Bird Photography: 3 things to do on your SLR prior to heading out

One of the worst feelings in bird photography is missing a shot because you weren’t as prepared as you otherwise could have been. Opportunities are scarce, so it’s best to be ready. Prior to embarking on your outing, I recommend the following 3 things.

1. Turn your camera on! - This sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget to do this. Even if your camera has a quick startup time, that’s one additional step that could be the difference in capturing a quality shot.

2. Set your drive motor to continuous - With bird photography it is quite often the case where you will only have a single opportunity to get a decent shot. With your motor in continuous mode you can track your subject and rattle off 10-20 shots very quickly. In general, birds are skittish and move quickly, so you may only have one chance to get a good shot. This will increase your odds.

3. Set your focus mode to continuous - Different camera makes will use different terminology here. On my Canon it is AI (artificial intelligence) Servo. Other makes may refer to it as ”Continuous Focus” or focus tracking. The technology allows your camera to continually re-focus and track your targeted subject. This is a necessity when birds are in flight. Once you achieve initial focus on the subject, the camera will keep it in focus as you track it in the viewfinder.

What other tips do you use?

chris@clawblog.com

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