First-time bird photography

[seandeeeezy]

I've always admired bird photography on Flickr. I follow a couple photographers who post a bunch of owl pictures. They look pretty awesome. But I had never shot any until maybe a week or two ago. These are my first 2 shots of birds; my biggest zoom lens is 75-300mm. Any feedback would greatly be appreciated.

 

[WesternGuy]

I would suggest that you might want to crop these a bit. They are also underexposed. This, underexposure of the bird, can be a problem when most of your image is sky. The sky tends to dominate the exposure and results in the bird being underexposed. Have you considered using some exposure compensation? I would suggest that +1/2 to +1 stop might give you a better exposed bird and yes the sky will be blown out a bit. You will have to experiment a bit to get the right EC.

The other thing you want to avoid is placing your subject right in the middle of the image. The placement should be based on the rule of thirds. For example, in the second one, the bird should be placed a bit more to the left giving it some space to fly into. This would make for a much better composition. In the first one, place the bird a bit more to the right.

WesternGuy

 

[ZombiesniperJr]

Do you have acess to any editing software that you would be able to brighten them up a bit i cant even see the eye of the second one

 

[DarkShadow]

Good Advice by WG,looks like you got a good focus on them apply that to what was said above and you will be on your way.It's a lot of fun and challenging at the same time and addicting, soon enough you will want a longer lens.Welcome aboard.

 

[zombiesniper]

Good first shots.
The above info is good.
Switch your metering mode to Spot metering. On the 70D it will meter around the centre focus point. Therefore if you put the centre focus point on the bird it will try and focus for the bird and not the surrounding scene.
When shooting throw the rule of thirds and any other composition stuff out the window unless you are sure the bird is going to stay stationary. These thing can be cured in post. Get the shot first. Then when you clicked off a few good ones you can worry about a different composition. Sucks to get a perfectly composed shot on a bird that just flew away.

 

[greybeard]

These have possibilities if you post process them. Crop and dodge.

 

[Demidog]

I personally love these photos. The hues are beautiful. I see the second photo as more of a silhouette so I don't regard the underexposure as a problem in this case. I just like the lines from the branches with the bird standing out against the sky.

I also agree that maybe the second photo could have been cropped a bit to avoid placing the bird directly in the middle but I still think that this shot works. To me, the rule of thirds is a guideline, not something that is set in stone. As zombiesniper mentioned, this sort of thing can usually be fixed in post anyway so it's better to just snap the shot before your subject flies away.

 

[cgleockler]

I've always admired bird photography on Flickr. I follow a couple photographers who post a bunch of owl pictures. They look pretty awesome. But I had never shot any until maybe a week or two ago. These are my first 2 shots of birds; my biggest zoom lens is 75-300mm. Any feedback would greatly be appreciated.

Great shots for the first try! Difinitely some good advice from the photographer's above. The first photo I actually really like as is, it's a bit dark but the subject is singled out nicely, definitely gives it a unique effect. If you get really into bird photography a super telephoto lens is invaluable... There are some zoom lenses that actually produce very good results for the price. I've used the sigma 500mm (and 600mm) the Tamron 600mm and the Nikkor 500mm zooms and they're all great for the price but Tamron is absolutely my favorite. Any one of these would help tremendously though. Good luck!

 

[Derrel]

Good first efforts . The first has a good composition. Second shot's composition is a bit unbalanced. I really like the first picture's feel, even though it is not a tight, close up shot, it is a good picture.

 

[seandeeeezy]

I would suggest that you might want to crop these a bit. They are also underexposed. This, underexposure of the bird, can be a problem when most of your image is sky. The sky tends to dominate the exposure and results in the bird being underexposed. Have you considered using some exposure compensation? I would suggest that +1/2 to +1 stop might give you a better exposed bird and yes the sky will be blown out a bit. You will have to experiment a bit to get the right EC.

The other thing you want to avoid is placing your subject right in the middle of the image. The placement should be based on the rule of thirds. For example, in the second one, the bird should be placed a bit more to the left giving it some space to fly into. This would make for a much better composition. In the first one, place the bird a bit more to the right.

WesternGuy

I believe the RAW of the first photo was actually pretty bright, but I had edited it and dulled down the background to make the bird the center of attention. I should have use the rule of thirds, but I was just trying to snap a picture so quickly before he flew away lol.

Do you have acess to any editing software that you would be able to brighten them up a bit i cant even see the eye of the second one

In the beginning I was using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, but I've left Lightroom and now use Capture 1 Pro. You ever heard of it or tried it? It's pretty cool.

Good first shots.
The above info is good.
Switch your metering mode to Spot metering. On the 70D it will meter around the centre focus point. Therefore if you put the centre focus point on the bird it will try and focus for the bird and not the surrounding scene.
When shooting throw the rule of thirds and any other composition stuff out the window unless you are sure the bird is going to stay stationary. These thing can be cured in post. Get the shot first. Then when you clicked off a few good ones you can worry about a different composition. Sucks to get a perfectly composed shot on a bird that just flew away.

I've been tampering with spot metering but I was always wondering where it was metering from. Now that I know it's the center, I'll have to give it a try next time. I'm still relatively new to the photography world; it's so addicting though!

I personally love these photos. The hues are beautiful. I see the second photo as more of a silhouette so I don't regard the underexposure as a problem in this case. I just like the lines from the branches with the bird standing out against the sky.

Thank you! The 2nd one didn't come out so great because I'm limited to how far I can zoom. The bird was a good distance away and that was me zoomed in all the way with my 75-300mm lens. I have to save up for a super telephoto.

Great shots for the first try! Difinitely some good advice from the photographer's above. The first photo I actually really like as is, it's a bit dark but the subject is singled out nicely, definitely gives it a unique effect. If you get really into bird photography a super telephoto lens is invaluable... There are some zoom lenses that actually produce very good results for the price. I've used the sigma 500mm (and 600mm) the Tamron 600mm and the Nikkor 500mm zooms and they're all great for the price but Tamron is absolutely my favorite. Any one of these would help tremendously though. Good luck!

There is a camera store nearby my house that allows customers to rent lenses. I'll have to go in there one day and see if they have one of those that I can try out for the day. I definitely need something with more zoom capacity though.

Good first efforts . The first has a good composition. Second shot's composition is a bit unbalanced. I really like the first picture's feel, even though it is not a tight, close up shot, it is a good picture.

Thank you! I'm still learning, and I'll get better with more practice!

 

[BrentC]

I would suggest that you might want to crop these a bit. They are also underexposed. This, underexposure of the bird, can be a problem when most of your image is sky. The sky tends to dominate the exposure and results in the bird being underexposed. Have you considered using some exposure compensation? I would suggest that +1/2 to +1 stop might give you a better exposed bird and yes the sky will be blown out a bit. You will have to experiment a bit to get the right EC.

The other thing you want to avoid is placing your subject right in the middle of the image. The placement should be based on the rule of thirds. For example, in the second one, the bird should be placed a bit more to the left giving it some space to fly into. This would make for a much better composition. In the first one, place the bird a bit more to the right.

WesternGuy

I believe the RAW of the first photo was actually pretty bright, but I had edited it and dulled down the background to make the bird the center of attention. I should have use the rule of thirds, but I was just trying to snap a picture so quickly before he flew away lol.

If that's the case then your monitor is way too bright. Most of us have calibrated monitors including myself, so if all of us are seeing it dark and you are not then its your monitor that is off. All your photos that you edit will be the same until you adjust your monitor.

 

[seandeeeezy]

If that's the case then your monitor is way too bright. Most of us have calibrated monitors including myself, so if all of us are seeing it dark and you are not then its your monitor that is off. All your photos that you edit will be the same until you adjust your monitor.

I edited them on my 2011 MacBook Pro. Is there a website or something that I could calibrate it on? I never even thought about that. I knew you could calibrate TVs, but I never thought about a computer screen. *mind blown*


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[WesternGuy]

BrentC's point is well taken. I don't know of a website that will allow you to calibrate your monitor. What you need is a product like Datacolor Spyder - Products or Xrite's Colormunki - Products
There are a variety of different products made by these two companies, but either of these should get you started. Basically, if you aren't working with a calibrated monitor, then you are, in my opinion, probably not using your time effectively.

WesternGuy

 

[seandeeeezy]

BrentC's point is well taken. I don't know of a website that will allow you to calibrate your monitor. What you need is a product like Datacolor Spyder - Products or Xrite's Colormunki - Products
There are a variety of different products made by these two companies, but either of these should get you started. Basically, if you aren't working with a calibrated monitor, then you are, in my opinion, probably not using your time effectively.

WesternGuy

Guess I have to start saving up. I just look at those 2 products you mentioned; wow lol. They cost a good penny. But you're absolutely right. If I'm not even working on a calibrated monitor, I am wasting my time.

 

[MSnowy]

BrentC's point is well taken. I don't know of a website that will allow you to calibrate your monitor. What you need is a product like Datacolor Spyder - Products or Xrite's Colormunki - Products
There are a variety of different products made by these two companies, but either of these should get you started. Basically, if you aren't working with a calibrated monitor, then you are, in my opinion, probably not using your time effectively.

WesternGuy

Guess I have to start saving up. I just look at those 2 products you mentioned; wow lol. They cost a good penny. But you're absolutely right. If I'm not even working on a calibrated monitor, I am wasting my time.

Nice for your first go at bird photography.

It's not a waste of time. A calibrated monitor is great but not necessary. You can use what have now. You can use the histogram to get very good results . I've been using an uncalibrated laptop to edit my bird pictures since I started photography seven years ago.