Wildlife Photography How To

The current trend in cameras is clearly moving in the direction of full-frame mirrorless models with super-high resolution, and the megapixel race shows no signs of abating. But is this based upon sound photographic principles, or does creative marketing and the “Gear Acquisition Syndrome” factor into the equation?

A lot goes into making eye-popping bird photos in the field. First you have locate an attractive subject, and then catch it in a great pose against a pleasing background. Once you’ve done that, you still have to get the exposure right under often changing light—all before the bird decides to take flight.

Making complex masks and precise selections can be an intricate chore especially, if you’re using a Raw editor in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw. That’s why one pro turns to a Photoshop trick whenever he needs accurate control over a specific area in an image.

We regularly share videos on composition techniques because proper framing is one of the most important aspects of photography. While most of these tutorials have been targeted at landscape shooters, today’s tips are all about photographing birds. 

This is a great time of year to photograph our feathered friends, and as you’ll see in this comprehensive tutorial, with the proper skill you needn’t travel further than your own backyard to make some truly spectacular images.

Conventional wisdom is that autofocus is the best mode to use for photographing birds, especially when your subjects are in flight. But every so often manual focus is a better choice, as you’ll see in the tutorial below.

Photographing animals can be a lot like making outdoor portraits of people. Many of the same composition and lighting principles apply, as do techniques for crafting an image that conveys feelings and moods.