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Scooter, just a suggestion. I find that if I want to shoot birds in flight, I use TV mode and AI Servo. I set the shutter speed to at least 1/1000 sec, sometimes more. The reason that I use TV mode is that using AV mode, you will not usually get the shutter speed required to "stop motion" for the wings. You can capture the actual bird moving by panning with the bird and this will work for all of the bird except for the wing movement. I always try to "lead" the bird while panning so that when I click the shutter, it is most likely to be captured in the left third or so of the image, giving it room to at least appear to be flying into the right side of the picture.

I will still use AV mode for shooting birds that are not flying, e.g., sitting on the next, walking or standing on the ground, etc.

Hope this helps.

WesternGuy

Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't tried TV mode yet but I'll do that next. I have a question-everyone says there may be noise in the first photo but my ISO was at 200 for both photos, but the shutter speed was a little slower on the second one. Are there certain settings to avoid that create noise other than a high ISO?
 
Few thoughts:

1) Noise is generated by higher ISOs.
It is also generated by underexposure and then "revealed" when those underexposed (darker) areas are brightened up.
In fact if you underexpose a photo and then brighten it you will get more noise than if you'd taken the same shot at the same aperture and shutterspeed, but at a higher ISO.

As such its important to realise that ISO is just ISO. Higher ISO means more noise ,but it means less for a correct exposure. Thus if you have your aperture and shutter speed set and can't adjust either of them to let in more light (for technical or creative reasons) then you should raise the ISO. Take it as high as you need.

2) Look up the theory "expose to the right" and check out how to read a histogram. That is a powerful series of tools to allowing you to "expose" correctly to maximise image data whilst not over exposing the photo. Note, however, that its an idealistic theory and that the situation might often mean that you can't use it perfectly. It's there to be aware of and to aim for but oft comes up less important than some other things (eg motion blur you can't fix in editing so shutterspeeds are oft limited in action focused situations).

3) When shooting birds against the sky remember that unless the sun is behind you and illuminating the bird, that the main subject is going to be darker (oft shadowed by its own body) against a bright sunny background (Sky). This will cause the camera to expose more for the background than the foreground. Thus if you are in AV or TV mode (Aperture priority or shutter priority) you will oft need to use exposure compensation to get a nice clear shot that isn't too biased to the bright background. Telling the camera to over-expose a little (up to a stop) is regularly used in such a situation.
Note this depends on the subject size in the frame of course; sometimes you'll fill so much that you won't need to use this method - so it takes practice and experience



Looks like you're off to a fantastic strong start with things - keep practising and keep up with the good shooting"!
 
Few thoughts:

1) Noise is generated by higher ISOs.
It is also generated by underexposure and then "revealed" when those underexposed (darker) areas are brightened up.
In fact if you underexpose a photo and then brighten it you will get more noise than if you'd taken the same shot at the same aperture and shutterspeed, but at a higher ISO.

As such its important to realise that ISO is just ISO. Higher ISO means more noise ,but it means less for a correct exposure. Thus if you have your aperture and shutter speed set and can't adjust either of them to let in more light (for technical or creative reasons) then you should raise the ISO. Take it as high as you need.

2) Look up the theory "expose to the right" and check out how to read a histogram. That is a powerful series of tools to allowing you to "expose" correctly to maximise image data whilst not over exposing the photo. Note, however, that its an idealistic theory and that the situation might often mean that you can't use it perfectly. It's there to be aware of and to aim for but oft comes up less important than some other things (eg motion blur you can't fix in editing so shutterspeeds are oft limited in action focused situations).

3) When shooting birds against the sky remember that unless the sun is behind you and illuminating the bird, that the main subject is going to be darker (oft shadowed by its own body) against a bright sunny background (Sky). This will cause the camera to expose more for the background than the foreground. Thus if you are in AV or TV mode (Aperture priority or shutter priority) you will oft need to use exposure compensation to get a nice clear shot that isn't too biased to the bright background. Telling the camera to over-expose a little (up to a stop) is regularly used in such a situation.
Note this depends on the subject size in the frame of course; sometimes you'll fill so much that you won't need to use this method - so it takes practice and experience



Looks like you're off to a fantastic strong start with things - keep practising and keep up with the good shooting"!

I remember reading that you shouldn't underexpose otherwise you lose detail when you correct it, but I didn't know it created noise. Thanks for the great tips (and the comments too)!
 
scooter, you might want to subscribe to Art Morris' blog. He is probably one of the best bird photographers going (my humble opinion). I find each issue has something I can learn from - well, most of them. You can find it here - Arthur Morris BIRDS AS ART . He publishes it on a daily basis.

WesternGuy
 
scooter, you might want to subscribe to Art Morris' blog. He is probably one of the best bird photographers going (my humble opinion). I find each issue has something I can learn from - well, most of them. You can find it here - Arthur Morris BIRDS AS ART . He publishes it on a daily basis.

WesternGuy

I'll check it out. Thanks.
 

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