Trying to shoot hummingbirds

[deathdealer]

what a pain in the @$$ any tips on shooting these beautiful creatures?


here is my attempt.

 

[480sparky68 67]

Use a flash when it gets darker.

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

Did you shoot these through a window or something? Maybe all you need is a flash.

Those buggers move fast eh?

 

[tirediron]

Definitely use a couple of strobes/speedlights. Otherwise you're going to need at least 1/1000 second shutter-speed. I have seen perceptible wing movement in shots at 1/4000.

 

[deathdealer]

i was about 30 ft away maxed out 300mm at like 1:00 in the afternoon its under a covered area prolly not the most ideal shooting scenario

 

[tirediron]

What I would suggest is set up your camera much closer to the action. Mount it on a tripod and use a remote release with a nice high shutter-speed and a couple of strobes/speedlights to help you get the best lighting.

 

[table1349]

What, Wait, there is a humming bird season??? Why would you want to shoot hummingbirds? Its' going to take a couple dozen at least to make a meal for just one person. That's too much work.

Now if you are wanting to photograph the little creatures tirediron has a good suggestion there. :thumbup:

 

[tirediron]

What, Wait, there is a humming bird season??? Why would you want to shoot hummingbirds? Its' going to take a couple dozen at least to make a meal for just one person. That's too much work.

Yeah, but think of how many servings you would get out of one box of Shake N Bake!!!

 

[orb9220]

I found you have to up the aperture with f8 or f11 ideal. And no you don't need 1/1000th to capture.
As in my example was 1/160th as I like motion blur of wings. Absolute frozen then yep up the shutter.
But in lower light you will struggle with getting the aperture and shutter speeds needed.


Hummingbird Sip 1 of 4 by Orbmiser, on Flickr

And snapped 4 in the series at 1/160th and at 300mm. But good light is essential so you can use an aperture large enough. In fact these shots were Over exposed as was surprised when I saw them and rattled off 6 shots in about 10 secs. Before thinking to zero out my exposure.
So ain't the bestest!
.

 

[deathdealer]

wow orb that is nice

 

[Infinite_Day]

I agree - proximity and light. These photos were shot with crap light on an overcast morning so the ISO was up to 1000 f/7.1 1/640 and the WB is a bit off but I was maybe 20-25 feet away shooting with a f/4 300mm and a 1.4X TC on a crop sensor and I still had to crop the photos some. Shoot in bursts if you have a camera capable of it and I was also using continuous focus tracking with only one focus point. This was right after I got the lens and I'm still learning it's quirks. Patience also helps. Keep in mind that I'm no pro and my advice may be completely wrong :thumbup:


Hummingbird Crop 9 by Infinite Day, on Flickr


Hummingbird Crop 7 by Infinite Day, on Flickr


Hummingbird Crop by Infinite Day, on Flickr

 

[Don Kondra]

First thing I would recommend is move in closer, you can sit quietly or stand at a tripod about ten feet away. They will get used to you being there.

Study their behavior. They will move in to sip, move back for a split second and then move back in for a sip. Try to catch them in that millisecond when they move back.

Then you won't have the feeder in the frame

Light obviously is a big deal, plan your shoot with front light if possible. The right angle is especially important to capture the colorful gorget of the male.

Consider the background. If you can't position the feeder to eliminate distractions think about painting a pattern on a piece of foamcore and mounting it behind the feeder.

Wing blur is a matter of personal preference, I like to see some definition with a bit of blur. That translates to a shutter speed of 1/640 - 1/1000. Slower will work IF you catch them in that moment of hovering.

Since you are shooting just the bird, flowers, etc. are not an issue for DOF so you can shoot close to wide open. But you will have to nail the focus.

A remote shutter does work but you will have to manually focus on an area and hope a bird appears in that DOF. If you can block all but one feeding port you can then focus on that area...

IMO a "good" hummer shot has the eye in focus with a highlight, a pose with the wings extended either to the front or back. Ideally the feet are visible, some spread on the tail feathers and a bit of tongue is nice

Here's three examples for you to judge the impact of the background.

This was shot with early morning front light, the background is trees about 40' away.

Early morning front light, mostly sky as background, trees were about 60' away.

Late afternoon front light, the background is my shop wall about 30' away.

Something else to consider is adding a natural branch close to the feeder, they will stage on the branch before moving in to feed and return to the branch to preen after feeding.

Hope this helps,

Cheers, Don

 

[Tony S]

You need lots of light, either in bright sun or make your own light.

Or just wait until they aren't moving...

They sit alot more than folks think...

Or you wait until they are frozen in the snow...

...

 

[Infinite_Day]

We turned it into a hummingbird show-off thread

 

[brandibell]

Hummingbird Photography Quick Start Guide