Some points: concerning your presented "ugly image" shot during the day - for me it is quite nice and the oblique shadow of the bird on the trunk is a good counterweight to the horizontal structure of the wood. As with all rules they are there to be broken too and harsh shadows can be a good means for composition. By the way - even at noon there can be quite nice and also (sometimes) soft light and therefore soft shadows. As far as the soft background is concerned it depends - shooting a "portrait" a soft, blurry background may be suitable as being accustomed to those in the glossies. But if the subject is the behavior of birds, the structure of their groupings, the relatonship to their ambiance I would prefer a sharp background!
@@tezagra What is your phone model? If you are lucky to have a phone with a long range periscope telephoto lens maybe you have a chance. Else getting that near to the birds is a no-go. At LEAST 3x zoom for the phone telephoto. I recommend just getting a decent budget mirrorless camera. Personally I have a LUMIX Gx-85 with kit lens and telephoto lens bundled together
Rule #1 - Get to know the birds. Fieldcraft is worth thousands of dollars of equipment. There are too many so called wildlife photographers these days who don't know what they're photographing and have no idea about its behavior or how to approach the subject and just buy equipment to allow them to be as far away as possible. growing up a birder pre digital cameras is a great bonus.
Well Done Tim. You've touched on the key points here, and all of us will get better shots if we keep them in mind. I would mention though that it's sometimes necessary to go out in the middle of the day to capture birds in a wooded (that is, heavily shaded) setting. Morning and evening light is often insufficient in this scenario.
Great tips! BUT, if you shoot wide open, you decrease sharpness of the telelens. For more sharpness it is better to shoot a few stops down, like F8 for example.
Funnily enough I adhere to a few of your guidelines. The "rule of thirds" for instance. I will usually place the bird on the left or right, and have it facing across the image, rather than placing it in the centre. The Golden hour is fine, except when the birds are only active during the day. Another thing, don't zoom in too tight, come out a bit and use post processing to crop for composition, especially for birds in flight.
@Tim Boyer Photography Thanks, Tim for all the tutorials that you post. It's nice to see someone from the PNW. Next year you gotta get out here for our Bald Eagle migration BUT come late April through June it's Osprey season with great close action. Idaho/Washington border :)
Love the practical approach and further explanation to these super important points. I love the challenge that bird photography provides and this video is a great reminder of the importance of simplicity. Great job.
man this was a super insightful video! thanks for sharing your tips on bird photography! thanks for sharing all this beautiful content with us! really enjoyed watching this
@@GodwitMediaLLC I am looking for photo tips videos for a few months. There are many and nearly everything I learned, I found it in your 5 minutes video. Simple and well explained with examples - how cool is that :)
Nice video, as an (amateur) nature photographer I’ve had to learn many of this things the hard way. But I’d like to point something out. Its true that for a blurry and soft background a low F like F5.6 or 6.3 (or lower) is the right thing to do, but only good and expensive lenses make sharp images with an open diaphragm. If you have a cheap lens (like some of the 70-300 in the market) you must shoot at F7.1 of F8. Otherwise your pictures won’t be sharp. It’s better to have a worse bokeh but a sharper subject than a whole soft picture, in my opinion. I’ve just bought a canon 400mm F5.6 after years with a cheap canon 70-300 lense and only now I get sharp quality images with a nice bokeh at F5.6
Thanks Tim, always great to be reminded of the basics. I've been an engineer for 30 yrs and always go back to the basics when stuck on a problem. My question is; do you use bird calls on your phone in the field? I know a few bird watchers who swear by them. Thanks again!
+Jay Swanstrom Yes where it is legal and approved. Never in sensitive bird areas National Wildlife Areas etc. Also I use it for a few calls but don't use it for long periods of time and harass the bird. Thanks for watching.
@@chasfleming thank for this, i totally disagree with using bird calls. it panics birds, stops them feeding, distracts them from danger. plus its forbidden in the uk at several reserves.
+wildbill9919 I know I live in the Pacific NW we might not see the sun for days in a row. So when the light is good I try to get outside as much as possible. Thanks
Thanks for oredering the book, it's print on demand on Amazon so sometimes it takes a few extra days. Let m eknow if you have any questions after reading it. I'm here to help.
OUTSTANDING PHOTOS, YOU CANNOT BE COMPARED WITH ORDINARY PHOTOGRAPHERS, YOU ARE WAY AHEAD. A small request, if you could attach the details of the picture, Fnumber, Speed, ISO what camera and the lens.
i kinda understand why you asked this but you have to understand that every camera , or lens, or light or reflectence are all different so settings are really a useless tool to copy, you must learn how to do that for yourself to be a successful photographer and to be honest, its really easy to learn. hope this helps.
Great video and helpful tips...I wish I could shoot wide open at f4 or 5.6 but with my Sigma 150-600 c it's only 6.3 and soft so I often stop down a stop or two to get sharp images...oh for a 500 f4
I started with a 300mm f/4 Canon lens and put a 2.0X Extender on it (film days). 99 shots out of 100 were soft, but I kept trying, learning and building skills, then when I got a better lens a whole world opened up for me. Whith all the changes in cameras and lens these days you might be able to pick up a used lens for less then you think. Good luck and keep photographing the birds!
flotinaway I recently saw a RU-vid video of a wildlife photographer that suggested to use f8 more often than completely open, because you actually get more of the bird in focus, instead of just getting the head/eye only in focus. So play around with your settings!
@@christyrattay5213 I also saw that video a few weeks ago saying wide open was not always the best option, so now I'm trying for f7.1 and f8 where possible. Unfortunately living in the UK I have to wait a few more months to get some good light, and still need to set up some nice moss covered branches, as well as playing around with those settings! I only recently got the 150-600c, as well as a 6Dmk2..still got my 70D for that extra reach but the ISO is too noisy in this gloomy though festive weather!
Awesome video! Thank you for sharing these tips and advices with us! Maybe you could do a video about photographing birds in winter oder autumn. For example which lighting conditions you can use for a better photo or composition. But that is just an idea that I had :)
It depends on how much you want to spend and how high quality you want the images to be. The Olympus M1 Mark III with the Olympus Zukio 100-400 lens would be good, but the other brands have good products too the Sony 200-600 lens is good, the Canon 100 to 500 I hear is good too. You'll have the lens longer ten the camera so it's not a bad idea to spend more on the lens. If you let me know your price range I can give a more specific answer and give you some options.
One aspect of bird photography that I struggle with is cropping. Taking the images in this video what percent crop was used on average? I find myself cropping at least 50 percent and I'm using a 600mm lens. At what point is cropping disadvantageous? Love your videos. Thanks.
I personally don't like to crop more than 50% because then it starts to get past 1:1 but I do crop often and do a lot of my composition creation via the crop. 10 to 49% crop is probably normal for what I do
Nice photos and some good advice. Rule 11: the welfare of the subject is ALWAYS more important than the photograph. This will probably more important in Europe where birds tend to be far more wary than in America.
Good point. Our birds are on a decline as birding and bird photographers increase in numbers. We're lost a billion migratory birds in the past few decades. Thanks for commenting.
Thanks for making this point. I so often see photographers not taking this into account, and here in Switzerland, the broods of golden eagle and peregrine falcons are compromised every year by photographers who get too close to the nests.
You’d be surprised what photographers don’t know about conservation, even photographic, etiquette. Would be another good video to post. I’ve been pushed, lost shots because of excess noise or someone moving in my way to get up close, seen people treading on or breaking/disrupting habitats to create a better shot. The paparazzi of birding is rampantly out of control at times.
Hi I did a video on it "How to Create a Soft Background" Here's a link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xbKC6Gwk4i0.html Thanks for watching
What a great video!! Thank you Tim. Do you have any advice on how to find Owls in the wild. I see all these great photos of Owls in flight, perching, even catching prey. The few that I have ever found were pointed out to me and usually high up in a burrow in a tree above my eye level and so far away that I get unforgivable noise . I am so frustrated.
The best advice is to join a local Audubon or go on their bird watching tours. Then you'll learn how to find the birds in your area. Owls are much sought after, and many people will not disclose where they photographed the owls to protect the owls from overly aggressive behavior. So, find a good birding group, get to know the people there and then they will start sharing locations with you. Takes a little time, I know, but it's the best way. Thanks for watching. Tim
+FMJFilmMedia Right it's not always possible but sometimes trying harder getting your feet wet, getting dirty by getting down in the mud, moving into the branches or the shrubs -- pushing it. Will get you a better image. Thanks for commenting.
@@GodwitMediaLLC I have spent time filming Herons who are relatively stationary for long periods of time; but sometimes, they go faster than I can focus and shoot... Oh well, I'm pleased with what I have managed to capture....
Hi Tim, I really enjoy your Videos,you do a great job! I have a question,maybe you would like to make a Video of it: How do you actually plan a shooting? I wouldnt think you just grab a Lens and get out in the Woods... Do you plan on shooting a specific Species,do you scout the Area before you go out etc. Would really be interesting to hear your "Routine" :-) Best whishes and have a great Day,Marc
