Bird Photography Tutorial | Gear, Settings and Composition Tips
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- Bird photography tutorial with Charl. In this Video, Charl will explain his go-to settings for bird photography as well as advise on what gear you should use and why. He will also teach you some innovative compositional ideas, to improve your bird photography, illustrated with lots of beautiful pics!!!!
Bird photography is increasingly popular, being able to take a great bird photograph every time and improve your wildlife photography hit rate will set you apart from the crowd. Whether you are new to wildlife photography and bird photography in particular or if you someone who is looking for bird photography tips for the serious photographer. There is something for everyone in this film.
Learn from the best and read our in-depth blog on Photographing Birds in Flight: www.pangolinphoto.com/photogr...
Timeline:
0:00 Introduction Bird Photography
1:00 What camera gear you will need.
2:30 Understanding crop factor
3:49 Getting off Auto for bird photography
5:30 Sutter speed and focal length
8:56 Understanding Bird Behaviour
9:36 Watch your backgrounds
10:20 Image Composition in bird photography
11:37 Autofocus area selection
12:50 using light to get creative
14:30 Conclusion of Bird Photography Tutorial
Charl not only takes about small bird photography but also tips to capture birds in flight. Will share his techniques for photographing small birds as well as larger eagles and other raptors.
Welcome to our channel which is dedicated to the wonderful world of wildlife photography. We endeavour to load one new video every week featuring beginner to advanced photo skills, editing tutorials, hacks and gear reviews. We are based in Northern Botswana in The Chobe National Park and we invite you to travel here, either virtually or physically, and we will do our very best to make you a better wildlife and nature photographer. Enjoy the channel.
If you would like to join Charl on safari you can do so by visiting our website: Pangolin Photo Safaris ► www.pangolinphoto.com/safari-...
#wildlifephotography #birdphotography #photographytips
A big question for you today! Which is your favourite bird to photograph and why?
Short-eared Owls. Because of their acrobatic moth-like flights, adorable human-like faces, and relative tameness for photography.
The American bald eagle. I love birds of prey, but have been fascinated with the symbol of America since I was young boy. At 63 years young the fascination is still as strong.
Any Bird on the African continent, because it means I am on holiday, usually Safari. How I wish that was right now, the nearest I can get to that at the moment is to keep watching the Pangolin clips on You Tube....[free holiday please for the commercial?]
Western Blue Bird hands down! Not only a challenge because they never sit still, but their colors look amazing!
@@kevinswilson66 We weren't expecting that one. Great choice!
Nice video thanks for uploading.
Loved it! Clear and useful, thank you!
Incredible tutorial, thank you
Once again a perfect lesson, lots of tips. Thank you for the support.
Thank you sir!!
Great tips, Charl! Thank you so much.
Thank you for watching Steve.
Fantastic video, thank you!
One of the best pangolin videos to date and great that you’ve picked a theme to provide context around some of the camera settings and functions; even better that the detail is referred to in other videos and therefore the basics are on tap too. It’s gradually turning the whole video library into a well developed, fully integrated package that complements the safaris you offer. Great job.
Thank you for watching and glad you enjoy the video.
Great video. I like how it covers so many topics that are very helpful when starting out in a short simple way.
Great tips, thanks Charl! Def going to try some of these.
Thank you glad you enjoy the video hope it works for you.
wow! great birds photograph,thanks for sharing
Thank you!
Pretty good presentation Charls. Your work is outstanding and clear. Thanks for your good suggestions and recommendations.
Great tips. Thank you.
You are so welcome! Thank you for watching
Resplendent Quetzal - amazing name, amazing bird!
Sure is a beautiful bird.
Stunning images and great tutorial, subscribed.❤️🙏
Great video again, thanks for the tips!
Thank you for watching and glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you for such a comprehensive and well organized and educational discussion of techniques that improve bird photography. I look forward to a photo safari with Pangolin!
See you on safari!
Excellent tips. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for watching William and glad you enjoyed it.
Really Helpful , Love it
I've been doing bird photography for a while now, but still find these tips super helpful. I like the way you explained it slowly and in great details. Thanks!
Thank you Charl. Just embarking on this adventure, and this tutorial was extremely helpful. Luckily I'm in Arabia, so the light is usually good!
More brilliant tips from the wildlife oracle's
Thank you so much glad you enjoyed it
Great tutorial, many thanks.
You are welcome!
Awesome tips..thank you.
Thank you so much glad you enjoyed the video
Thanks just what I needed
That is good news Izel, thank you for watching
Clear explanation, bravo Charls ! As one of your followers said, in Paris we don’t have the same choice in birds spycies. and that’s the reason why I plan to spend time with Pangolin safari team this year ! 😊😉
Thank you Mario for your kind words. We are blessed with all the different bird species in Chobe and we cant wait to welcome you.
@@PangolinWildlife Charls a question regarding lenses. If I want to have a sharp image is it better to use a fixed focal lens rather than a zoom like the Canon 200-400 f/4 + 1,4 extender ?
Thanks in advance
I own a Nikon D5500 with a Nikkor 70-300mm VR af-s f/4.5-5.6 and I always choose your preferred setting - Manual Mode with auto ISO. However, I like the f/8's depth of field. 😊
Thanks a lot! Great video! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Dankie Charl. Help altyd om geheue te verfris.
Baie bly jy het dit geniet, hoop dit gaan goed.
Great video into learning about bird photography. As a photographer myself, learning the particulars about bird behavior was most helpful. Experience is the best teacher. You just gave me that shortcut from many many many "practice" shots. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Another fine video. Thanks. Always like Pangolin advice.
Thank you glad you enjoy the video.
Really enjoyed this - brilliant information and all to bring people closer to nature and to appreciate it - best wishes, Joel
Our pleasure!
Very helpful video. Being fairly new to digital photography, using the ISO on auto has helped tremendously with my bird pictures!
Great to hear!
Great video, many thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it
One of the best comprehensions i have seen.
Thank you so much really appreciate it
Thank you. Great explanation
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching
Superb
I really enjoy trying to shoot hummingbirds in flight. Lots of failures but when you get a few nice ones it feels great.
That's why we are all out there trying and hoping to get that one great shot. Yes you are so wright Rod it does feel great when you go home and you have a few great ones. Absolutely correct.
Thanks for the video and tips. 💯
Thank you for watching.
Very nice introduction to bird photography, and the photos are lovely.
Outstanding images, Charl! You have good suggestions for bird photography. You are organized, concise, and helpful in this video. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for great videos! I cannot wait to be back with you all on the Chobe Nat Park!!
Us too Heiko, thank you for your support.
This is a great video, and the birds shots you shared are AMAZING! You sir have excellent talent and skill. Thank you for sharing with us.
Many thanks Ahmed really appreciate your kind words. Thank you for your support
Great vid lots of great tips thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching
Great One
Superb. Very helpful indeed. Thank you very much
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching really appreciate it.
Excellent. This video helped me in fine tuning my Techniks. Thanks a lot n love to see other videos clicking the links provided.
Glad it helped. Thank you for watching
Green Bee Eater .. its full of color and behavioral part you will easily understand and it will give you lots of time to take various photos with various backgrounds and positions ❤️
That is so true. Thank you for watching
Very well explained. Great.
Glad you liked it
Great video. So glad you also mentioned micro four thirds.
Glad you liked it, and thank you for watching
Great Vlog, I love there wildlife vlogs, thanks for sharing
Thank you Tony glad you are enjoying the videos.
Fantasties. Goed om jou weer sien Charl - lekker naweek vir julle.
Baie dankie Marleen selfde vir julle daar
I'm am just starting with Bird/Wildlife Photography having done landscape and Macro photography for a while - I want to branch out - I purchased the Tamron 100-400 that fit my budget on my Canon 5D MK IV - This video has helped me 1000% to capture better shot and the explanation of the why is great - Thank you so very much!!!
Thank you for your kind words and I'm glad to hear that this video will help you.
Great video thank you Charl. Would be great to have a video on Canon subject tracking eye detect.
Very good tutorial, 10/10.
Glad you think so! Thank you for watching.
🙏 thanks 👍👍
Excellent video .This video helpful to beginners and professionals.thank you sir !
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent video delivered with a beautifull accent!
So much good information!
Thank you Sharon glad this is helpful
I do like to photograph any bird, especially birds in action and in their natural habitat .
Nicely put Sarel. Thank you.
Great tutorial.
Glad you liked it! Thank you for watching
Wow! I really enjoyed this video and learned a lot. Everything was explained very clearly. Thanks! Sandi Cok
No.1. 👍👍👌🙏
Thank you.
Thanks a lot for the tips sir. I am doing bird photography and my favourite is birds in flight photography. This vedio is so much useful to me.
Thank you for watching and I am glad that this video will help your progress in photography
An excellent educational video, enjoyed your presentation.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching
Really interesting. Curious to what extent VR can reduce the "1/focal length" guideline. So for my 300mm lens with 1.5 crop factor but VR, what might be my minimum shutter speed?
Great video, thanks, very clear advice and easy to follow. In the UK it is difficult to find attractive birds, your bird pictures are stunning with a lot of variety. I have a choice of pigeons, ducks, geese, magpies, black birds, robins(yay ! colour) and the occasional migrating visitor. If I want anything more exotic or colourful I have to go to a zoo and work through wire fences and Avery mesh. :(
When we are allowed to travel again (hopefully this year) I definitely have several locations in the world I will travel to and your bird photography tips will come in useful. I might even come to your location 🌞. I travel on my own so that always presents challenges for finding accommodation at a reasonable cost etc...
Thank you for watching we will be happy to host here in Chobe and add a few new bird photos to your portfolio.
Ditto on the last part of this comment but I’ve found buddying up to be the way around this and the providers are usually happy to introduce individuals to support the buddying. It works here in the UK too. Whilst Chobe has the array, we do have some birds that present a challenge...... the local Kingfisher is doing all it can to avoid my camera that’s for sure, a little colour in those little critters.
Good one Charl!
Pretty much my settings. Only difference is on my D850 I use d9 focus points and the main reason is birds in flight. Single point for me can work well for a take off shot, or a hovering shot, or if the bird is flying is a relatively straight line. Photographing birds in flights from a cliff top on an island with high winds moving the birds erratically, I find have a few more focus points gives a better hit rate. I can still place the centre point on the eye of the bird if the bird is perched in d9. Call it an insurance policy though I know a lot of wildlife photographers prefer single point(I started there).
The other thing I rarely use is moving the focus point to compose, especially for birds. If using a zoom lens I would rather zoom out as much as needed and then focus on the eye which will still give me plenty of negative space to compose the subject at side of the frame required in PP. With a prime lens I just try and move further back for the same effect or in something like the photographic boat from the Pangolin Voyager, adjust to the fact that the boat is often drifting closer to the subject and start shooting earlier which will also give me plenty of negative space to work with in PP. So why, because birds rarely sit still long enough for you to compose and move the focus point across to the eye. I would have missed even more shots : ), if I hadn't quickly pointed the camera to the subject, attained focus and fired a burst before it took off. Secondly, on most occassions when I've composed and moved the focus point to the eye and gotten the shot, I've forgotten to move the focus point back to the centre and started shooting birds in flight or birds perched in the opposite direction and wondered while they were all out of focus(until I've checked later). So user error, but, if I just stick with the centre point in the centre of the viewfinder and use the methods described, I end up with a larger percentage of keepers. Cheers!
Hi Brian good to hear from you and thank you for watching and your input.
Great video and greetings from 🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴!
Thank you so much and thank you for watching.
Thanks for explaining in detail. Please advise whether can we use Auto ISO in Aperture or shutter priority
Thank you very much. Yes you can use Auto ISO in Aperture or Shutter speed you will just have less control over your camera reading
very good and professional tips
Glad you think so!
Hello, thanks for all these information. I really like your tutorials.
Maybe you can help me with my question. I ve the 5D Mark IIII and the 100-400mm lense.
Do you know if the 1,4 III converter works with this combination.
Need a bit more mm for bird photography and thought about this option.
Greetings Marina
very interesting film and great shots👍📷
Many thanks! Thank you for watching
Incredible tutorial. I started birding just under a year ago and I’ve been able to get some fantastic images, but can’t seem to get off of AF. I’ve watched all the tutorials on MF, but I’m still not understanding something. When on MF, does this mean you will need to manually focus on the bird by turning your focus ring on the lens? Or does the AF Tracking still work?
Thanks
Thank you for watching
Nice!
Thank you for watching really appreciate
Hi Charl, thank you a wonderful video, most informative. I need a bit of advice please. Recently i have had to photograph small birds (Pipits and Larks) on recently burnt fields. Firstly i find it difficult to focus on the subject because of the grey background and as the bird is moving between the tuffs of burnt grass. Secondly the DOF is just bad and horrible, the bird is in focus, but the background is like stringy. The worst is in post processing, the colours are just bad and again the background does not come out smooth. Can you give me some advice how to tackle photographing birds on burnt areas. By the way, i am using a Nikon Z6ii with a 200-500mm Lens on Manual. regards
Glad I found this channel! Everything I have learnt about wild photography is from here. How about starting a discord server where followers can post their photos too and learn from each other? See if this suits you
Thank you Archit glad you enjoy the channel and it helps your photography. Not a bad idea you have there
Hi Charl thanks again for an informative video.I have an issue when a bird takes off my first and second photo is normally blurry.On my last trip I took a photo of a Martial Eagle I used manual auto iso.Set my speed 2500 of a second, had to adjust compensation 1 notch positive as lighting was not so good.My focus point was on the head.
Hi Nick. I could imagine that your setting for 1st and 2nd image priority might be off. You can check that in the pink AF menu 2nd tab under 1st and 2nd image priority. If you have set it to release on the 1st image it prioritizes taking the shot before focus is confirmed. So you could set it to focus rather and although it will take a bit longer, the camera will confirm focus first. Setting it to release does not necessarily mean that focus isn't achieved but the camera is given less time to confirm focus. I personally have set my 1st priority to release and second to focus and this works fine for me. But if you struggle it might be worth checking. Hope this helps, regards Charl.
Good One Sir..Well Explained
Thank you very much and for watching
@@PangolinWildlife You are welcome
I would be fascinated to learn how to keep a single autofocus point on the eye of a bird in flight! But then again I’m sure the new Sony a1 will give it a go
Also I know there is much support for Manual & auto ISO which I agree with less hectic animal movements but with fast paced action surely Shutter speed priority and auto iso would get you there quicker!
Thank you for your input. I appreciate your preference for Shutter speed and Auto ISO but I still feel to have more control in Manual with auto ISO as I cannot only control my shutter speed but also the aperture at the same time. In the end what matters it what works for you as an individual.
I too would be interested with single autofocus. I only use single focus point with birds or animals that are more stationery and use Group focus with my Nikon gear when doing flight and action shots. I shot manual with Auto ISO so that I can choose my various settings. With Auto ISO you can track your subject from the dark into the light far quicker than you could ever do it manually. My stay at the Pangolin Lodge and day on the Chobe River was something that I wish to experience again once we get the pandemic under control world wide.
Really nice tutorial maybe I’ll catch the kingfisher that has been teasing me with this information. Can you put the other links that you talk about in the comments.
Hi Charl. Good video. One thing I don't understand is why you have to take crop factor into account when using the 1/focal length rule for shutter speed. Could you find the time to explain the logic behind this?
Great video. I wonder if you did try using the R5 on king fisher and Osprey while they were fishing. Thanks.
Unfortunately not
For birds in flight and other fast moving subjects the single AF point plus its 4 neighbour AF points may get better results as it is very easy for the moving subject to get out from the single point.
Thank you Dimitris you are correct, I all so make use of that as soon as i struggle with the single focus point.
nice tuto. which camera do you use ? canon R5 ? isn't it too tedious to move the single point on eye among the 493 dots of the EVF ? especially with a subject moving like the birds... I use af-c back button focus af-on and single point with my dog on a D750 and it is hard to focus ! Waiting for my new Z6II, still weak for eye detection I have read, but we expct all a new firmware soon. any experience with Z6II ?
Hi Marc thank you glad you enjoy the video. I have the 1DX MKII and 5DIV at the moment. I had my hands on the R5 and R6 and have to say the animal eye tracking is really good not perfect but good will defiantly makes birds in flight easier. Birds in flight i use a single focus point and if i struggle i will use single point with 4 helpers.
I did set my camera up back button focus AF-ON for single and the * for the single point with 4 helpers. This works well for me. I'm sure soon, maybe in the next 2 years all cameras will have this eye tracking and birds in flight should be easy. No sorry not the Z6II.
5:57 HOOW on earth do you bring out those colors?!
That is seriously "take my money and kidney-levels" of awesome color depth! 😳
Thank you for watching! The full frame camera and prime lens have a big impact on the colors. And of course a little editing too ;)
@@PangolinWildlife Figured as much. The files from my x-t2 holds quite a big amount of color depth and I notice a clear difference when switching between primes and zooms. Can only imagine what it does with a big ass sensor.
A little editing you say? With all respect for the trade secrets and craftsmanship. You really should make a video about "a little editing" 😉
Also. That accent! Like conditioner for the ears! 😍
I somehow quit using the auto iso like you mentioned. I shoot in manual anyway; thanks for the auto iso tip.
Can you please advise when you would use 1/3 stop bracketing please instead of full stops, much appreciated
Hi Charl, have you tried taking photos with a camera that has the animal eye detection, does this help with the autofocus selection point as it sort of takes that issue/worry away from the photographer. for e.g. a Canon R5 or R6
Hi yes I have and that animal tracking is amazing, it works well in most cases and will help a lot but its not perfect yet. Sure we will make a video about that animal tracking soon.
That is a big question! I like all birds but to narrow it down, I would say Bald Eagles, hummingbirds and the Black & White Warblers (rare sight in AZ and very hard to capture as it moves a lot). After watching your video, I have most of the same settings as you mentioned. I am guessing my problem is getting it in focus, especially in flight birds from afar. How do we get it in focus? I have been photo shooting birds for only a year now. Before I started Birding, I was photo shooting other wildlife. What is the best advise to get the birds in flight in focus? Me- frustrating but not giving up- need help.
Hi Debra. First of all thank you for watching. I know birds in flight are hard but I guess exercise makes perfect and changing the tracking sensitivity and focus area can help a lot too. If you like you can watch this video of Sabine, explaining the different modes in detail: ua-cam.com/video/TesyJSg9N9I/v-deo.html We are currently also testing the animal eye tracking on Canon's mirrorless cameras so stay tuned for our review how well this performs on birds in flight. Cheers, Charl
Maybe in a future video talk about the nicer / best poses for birds and other animals.
Thank you for your suggestion.
Just got my om-1 camera and olympus 100-400mm lens 😊 only 1.7kg system 😊
Thanks for this great informative video.
Can you please suggest me a low cost bridge camera.
Hi Albin. Glad you enjoyed the video. I am not very familiar with bridge cameras. What would you budget be? - Charl
@@PangolinWildlife About under 800 USD.
PLEASE HELP with CROPPING and HOW MUCH ONE SHOULD CROP. (ESPECIALLY FOR A COMPETION) THANKYOU.
Hi Carol. Did you see Janines video called Crop like a pro? We released it earlier this year and it will solve all you problems!
ua-cam.com/video/uEHmChy59f8/v-deo.html
👍👍
Appreciate it
Hi! Pangolin...... I'm from kolkata,a city that situated at East India,I want to ask you, is that ok,if I shoot wildlife in programm Mode or Flexible Programm Mode?My thoughts behind the question is,because those situations are very much unpredictable,when we shoot wildlife,just for this,if I worng then give me a suggestion..... Thanking you.
what measurement mode do you use?
I shoot in evaluative metering and use exposure compensation whenever needed. Cheers, Charl!
Note that with crop sensor cameras the focal length does NOT change focal length of a lens...a 400mm lens is still a 400mm lens..its the field of view that changes as the sensor cannot see all the image such as in a full frame thereby giving the impression that the focal length has increased. I
Thank you Rob. That is absolutely right! I just wanted to uncomplicate the explanation. Thanks for watching and your input!