A good bird photo records a moment of time shared between a photographer and a bird or birds. It can happen pretty quick, pretty simply; but it may be quite complex, depending on the photo opportunity and a number of variable elements. To make sure you’re ready for your next photo op, I developed a list of considerations that you can use as you prepare for a field trip and use as you are in position with a bird. You can even use these elements to review the qualities of photographs you are able to take. In essence, it’s all “in the eye of the beholder,” and there’s no perfect photo, but many do come close for a variety of reasons.
Any good bird photograph will have a combination of elements that make it stand out, including: Interesting Subjects – Any bird can be interesting, but an interesting photo subject can be improved by any number of additional elements, especially if you can record action, behavior, or some form of activity. Larger birds are often easier to work with and it’s easier to fill a photo frame with a bigger bird; but they can also be more wary. Colorful birds can catch your attention, and smaller birds can add unique qualities to any photograph. Rather than settling for a “bird on a stick” image, with a little more time and patience while continuing to photograph, a bird can provide a simple action or more complex activity that will elevate photos you take away from a photo opportunity.
Action – Photographs that show action are among the most impressive images; photos without a level of activity can be rather unassuming. After you take a nice portrait of a species, you will want more, and the same bird in action can be a big improvement over previous photos you take of it. What action? Spreading wings, stretching, interacting with another bird, flying, landing, swimming, preening, feeding, etc. Some action photos are inspiring, others are less than pleasing, but that’s part of the process. When taking photos at a fraction of a second some will be impressive, some won’t; but your editing process, your selection process, will highlight the best of the photos you take.
Sharp Images – The sharpness of a photo is the result of using a fast shutter speed, which can show the best details of wing and tail feathers, eyes and beak, legs and feet – even when a bird is flying, swimming, diving, displaying. A fast shutter speed requires ample lighting, and adds to the level of detail needed to emphasize any good bird photo.
Lighting – Lighting is everything in photography – where the light comes from, how it illuminates your subject, how it creates shadows. Always try to keep the sun at your back to get the best sunlight on your subject – watch for your shadow to point at your subject; that’s when you are in just the best position to utilize sunlight at its best. The best angle of the sun is usually between a 30-degree to 60-degree level above the ground; anything more or less from about 50- to 10-degrees should be good too.
Good light should illuminate a bird’s face and reflect the sun in its eyes, which shows as a small white spot in the eye. It will intensify colors, and provide a fast shutter speed with ample depth of field. If you are not in just the right location, shadows will come into play on a bird – shadows on one side of the bird for example. How important is sunlight for good photography? Personally, I very rarely go birding if there isn’t appropriate sunlight to illuminate birds I may encounter and try to photograph.
Colors – Good light from the right direction creates and reveals beautiful, cryptic, and even iridescent colors in birds, while also emphasizing contrast and clarity. Shadows or backlighting dulls colors in unpleasing ways, unless that’s the look you are trying for. The colors of the background and setting can also integral to a good photo. Green or tan vegetation, blue sky, white snow, gray rocks, brown branches or tree trunks – these examples can add to the quality of a bird photo, or compromise it in some way.
Setting – A bird’s surroundings – whether it’s plants, scenery, sky, or environment – can improve a photo by including water, trees, plants, sky, and more. Often it comes down to the branch, leaves, water, sky, or perch where a bird is positioned, which is usually beyond your control. Uncluttered natural settings are preferred, but there are always exceptions – again, the quality is “in the eye of the beholder.”
Sometimes, if possible, you can improve a photo in the field by taking a step or two to one side or another to remove a distracting element in the background out of the photo frame, or at least to the side of the photo. At times a cluttered background can detract from an image, while the lack of an imposing background can improve a photo. It’s a judgement call, if it’s possible to make that call, but it emphasizes that depth of field can be an important element of this Setting topic.
Depth of Field – A bird image can be composed using a wide depth of field (f-10 or f-14, for example) to show its position within its environ, in its habitat type – or you can use a narrow depth of field (f-4 or f-5, for example) to make the background out of focus and emphasize the bird against a relatively uniformly colored background. Both options can be good, depending on the circumstances, but you do need more light or a reduced shutter speed to get a wider depth of field. If you’re lucky, you may be able to try both options in the field, then decide which looks better when you’re editing your photos. Also, in order to turn the background out of focus it helps to have the most open area between the bird and the background.
Timing may be relative to the moment you take a photo, or timing may be related to the time of day you choose to be in the field to utilize the best sunlight to photograph birds. Timing could also mean waiting for a sunny day to visit a favorite photo location, understanding that the best photos are taken during sunny conditions. It can also be a matter of crossing paths with a given bird – how often does luck enter into timing, even to the point of intercepting the flight path of a flying bird? Sometimes, timing is everything.
Luck – There is always an element of luck when you take a given photograph. Most good photos have many lucky elements. Just finding a bird to photograph can be lucky on any given day. Timing and Luck enter into a lot of good photos.
Positioning – Be sure to consider the position of the bird or birds within your photo frame. Try not to center your subject when possible; provide a little extra space on one side of the bird, usually in the direction it is facing, and thereby providing more space for the bird to look into, fly into, or swim into. Even if you center the bird when you take a photo of a bird, it’s still possible to alter the position of the bird when you crop a photo during the editing process. Also don’t overlook the option of turning your camera 90 degrees to use the vertical framing option in some photos, which can provide interesting options on some images.
Your Position – When photographing a bird or birds, you can sometimes improve a photo by changing your position; by getting low, kneeling or sitting to get down to the level of the birds you are photographing, such as at a wetland edge or beach. You can also try to reposition to one side or the other if you are confident you won’t alarm the bird to get a different background. And, of course, any time you are positioning yourself, keep the sun at your back to get the best lighting on the bird, avoid shadows, and enhance colors in your photo frame.
Anticipate & Be Prepared – Assess the scene in advance if possible; adjust your settings with consideration for the conditions you see with relation to positioning, lighting, aperture, and shutter speed. Similarly, pre-focus your lens, even when using auto-focus, so there is no lag time in focusing when the action starts. Anticipate the next move, and be ready for action!
Be Versatile – Try something new whenever possible, and develop your own style in the process. Taking one good photo can inspire you into a lifetime of bird photography, and each good photo you take will inspire you to go birding with your camera more often. Appreciate that bird photography is a building process that can become the most rewarding part of your birding activities. Photographing birds will make you a better birder and an inspired citizen of the natural world.
Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad
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