Yellow-rumped Warbler (May photo). Hudsonian Godwit (May photo). Prairie Falcon (July photo). Belted Kingfisher (September photo). Chestnut-sided Warbler (May photo). Bald Eagle (August photo). Ruby-throated Hummingbird (September photo). Great Egret (October photo). Baltimore Oriole (May photo).

Getting a close photograph of a bird is always something of a cause for personal celebration, because it’s not an easy task. While we want to be careful to limit trying to get too close to a bird to take a close photo, sometimes a bird approaches closer to your position. And when we do get a close photo of a bird that has an exceptionally sharp quality, it’s interesting and often enjoyable to try to create a “portrait photo” of the bird by simply cropping excess background to create an image that resembles a high school graduation portrait that shows the head, shoulders, and upper body.

The photos that illustrate this article are unique because they are a selection of portraits of individual birds I photographed this year. The idea of this portrait showcase came to mind as I was selecting photographs from my monthly files and realized I created a lot of species portraits. Some started out as photos I took of birds that approached very close to my position, usually when photographing from my mobile blind (my car). Others were photos I took when I was able to approach birds closer on foot. And the third group of portrait-bound photos I took from my windows, usually of birds attracted to my feeding station or landscaping. But that was just the first step in making them portraits; the next step took place in my digital darkroom – my computer, where I use a photo editing program (Corel PaintShop Pro).

After selecting a relatively close photo that is super-sharp on my computer screen when I enlarge it, I open the photograph in the photo editing page and simply crop it. I crop it close so the bird’s image is tight in the photo frame showing mostly the head and shoulders. Simple enough, but it takes the right photo to produce a true portrait, and it appears I had dramatically more opportunities to photograph birds in close context this year that could be transformed into portraits. Seeing that, I decided to separate the best portraits to feature in a “portrait-based” Bird Photography article – this article.

During the year, I tried to crop some photos into portraits that weren’t sharp enough after editing, but that’s part of the process. Sometimes a candidate photo turns out to be a bit blurry, or too grainy to make the grade – you really need an exceptionally sharp photo to be able to crop it into a portrait. My last step is to check how sharp the eye is in the portrait to decide if it makes the grade. The process is pretty easy if you have a sharp photo – give it a try.

Although there were many additional high-quality portraits for me to choose from in my 2025 photo files, I’m sharing my favorite 9 images that show a diversity of birds in color and form – each impressive in their own right that add to this unique collection. Good luck with all your bird photography opportunities, and enjoy all your birding activities throughout 2026!

Article & Photographs by Paul Konrad

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