutter speed number though if your goal is to stop the action. .
Aperture: A wide aperture (low f-number, like f/5.6) helps blur the background and isolate the bird. While you might be tempted to us an even wider aperture like f/2.8, the depth of field can sometimes be too small to get the entire bird in focus. Keep in mind that if you have a bright sky behind a bird, you may need to manually compensate your exposure by +1 or so to get the correct exposure.
Pro tip: As your lens’ focal length increases, the depth of field decreases compared to a shorter focal length.
On a 600mm lens, with a subject that is 100’ away, and using an aperture of f/5.6, the depth of field is about 2’ 10”.
On a 500mm lens, with a subject that is 100’ away, and using an aperture of f/5.6, the depth of field is about 5’. At 85’, the depth of field is about 2’ 11”.
ISO: Keep it as low as possible to reduce noise, but increase it in low light conditions. I like to use auto-ISO but I set a maximum ISO in my camera settings to keep noise under control.
Focus Mode: Use continuous autofocus (AI Servo or AF-C) to keep moving birds in focus.
Continuous Shot Mode: Use a mode which lets you take multiple photos without lifting your finger. With a moving animal, the last thing that you want to do is stop photographing it.
Back Button Autofocus Mode: If your camera supports it, separate your shutter/exposure and autofocus functions from one another. This is the first change that I make with every camera that I use for moving objects. Having a dedicated focus button allows a photographer to focus on an object an then recompose without resetting focus, allowing for faster activation of the shutter.
4. Pay Attention to Lighting and Composition
Lighting: The best light for bird photography is soft, warm light found during the golden hours (shortly after sunrise and before sunset). Avoid harsh midday light, which creates strong shadows and washes out colors.
Composition: Follow the rule of thirds—position the bird slightly off-center to create a more visually appealing shot. Also, try to capture birds at eye level for a more intimate perspective.
Eye Level or Lower: As with people or any other animals, don’t photograph them from above - for birds like ducks, this often might mean using a floating blind and using a camera that’s just inches above the water’s surface.
5. Be Patient and Respect Nature
Bird photography requires patience. Birds won’t always cooperate, and you may spend time waiting for the perfect moment. Move slowly and quietly to avoid startling them, and always prioritize their well-being by keeping a respectful distance.
6. Keep Practicing and Have Fun
The best way to improve is to take lots of photos and experiment with different settings, angles, and lighting conditions. Don’t get discouraged if your first shots aren’t perfect—every photographer starts somewhere (even experienced photographers get blurry photos of birds flying off of branches). Keep learning, keep shooting, and most importantly, enjoy the process!
By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to capturing stunning bird photos, even as a beginner. Happy shooting!