Shooting Birds 101.

IMG_9217, originally uploaded by iDrawWithLight.

1. Don't shoot with a gun! They might die


2. Have both eyes open in order to spot movement around you other than what you can see in the viewfinder. As birds move, you can easily get caught up in following them that you forget you're on the streets and Boom! You either hit a post or an unhappy passer-by. I'm talking from experience folks.

3. Probably the most important if you want to actually capture anything; have a long enough lens. Anything over 135mm can do but ideally a range of 200+ should be best for such images. NOTE: I'm not talking about close-ups of birds. For these a 400mm Macro or so would be most suiting.

4. Shutter speed should be set at at-least 1/200 and if in sunlight, aperture at F10 with ISO at 200/400 (depending on choice).
The idea with these technicalities is to set them to personal taste and based on the results you want. The above are just a guide. What you're after is a sharp (high shutter speed) Well contrasted and exposed (exposure+aperture) and smooth (ISO) shot.


5. Don't stand underneath a bunch of birds...they might be at the toilet, you just don't know.


6. With your final shots, in post-production, cropping with preset ratios can produce even better results. I haven't cropped any of my images but some may want more of the bird and less space in the frame. Again, personal taste.


Enjoy!