Thread by @wildontheright

#Thread
A lot of people had requested me to do a thread on Bird Photography. So finally, I got the time today. Hope this helps you. Also, please do share and help others 🙏

Here you go-

Getting close enough to photograph birds, without disturbing them or causing them to flee, is probably the most challenging part of bird photography. So before understanding photography techniques, lets understand how to behave.

Without a lot of patience,you will never get bird photos. Letting the bird accept you in their personal territory is by far the most important aspect of birding. Once they accept you, you have won them!But never take them for granted. 1 wrong move and you have lost them for ever.

Don’t scare the birds as if you are there to attack them. They should not feel that you are a predator. Avoid staring at them. Don’t approach them head on. Always make them feel that you are walking/crawling away, approach sideways. Wear clothing which doesn’t blow in the wind.

Birds hate sudden movement. They just fly away. You have to be slow,very slow in your movements. More the time you spend around them,more relaxed you can be as it gets comfortable with you around.Again,one wrong move and all the effort is gone in vain. You start again.

Now lets talk a bit of photography-

Bird photography needs a decent focal length. No second thoughts about it. You need a lens which has a focal length of minimum 300mm. If your body has a crop sensor, even better!

Make sure the lens has an image stabilisation feature like VR (Vibration Reduction for Nikon) or IS (Image Stabilization for Canon).Birds are always active. In order to stop the action you need a good number of frames per second. Anything above 5 fps is good!

Check your focus settings. Choose as many focus points as possible. 40 plus. More the merrier!
Use continuous auto focus mode like AF-C (for Nikon) or AI-Servo (for Canon). Put the camera on burst or high-speed continuous modes.
I always chose aperture priority, never manual!

Aim for light or colour contrast between the bird and the background. This helps the autofocus to focus faster. Also, it helps to make the bird stand out.

If you follow basic rules of composition, you will be good to go. Do read my thread on composition.

Get dirty, go low.
Always try to photograph the birds from their eye-level. Except the birds in flight, of course!
Bend down, crawl, get dirty or do whatever it takes to get to the bird’s eye-level.

Photograph early in the morning when birds are very active. Observe for a while, anticipate their next move. Shoot in burst mode to take several photographs during the action. Always track the bird until focus is locked before pressing the shutter.

Back button focussing is something you should learn. Using the shutter button half press to focus doesn’t help in bird photography. Practice it at home, with friends etc. Observe birds without your camera a lot. More you understand them, better your photos will be.

I feel like writing much more but the thread is getting longer and will turn boring 😂. I am open to questions. Please feel free to ask.

All the photos in the thread are mine.

This is my IG link if you wish to see more photos- instagram.com/wildshots_saga…