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What is Bird Photography? – Overview
Everyone admires beautiful and natural photos of birds. To get the perfect photos of birds, all we do is search on the Internet and download the photos for our laptops and mobile phones.
Have you ever wondered how such beautiful photos got clicked?
To know about the hard work and dedication of a photographer, you need to understand the basics of Bird Photography. The following blog is prepared to give the right answer to your question “What is Bird Photography?”
What is Bird Photography?
Unlike ordinary photography, Bird Photography requires a lot of gear, positive mindsets, and the right environment.
It requires some professional skills to get the best of photographs of different types of birds. Birds are not usually found on your terrace, for that you have to go out and search for them in nature.
Birds are quite active and for that reason, you need to be patient enough to get a closer click of them. If you get closer, the chances of disappearing birds will be high.
Make sure to study their behavior first to get a closer shot of the bird. If you are going to become a pro bird photographer, then here we have prepared a list of effective bird photography tips for you.
The following list will help you to understand the basic photography skills and techniques of getting the right clicks on your favorite birds. Let’s check out the tips to enhance your photography skills!
The Best Tips to Photograph Birds
1. Prepare Yourself
The first and foremost thing you need to do is prepare yourself to photograph birds. As noted above, Bird Photography is not that easy. It requires special skills, the right gear, and more. Prepare a checklist of things you will require to capture the bird’s photos.
Make sure that you have collected the required gears such as a good DSLR with multiple lenses, tripod, extra battery, etc. A good camera bag would take care of all the gears. Just pack up your camera bag and start your journey. Canon EOS R is the highly recommended camera for bird photography.
2. Key Factors to Consider
You need to consider a few things first before you get your hands on this genre of photography. Bird Photography needs you to develop some basic skills such as understanding the quality of light.
A good composition is also required to capture the lively shots of birds.
Besides this, you also need to know about the activities of birds and their nature. A good background is crucial to get the right photo of a bird. Make sure to blur out the background if you are clicking a portrait.
Nonetheless, you also need to understand the basic camera settings. You can get multiple photos of the same object from the same angle just by changing the camera settings. That’s how you can master Bird Photography.
3. Keep Yourself Calm
Birds don’t like noisy environments. If you want to get the right picture of a bird, you need to be calm and quiet. Don’t try to make any type of noise while photographing a bird.
If you do so, you won’t get the right picture of the bird. The birds will fly away as soon as you make noise.
Step up gently towards the birds. If you move faster towards birds, you will scare them and they will fly away at the very second moment. With little extra skills, you can even attract them and get the right shots.
Moreover, you also need to check the color of your outfits. Make sure that the clothes you wear match well with nature. If you wear colorful clothes, birds will identify you and they won’t come closer to you.
4. Don’t Copy Stuff
Most photographers search for the right shots on the web. However, to get the right shot of the birds, you need to take original photos of them.
Instead of copying someone else’s photos or photography style, try to take multiple shots of the birds from different angles.
Also, make changes to the existing camera settings. The right camera settings are crucial to get natural photos of the birds. Make sure you take entirely new photos which can impress the masses.
5. Proper Research
Every bird’s nature and behavior are different and for that reason, you need to do a little research about their behavior, what type of location is suitable to them, what is the right time to take their shots, etc.
Remember one thing, photography is not about getting the right photos, but having all the knowledge about it. The more you research, the better photos you will get!
6. Listen to the Birds
Did you know birds can sing also? Yes, many species of birds make different types of noise. You can hear them talking with each other, fighting with each other in different tones.
You need to listen to the birds to get their shots. You can hear their voice even before seeing them in the action. That’s why hearing the noise of the birds is essential to get the perfect shots of them.
There are multiple ways to understand and study the sounds that birds make. You can study their noise from the websites or you can buy their CDs and can listen to their noises in different conditions with their videos.
Listening to their noises on digital platforms is not that effective. Instead, you should go out and study their noises in real. This will be more beneficial to you and your photography career.
7. Choose the Right Time
Birds are usually found early in the morning or in the evening. Usually, birds are active in this period and for that reason, the best time for bird photography is early in the morning or in the evening.
To get the best photos, you need to try out the burst mode that is available on almost all the DSLRs present in the market.
Burst mode clicks multiple photos while the bird is in action. This way you can get the perfect shot of a moving bird with your camera.
If you try to capture a single shot, then you will have to spend more time locating the bird, setting up its angle, and clicking it out.
8. Focus on the Object
You need not be in a hurry. Setting up the right focus is crucial before you press the shutter button. You have to focus well on the object i.e. the bird. Since the bird is constantly moving, you also need to move the camera angle. If you don’t focus well on the object, you will not get the right shot of the bird.
Spend more time observing the birds. You can learn more about their behavior by watching their videos on YouTube or on any other websites that describe the behaviors of different species of birds.
Birds come out when they are hungry. They ignore you when they eat and that’s the perfect time to get them clicked. Spend more time to focus and get the right-click. Patience is what you need while capturing the birds.
Take Away!
These are some effective tips that you should know before going out to capture the birds. Photography in the closed room is different from photography in the field.
Practice is what makes you the pro photographer of birds. The more you practice the better photographs you would be able to take, so just go out and start taking photographs.
Analyze your photos to improve your skills. If you want to research more about bird photography keep in mind that it’s a subcategory of wildlife photography.
The right gears, proper techniques, and knowledge make you a pro bird photographer. Don’t ever stop learning new things even if you developed good photography skills.
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