Bird Photography - Create impressive images

On today's camera market, you can find good cameras for a very low price. Although the image quality increases even more with a higher price, the differences become smaller and smaller. But which camera is best suited for bird photography?

There is no clear answer to this question. Nevertheless, there are some factors you should consider when choosing a camera. Compared to other photography specialisations, bird photography is very dependent on the gear.

Besides a fast autofocus, many bird or animal photographers prefer cameras with a high resolution. This allows them to crop the image a little bit if necessary. If you decide to use a camera in DX or APS-C format instead of a full format camera, you have a crop right from the start. If this is the case, the camera doesn’t have to have as many megapixels.

Beside the autofocus and the resolution, the noise patterns at high ISO values also play an important role. Certain bird species only come out at dusk. To photograph these birds - or generally in low light conditions - you have to increase the ISO considerably. High ISO-values introduce noise to the image. Cameras with lower resolutions and therefore larger pixels, and cameras with better algorithms tend to have less noisy images.

So when choosing a camera, a certain compromise must always be made. The choice of camera manufacturer can also be very difficult. Whether Nikon, Canon or Sony: they all offer good cameras and in the end it depends more on how much money you want to invest in a camera.

Especially for bird photography the lens is almost more important than the camera. Since most birds are rather shy, a telephoto lens is a must. For bird photography the rule is in most cases: the bigger the lens the better. Larger lenses not only have a high magnification but are also very sharp, have a fast aperture and auto focus.

Especially second-hand lenses can be found at a relatively low price. For example, the Sigma 150-600mm 5.0/6.3 which I own myself. It’s not necessarily the fastest lens with a maximum aperture of 6.3 at 600mm, but with 600mm it has the optimal focal length for bird photography. However, the AF motor is also on the slower side. Still, it is a great lens for the price. For an upgrade concerning the autofocus and the speed, you can easily pay a few thousand francs more. Though those sharper and faster lenses are also heavier and bulkier.

Whether you should use a tripod depends on both the situation and your own preferences. For example, I use the tripod mainly when I stay for a longer time period in one place and wait for a bird. But when I am walking and actively looking for birds, I leave my tripod at home.

On those occasions, the tripod restricts me too much and is usually only in my way. Depending on the location, I am not flexible enough with the tripod to get on eye level with the bird or to get the desired background. Sneaking up on a bird is also much more difficult with a tripod. If I take pictures without my tripod, I have to increase the shutter speed a little bit to avoid blurred pictures. But especially with a good image stabilizer in the lens this is not so difficult anymore.

Especially for very shy birds a photo hide or a camouflage net is very useful. Personally, I only rarely use camouflage. I rather try to find individuals who are not so shy and get used to my presence. Depending on the species this is hardly possible and then a camouflage tent or something similar can help. But it is up to you to decide, if you really need a photo hide.

What is often underestimated in bird photography are the clothes. If you have warm gloves, you can stand 20 minutes longer at the location in winter. If your rain jacket is waterproof, you stay outside in the rain 30 minutes longer. If you have a good backpack, you can carry the heavy camera around for a kilometre. These few minutes more might be enough for the shy bird to suddenly show up after all. On the kilometre that you walk more, you might see a rare bird.

As I mentioned before, I would use an open aperture if possible when photographing birds. This way you only have to care about the exposure time and either the exposure compensation or the ISO value.

The basic rule of thumb for the exposure time is:

Minimum exposure time = 1/ focal length

In my case that would be 1/600 but depending on the light I adjust the exposure time. Especially in low light conditions I increase the exposure time step by step. As long as the bird remains sitting long enough, I start with an exposure time of about 1/400. When I know that I have taken a sharp photo, I increase the exposure time to 1/200. This way I gain 2 stops of light for which I can lower my ISO by 2 stops. From ISO 3200 I now get down to ISO 2000 which results in a significant reduction of noise. If I have a tripod with me, I try to increase the exposure time even more. In order to minimize vibrations, I also use the mirror lock-up function on the tripod. With a tripod you can achieve sharp images with very long exposures of up to about 1/40.

If you save the photos in the raw format, you don't have to worry about the white balance. It can always be left on automatic and if the camera chooses the wrong white balance, it can still be corrected on the computer.

In order for photos of birds to appear as natural as possible, you should make sure to photograph the birds from their eye level. This has the side effect of blurring out the fore- and background. This puts the bird even more into focus. I have already written an article about perspective. It is about the influence of a low perspective on photos of water birds.

There are different approaches to creating interesting compositions. Probably the best known is the rule of thirds. The photo is divided into three parts along the short and the long side. Objects of interest should be put on the intersections. For example, I positioned the object of interest, here a great crested grebe, at the top right intersections. I left enough space for the water bird to 'swim into' the picture. If I would position the great crested grebe at the left edge of the picture, he would swim out of the picture. In rare cases this composition can also work. But in most cases I leave more space in the direction the bird is looking or moving.

Whether in a nature reserve, in the forest or in the middle of the city: birds can be found everywhere. In the city, birds are used to being close to people. Some species even see us as an indirect food source. Instead of being shy, these birds show interest and they hope for food. But especially with water birds you should not feed them. With songbirds the whole thing is a little less problematic. Even without feeding, you can get very close to the birds and photograph them at close range.

To start with bird photography, I can recommend starting with more tame birds. Once you’ve mastered your camera and technique, you can try more difficult birds.

Photographing birds in flight is one of the most difficult things in bird photography. Especially with small birds the autofocus has problems to focus and it is difficult to follow them with the viewfinder at all. This is because many species not only fly in a straight line, but suddenly make unpredictable turns. To take good pictures of flying birds, you need a lot of practice and a little bit of luck. Good equipment with a fast autofocus can also be an advantage.

For birds in flight and birds in action I can recommend the following settings:

To freeze the action, use a fast shutter speed. Depending on the light conditions I choose shutter speeds between 1/1250 and 1/2000. To work with maximum light, keep the aperture as small as possible. The ISO should be controlled manually or by ISO automatic according to the lighting conditions.

Sometimes there are days when you don't take a single picture. Because even with all the preparation, sometimes you just simply have no luck. But at some point, it will work out. Often times not when you expect it and not as you imagined it. But for me this is exactly what bird photography is all about. If I came home every day with the picture I had imagined, I would have no subjects after half a year. Like that I still have something to shoot and to improve: the light a little bit better, the fog a little stronger or the bird a little closer. There is always something that I do not like 100%.

Instead of just going out and photographing everything that flies in front of your lens, I recommend that you concentrate on a few species or species groups. Over time you will learn certain behavioural patterns and you can use this knowledge when taking pictures.

Before I photograph a bird, I try to acquire as much knowledge of the species as possible. This allows me to find out at what time I can photograph it, where I can find it and how it behaves.

After I have photographed the bird several times, I start to know how to behave with the bird species. With time, I can also recognise different behaviours, anticipate or interpret them. All this helps me to photograph the bird species.

So first inform yourself about the species! On different internet platforms you will find current news of birds from your region and from all over the world. eBird is an international platform and has the advantage that it covers practically all continents. Ornitho, however, is limited to Europe. Though, Ornitho is much more frequent and accurate.

If you have found a place where your target species has been observed, you should continue to inform yourself about the species. Does the bird live in flocks? What does it feed on? Is the bird particularly shy?

You should also inform yourself about the area. Is it a nature reserve? Are there certain rules to be observed?

Nature must always have priority. No matter how well the photo has come out, if nature is severely affected or a bird is even put in a life-threatening situation, the image loses all value! During the breeding season and in winter birds are particularly vulnerable to disturbance. Disturbances can lead to a bird giving up its clutch of eggs. In winter, food is scarce, and birds must be economical with their energy budget.

Nature photography serves to show the beauty of nature to other people. What is the point of nature photography if it destroys nature? Of course, it is not always possible to avoid disturbing the birds completely. However, every nature photographer is obliged to treat nature as respectfully as possible and to prioritise the intactness of nature to a good photograph.