Polishing my techniques?

Crashbox

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I know very few of you know me but I tend to do 99% "wildlife" photography and by "wildlife" I mean... birds that are pretty used to being fairly close to humans. Not exactly park birds, but pretty close to it. They tend to be a little more jumpy than park creatures but docile enough that the ones who ventured very close (five to six feet) only needed to hear my shutter noise 200-500 times before it stopped freaking them out so badly.

Some examples. By the way, I've not found any concrete guidelines on what the dimensions/requirements are. I apologize for breaking any rules due to ignorance.

Lunch.jpg
Red.jpg
BTW, got this one because it's not often one can take a picture of a graceful creature scratchin' like a golden retriever;
Itchy.jpg
Oscar.jpg
Burdy.jpg

My problems are numerous. The first being... I feel like I'm a snapper. I'm not making photographs, I'm merely getting a bird in my viewfinder and trying to time my shutter release to coincide with the bird or squirrel looking in some way that's moderately aesthetic. It's more an effort of patience than photography.

Oh, critique is welcome if anybody wants to bother. I need all the help I can get.

How do I make my shots seem less... snapshotty? Any tips will be greatly appreciated.
 
I like #3.
I wish the cardinal was a bit closer and think the blue jay would have been better in portrait mode.

I think one of the things you can try to do is fill the frame as much as possible with the subject, unless it's an environmental shot. It's not always easy. Another little bugaboo I have is try to get the subject moving or looking into the frame. Going back to the cardinal, I'd like to see more empty space in front of him, instead of behind him.

As far as size, I typically post from Flickr at around 500 pixels on the long side.

edit: can't jammin' type, tonight
 
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Crashbox, bird images are like any other image as far as composition goes - rule of thirds, negative space, etc. One of the compositional "things" I learned, early on is that a good image always has the bird's eye in it and it essential that the eye be in focus. If it has a catch light in it, then so much the better.

Pictures from the side or angled front shot are often favoured over ones from the back ( e.g., your first one), and good "bird in flight" (BIF) images are liked by everyone, because they are hard to do and require a certain level of practice to get good. Kris Rowe (aka Coastal Conn) is very good at BIFs, so take a look at his.

There are a number of web sites around that deal with bird photography. For example:
The 7 Elements of Great Bird Photography - The Canadian Nature Photographer

Secrets of Digital Bird Photography - this is a complete web-based book on bird photography, click anywhere in the blue of the first page and follow the rest of the directions.

10 Unmissable Bird Photography Tutorials - a whole list of different tutorials to keep you going.

As far as making your bird shots seem less like a snap shot, I would have a bit more of its environment in the image and, to start with, follow the rule of thirds, not really a "rule", but a good starting guideline for composition. For example, your Cardinal is in the left third of the image, whereas it would have been better to place him in the right third of the image, so that there is room on the left side for him to "hop" into. Your last three shots have the bird almost in the centre of the image. This is generally not considered a good place for such a subject - makes it look like a snapshot.

You might also think about studying some of the general aspects of the "rules" and "elements" of composition - Guidelines for Better Photographic Composition. .

The other suggestion that I would give you is to find a bird photographer that you admire and follow his work. One of my "models" is Art Morris - Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. If you subscribe to his blog, he has a good educational article on each one, but he can be a little commercial - after all these guys have to make money somehow. I have learned a lot from him over the years. If Art doesn't appeal to you, then check these out - Top Bird Photographers in the World

Hope this helps.

WesternGuy
 
Thanks Snowbear and WesternGuy.

That first shot.... He spent an hour looking for that worm right by my truck. I'd given up, he was close to it, then he found one. I got a little excited there but in the seven shots I took of him between finding the worm and finishing it, he didn't turn.

BIF. I've tried that. Gadzooks, I focus (and think) far too slowly for that business. In my life I've managed to get a couple okay shots like that. I'd been calling them "on the wing" or "wingshooting". Thanks for cluing me in on the proper jargon. ;) By the by, I got so lucky on this because I knew where he was going and saw that he'd already flared out. That makes it a lot easier, lol.

On the wing.jpg

TJ.
 

So far some great tips from Snowbear and WG - both of whom are bonafide experts in the field. I would probably add a quick tip about taking control of your camera's autofocus system.

Rather than letting the camera choose your point of focus, if the bird is not in flight try choosing your own focus point and aim for the eye. When people look at a photograph there eyes are drawn to the subjects eyes first, so if the eye looks sharp the rest of the picture looks sharp as well...

029 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr
 
Todd, thanks for the compliment - expert - I am not sure of that. I always remember a definition that a friend of mine told me years ago. An "ex" is a "has been" and a "spurt" is a "drip under pressure" :biggrin-93:. I always smile a bit when I see that term applied to me - a guy with a few decades of experience - yup, I'm as old as dirt, but I don't consider myself an expert, just experienced, although I always appreciate being referred to as one. :thumbyo:

Great Robin picture - that would be a wall-hanger if it was mine. :icon_thumright:

WesternGuy
 
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My polishing technique is as follows: wax on, wax off.
 
My only advice is to wait for good light! Important for all photography. It is extremely important for birds. Also, you must put an animal on as many.pixels as possible to retain detail. This is why good bird lenses cost as much as vehicles.
 

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