Bird Photography

Professional photographers and serious hobbyists can spend thousands on the best quality telephoto lenses and DSLR cameras, but if you are just starting out in bird photography, then there are certainly less expensive options open to you.

A word of note here to anyone who is serious about bird and wildlife photography: you should always choose the best quality equipment that you can afford at the time.

The biggest problem that all bird photographers soon encounter is getting close enough to wild birds to get a decent frame-filling photo, so having a range of telephoto and/or zoom lenses becomes essential.

Wild birds tend to be wary of humans and will take flight if you approach too close. This distance can depend on the species of bird, how used they are to people being present and varies a great deal depending on where you are in the world.

Some important things you need to consider before buying a lens for bird photography are;

Focal length of the lens
F-stop or widest aperture setting
How close it will let you focus
Weight

The focal length of a lens is measured in millimetres, and the most popular with bird photographers are in the range from 300mm to 600mm. The higher the number, the more magnified a bird will be, which determines how close you need to get to a bird for a nice detailed photograph. Note; you can also buy extenders/teleconverters that can boost the magnification of a lens - I'll explain more about these later.

The f-stop of a lens determines how much light reaches your camera sensor at its most wide open aperture. The smaller the f-stop number, the more light reaching the camera, and therefore the faster the shutter speed you can use for a correct exposure. This is very important because birds tend to be constantly on the move so you will need to have a fairly fast shutter speed to freeze any action a bird makes when you click the shutter.

Something to bare in mind when looking to buy a lens is how close the lens will let you focus. This will depend on how close you can get to your subject.

The weight of the lens should also be considered before buying. I personally prefer a lens that is light enough to use handheld and easily carry around in a backpack or round my neck.

One of the most popular bird photography lenses is the 500mm F4 prime lens made by both Nikon and Canon. This lens is very heavy and will need to be supported by a steady tripod - it is possible to use this lens handheld but only for short periods of time. The 500mm F4 lens is favored by professional wildlife photographers and comes with a heavy price-tag; I can only dream of owning one of these!

This is light enough in weight to hand hold in bright conditions and can be easily carried around when I'm out walking in the country. The downsides are; I need to get fairly close to a bird to get a decent image, and in low light conditions I'm forced to use a tripod to stop camera-shake at low shutter speeds.

The quality of the photographs are very good with this prime lens and converter combination and I would recommend this set-up for anyone wanting to get into photographing birds but can't afford to buy a 500mm F4.

Apart from the two main manufacturers, Nikon and Canon, there are other's such as Sigma who produce a good range of both prime and zoom lenses at a lower cost.

Zoom lenses come in many ranges of focal length and are too numerous to discuss the merits of each one here. For bird photography you should be looking for something with a maximum focal length of between 300mm and 500mm.

The downsides of zoom lenses are; a reduction in sharpness at maximum focal length and in most cases the widest aperture will be smaller than that of a prime lens, thus reducing the amount of light and increasing the depth-of-field.

Camera manufacturers are racing to superseed what they were manufacturing last year. If you buy a DSLR today you can be sure that by next year your camera will have been superseeded by a new improved model, unlike lenses, which should last you for many years.

When you are looking to buy a camera for bird photography or any type of wildlife photography for that matter, then there are a few things, apart from cost, you need to bare in mind;

Sensor Size - Full Frame or Cropped Sensor
Megapixels
Burst Rate - the number of frames per second

The most expensive top-of-the-range DSLR's have sensors that are 'full frame' which is equivalent to the size of a 35mm film camera. These have large megapixel resolutions, but the problem with this is a corresponding reduction in the burst rate available because they can't save the images to memory quick enough.

High burst rates are desirable for wildlife, sports and bird photography because your subject is often moving. The more frames per second the better, for example, if you take a sequence of shots of a bird in flight then you can later pick the best image with the most interesting wing position and pose.

DSLR cameras with smaller 'cropped' sensors are able to have higher burst rates and also have the advantage of a larger magnification, ie the bird appears bigger in the frame. Examples of such cameras are Nikon's D300s and Canon's EOS 7D and the EOS 1Dmk4. These are the most popular cameras favoured by professional bird photographers.

If you are just starting out then one of the lower to middle range of DSLR's will produce just as good results at a fraction of the cost. Yes, there will be a reduction in megapixels and burst rate, but you can learn the art of bird photography with one of these before splashing out on a higher model.

A few years ago bird watchers discovered that they could hold a normal digital compact camera up to the eye-piece of their telescope and get a reasonable photograph of a stationary bird. Then manufacturers started producing attachments to better couple the camera to the scope and some excellent results can be acheived.

Telescopes have higher magnifications than even the largest of prime DSLR lenses which gives digiscopers an advantage over distance. You need a very steady tripod and the reduction in light will require lower shutter speeds making it very difficult to get a shot of a fast moving bird.

The slightest movement of a camera and lens with a large focal length can blur a photograph, even at fairly fast shutter speeds, so some kind of support is needed in most situations. Also, the heavier the lens, the more support you will need.

Tripods are the best support and come in two types of material; aluminum and carbon-fibre. Carbon-fibre are the lightest, which is good for carrying around with you for any distance, but they are also twice the price of an aluminum equivalent.

Before buying, check the maximum load they can carry with the combined weight of your camera with heaviest lens, and if possible, try it out in a shop and give it the 'wobble test' - if it wobbles now when you touch it, then it will be worse out in the field with a wind blowing and resting on an uneven surface.

To cut down on the weight you have to carry when out photographing birds, then you may consider using a monopod instead of a tripod to help support your camera and lens. These are easier to handle when stalking a bird, but don't eliminate camera shake completely.

The beanbag is another excellent tool for supporting your camera. These can be used inside a birdwatching hide, on your car window ledge or placed on a rock or similar object when out in the field. They can be very steady and are cheap to buy or even make yourself - basically a canvas bag filled with dried beans or rice. If travelling abroad, you can take the empty bag with you, then fill it up with rice that you buy at your destination, thus reducing the weight of luggage you take on the plane.

A very rewarding technique for getting close to birds to photograph is by stalking them. After spotting a bird from a distance, slowly move closer by a few steps at a time and pause, taking the opportunity to take a photo and check and adjust exposure before moving closer again. The idea is to get as close as possible without frightening the bird and taking photos as you go.

The Lie in Wait Method
Another technique is to watch a bird feeding and see if it is travelling in a certain direction, then lie in wait some distance ahead of the bird and wait for it to approach you. Some very close shots are possible using this method as the bird is less wary of you just sitting still.