Top 3 Bird Photography Tips for Beginners

Behavioral cues are the building blocks to build a successful bird photography portfolio. In fact, the more you venture out locally to meet and understand the birds without a camera, the better your bird photography will become. Here are a few quick behavioral tips that I have picked up over the years. I would love to hear more from you as well.

• Did the raptor (bird of prey) just poop? It means it’s ready to fly. Well, it looks like it is already too late but no harm in stepping backwards as soon as it goes into the mode.
• A flock of geese generally has a sentry that keeps watch while the others feed. If it becomes too alert or starts looking around frantically, step back. If the bird starts calling, forget it… just be ready for some in-flight images.
• Has the bird folded one of its leg? That’s a sign that it’s not too alert or concerned. Move in slowly.
• All wildlife is alerted by sudden movements. Be as slow as possible and then a bit more.
• When driving, keep your camera in position before the car stops. Picking up and placing the camera on the window after the vehicle stops in front of the subject often alerts the subject.
• Waders/shorebirds stretching their wings? Chances are that you have come too close, too fast. These types of birds are probably the easiest to approach. You just need to let the tide come in; the birds arrive with the tide.
• Many birds have regular perches and they often repeat return to these every few minutes. Watch and choose your place wisely. It isn’t always the closest first.
• Ducks have a habit of cleaning themselves thoroughly after a bath which always leads to a nice set of wing flaps.
  

  Bird Behavior – Flapping wings before they fly off.

• Forest birds are creatures of  habits and are surprisingly very particular about time. I have observed many forest birds coming down for their morning bath with astonishing accuracy with respect to time. This is a perfect time to create images.
  

  Bird photography with source of light behind the camera.

• Many times we try to position ourselves between the source of light and the subject. While doing so, make sure you don’t block the bird’s view of the light source. A sudden change in light intensity is bound to cause a problem.

Studying the Environment

One of the key components to good photography is your knowledge of the location. I have heard many people say, “Oh I’ve been there before, nothing to see.” That’s exactly the opposite of what it should be. Studying the place gives you an insight which is very useful while creating images. I believe that you must understand the difference between taking an image and making an image in order to grow as a photographer. Take the following image, for example…

Photographing birds in well known environment

This image was created in a local water body close to my home. It’s a place that I have been visiting for the past ten years which gives me a big advantage when I go there and decide where to position myself. You’ll notice the image has a warm champagne wash to it, unlike how water normally is. The key to getting this was to realize that the man-made bridge on that water body cast a beautiful hue on the water before sunset. So, for the few days in the year when this does happen, I go there and wait. I wait for waterfowl to arrive and provide me with these slightly different images.

It has been almost five years since I have seen any new bird in this water body; but the point is that it gives me some brilliant opportunities to create images of species that I know and understand well. I would love for you to try this with your neighborhood patch of forest/waterbody/scrubland/etc.

Fast shutter speed for photographing birds

Watch out for more articles in this series regarding tips about background and foreground use.