How to photograph birds in flight

Saturday 13 April 2019, 23:46 by Michelle Peeters | 8,653 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

This video by Tony and Chelsea Northrup offers some very useful tips for photographing birds in flight. Very useful, alongside the fact that you need plenty of practice before you really get the hang of it.

A number of camera settings are discussed, including a fairly fast shutter speed. Even with larger birds that fly more slowly and predictably, you should use 1/2000 as your basic setting with AutoISO. With smaller birds that make lots of dives, such as the kingfisher, 1/2500 or even faster is a good starting point.

With high-resolution cameras, you will soon notice that you get problems with motion blur. That makes a fast shutter speed even more advisable.

When photographing white birds, you should lower your exposure compensation a little. When photographing against the light or upwards, which often happens with birds in flight, it is better to overexpose a little.

The sky will often become somewhat white, but the bird will not turn into a silhouette. You will often get the best result when you have your back to the sun or during the golden hour.

If your buffer fills up too quickly, you could consider photographing in JPG. If you choose quality and extensive post-processing options, especially recovering shadows and reducing clipped highlights, choose RAW.

For focusing, AF-C (continuous) mode is the most useful, along with a fixed AF point. The camera keeps following the moving subject and focusing on it.

It is also useful to set up Backbutton focus, so you do not have to focus and take the photo with the shutter button at the same time.

Bird photography course

If you want to learn more about photographing birds properly, the bird photography course at Photofacts Academy might be for you.

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