Tips for shooting garden birds

foamcutter

No, I don't shoot birds or any animals, so I don't need a gun.

I spent a bit of time this afternoon, trying to capture birds coming in to feed on seeds and nuts on a garden table. They are very difficult to catch because they move so quickly. I only just managed to get this fella



I had my D5000 with 55/200 set on a 'animal-pet' default setting, I was on maximum zoom and the images have been cropped. The pictures aren't sharp and could be focussed better.
I did try switching to shutter priority & manual and tried a few different settings with mixed results.





I can appreciate that you'd need a lot of patience and luck, in getting a good 'in flight' shot but are there any base setting that I should start from, given that I only have basic gear for this type of photography.
TIA

Borderfox

I find you need a fast shutter speed and adjust iso as neccessary, try to put a branch nearby as most birds will perch before/after eating and will stay still for a short amount of time. Get closer if you can and maybe try in better light, the dark background will drop you shutter speed also so have a go at shooting manual. A lot of it is patience

ThOnda

pullandbang should be able to give you the most advice on shooting birds. Especially clay pigeons
Apart from that, set your autofocus to continuous focusing. Toy Nikon users will come soon with the correct term from their brand.

Fionn

lots of patience as the guys have pointed out!!
maybe use your flash if you have one that will freeze the action, try and get the camera as near as possible, perhaps use a tripod and a remote?
Your focussing is off a little - so more practise in following the BIF with auto/continuous focus.
good luck

Borderfox

I positioned the cone just outside the door and closed the curtains slightly to get closer, iso 400 1/1600th f3.5 300mm, lots of bad ones to get these ones.

whyulittle

Coal Tit, in the open, flash.

pullandbang

foamcutter wrote: »

No, I don't shoot birds or any animals, so I don't need a gun.

Damn.....

Jimjay

Goldfinches by JayGriffin, on Flickr

This was taken at 1/5000 at iso 1250. I have a wireless remote. I setup the camera on tripod and preset the focus around the distance of the feeder. I find the best results to preset the focus even when using 7d (which has amazing autofocus features) and L series lens the focus may not be quick enough for very small birds. My camera can take 8shots raw per second so I just blast away when the birds are on the feeder. F stop for above was 7.1 to get enough dof for two birds. It takes a lot of practice to get right. The brighter the day the better.


Look at my wing! by JayGriffin, on Flickr

jpb1974

If you're serious about photographing birds then this would be my advice:

Set-up a feeding station and feed the birds regularly with a variety of different feeds (as different feeds attract different species). If you feed the birds regularly you'll get plenty of repeat visitors on a daily basis. Some birds like to feed from hanging feeders, others prefer a bird table and others will prefer to feed from the ground. During the Winter months when it's cold and harsh the birds will be exceptionally grateful for any food and water you can spare them. At the moment I'm using nyger seeds, mixed seeds, peanuts and fat blocks and this is attracting about 8-10 different species on a regular basis with a few cameos from rarer species from time to time.

Alternatively you can go to a park in a built up area, throw out a few treats and see if any of the birds will drop down. Coal Tits and Blue Tits have no fear and Robins can be very inquisitive and sometimes quite friendly.

For the best shots get as close as you possibly can. Buy a hide-chair or have the patience to sit out by the feeders on a regular in a deck chair on a fine day. A hide is best as not all birds will become used to your presence but it's fair to say that some birds will get used to seeing you there and will snack away so long as they don't see you as a threat. I've had a Robin who would eat snacks out of the palm of my hand and would regularly have the likes of Blue Tits, Coal Tits and Dunnocks within 8-10 ft of me. Birds that dwell in built up areas are more used to people, whilst countryside birds are much shyer. I tend to leave my bird hide out by my feeding station as much as possible so that the birds get used to it.

Leave out those unnatural distractions such as bird feeders and bird tables whenever possible. The best bird photos are those in a natural, uncluttered environment. It's very handy to have a natural perch in the vicinity of your feeding station that you know the birds will use.

Typically I use standard auto-focus and usually pick the centre point af spot, but it can depend based on the composition I want and the size of the bird in question.

Avoid using flash. It just startles the birds and never gives as a good a result as natural light. I don't bother going out to photograph birds unless I know that the natural light is going to do me a few favours.

Fast shutter speeds aren't essential but do help. You will get some birds that like to perch for a while and you can easily get a decent shot with as slow a speed as 1/30th sec but most birds are twitchy and hyper so you have to be fast.

A few samples from my collection -

foamcutter

Thanks for all the advice and tips.
I'm going to have to be more discerning with the images I keep when I see the selection above.

I gave it another try today, following your suggestions, and sat in the car which is closer to the table. I still struggled with single shots so I tried taking bursts, which did help.
These two are probably the best of today's crop. There's still plenty of room for improvement.



I like these pair, as they seem to be fighting/arguing.



Shooting using a remote sounds like it would be worth a try (if I had a remote).
Jpb1974 has given me a few more ideas for a different set-up to try out another day.

Cheers & Thanks

maddogcollins

Iv not tried taking pictures of garden birds but I did get a remote of my D5000 just before xmas on ebay.

I got it from the below link and had it within 10 days. (comes from china)..Nice and cheap and works perfectly. (apart from long exposure on bulb mode where you need to keep your finger on the trigger for the duration you want).

http://bit.ly/ggn0LU

K_user

I agree with everything said here already!

Feeding station - vital - Try and set it up so that it is either "part of the photo" or unnoticeable. Clean background, again vital.

Having remote release makes things so much easier, you can set everything up, manually focus on your preferred spot, make sure your shutter speed is acceptable and then walk away. If the station is close enough to your house, you can go about your business with one eye on the camera.

The downside to this method is that the birds will land on nearly every spot than the one you want. And you'll get many a*se shots and out of focus heads because you miss judged where they were standing. But continuous effort should pay off (I hope! )

Having a hide close enough for your camera would be the ideal solution, you could then adapt to where they are landing. But its not practical in many cases.

But like most things keep trying, change what you are doing and figure out what works best for your set up - (words I live by! )

jpb1974

I tried using a remote a couple of times but it's offers much less control and is about 95% miss to 5% hit (and that's being generous to the hits).

I use a chair hide and a tripod. This offers my much more control and I always try to get my af-point in or around the birds eye to ensure maximum detail in and around this area of the bird.

My hide is about 15ft away from my feeding station which is basically a gnarly old tree with loads of branches for the birds to perch.

In relation to trying to photograph birds in flight... my advice would be to walk before you can run. I've rarely seen top quality bird in flight shots from novices. Best to concentrate on getting top quality standard shots before you move onto the more complicate scenarios.

It also helps if you love birds... which I do... those days when the light is playing ball I'd be quite content just to sit there and watch them and observe their behavioural patterns which can be quite distinct from species to species.

magicbastarder

may be of interest:

http://iwt.ie/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=75&extmode=view&extid=119

K_user

jpb1974 wrote: »

I tried using a remote a couple of times but it's offers much less control and is about 95% miss to 5% hit (and that's being generous to the hits).

I completely agree, its a real headache.

Last week I had my camera out from 9 in the morning until about 3'ish, just when the light started to dip, and got nothing usable. There was always a leg, a tail, or something cut off/missing/out of focus and those were from the "good" ones. Its pot luck and about figuring out exactly where your focus point is from 10m away!

jpb1974 wrote: »

I use a chair hide and a tripod. This offers my much more control and I always try to get my af-point in or around the birds eye to ensure maximum detail in and around this area of the bird.

My hide is about 15ft away from my feeding station which is basically a gnarly old tree with loads of branches for the birds to perch.

Again thats the ideal. Complete control.

What sort of hide do you use?

jpb1974 wrote: »

It also helps if you love birds... which I do... those days when the light is playing ball I'd be quite content just to sit there and watch them and observe their behavioural patterns which can be quite distinct from species to species.

Agreed, I like animals/birds in general, so I enjoy just watching them. The rest is all about getting your timing right.

the_syco

magicbastarder wrote: »

may be of interest:

http://iwt.ie/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=75&extmode=view&extid=119

Cool. Will be going to a Wildlife talk by Andrew Kelly tonight at the Celbridge Camera Club

jpb1974

What sort of hide do you use?

This one -

http://www.bushwear.co.uk/nostyles.php?ProductID=316920&ClassID=247

It's basically a chair with a camo tent. I don't think there's any such thing as a cheap, well built, portable hide on the market.

jaybeeveedub

I'd say a .22 and hollow-points would be your best bet, but don't forget to open the windows first....

if you include seagulls as garden birds go for a head shot as they have armor plated chests.....


:P

foamcutter

Some more good advice (not to sure on the .22 hollow points though. They might work with a Canon but not a Nikon )

I was sent this, a tutorial on camera settings. The site also has some fantastic images of birds

K_user

jpb1974 wrote: »

This one -

http://www.bushwear.co.uk/nostyles.php?ProductID=316920&ClassID=247

It's basically a chair with a camo tent. I don't think there's any such thing as a cheap, well built, portable hide on the market.

Looks good, definitely worth considering.

I have thought about setting up my one man tent in the garden and seeing if that works - part of it is bright red, so it really blends in - the disadvantage being you have to lie down in it, but it would get me closer.

K_user

foamcutter wrote: »

The site also has some fantastic images of birds

If you are feeling depressed with your own results - don't look at this link!


Some amazing stuff, thanks.

foamcutter

@K_user
Yes, looked at the Mike Atkinson site (Helpful & informative, the navigation could be better) and followed a link to Birdguides.
I'm more depressed now But it gives me something to aim at

K_user

Thats the thing - always having something to aim for - its great to see what others are producing

All was going well until I read the following line:

In April 2006, I bought a 30D body and 500mm lens, plus 1.4x and 2x extenders, costing a total of £5500.

Can't see the wife going for that one! :P

K_user

He goes into some great detail though - thanks for the link