Swan Spectacle by by ‘Kenwil‘

The black background adds a dramatic element to this image; the white of the swans and spray reflect the natural light and are made to stand out even more against the background.

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Golden Eagle by ‘wotcar‘

This is a fantastic bird portrait aided by the black background.

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Camera

NIKON D3

Focal Length

70mm

Aperture

f/7.1

Exposure

1/400s

ISO

200

With bird photography, most of the time you’ll want to blur the background as much as possible to minimise any distractions and make the subject stand out. The way to achieve this is to set as wide an aperture as possible – the wider the aperture, the softer the background.

Setting a wide aperture also has the added bonus of allowing you to shoot at fast shutter speeds, because the wider the aperture, the faster the shutter speed can be.

When shooting handheld, you should aim for a shutter speed that’s faster than 1 over the effective focal length of the lens you’re using.

If, say, you’re using a 300mm lens on a camera with a crop factor of 1.5x, the effective focal length will be 450mm, so you’ll need to set a shutter speed of at least 1/450 sec.

Keep it steady

If your camera or lens features image stabilisation, you may be able to get away with much slower shutter speeds, while for moving subjects you may need slightly higher shutter speeds – 1/500 sec may be fast enough to eliminate camera shake, but it might not be fast enough to freeze the motion of a swooping bird of prey, for example (learn some of the common mistakes at every shutter speed – and the best settings to use).

The only time when you may want a narrower aperture is when you want to maximise depth of field – if shooting flocks of birds, for example.

Similarly, the one time when you may want a slow shutter speed is when you’re panning (to blur the background), or when you want to blur the motion of the bird itself.

Exposure-wise, spot or centre-weighted metering works well for subjects that are backlit.

And lastly, you’ll need to select the focus point that’s closest to your subject, and to set single-shot AF for static birds, and focus tracking for moving subjects.

For more bird photography tips, download our free bird photography cheat sheet.

NEXT PAGE: The best camera settings for bird photography

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Rocket Landing, by Morkel Erasmus

Ruby Throated Hummingbird, by Richard Dummounil

Jackal & Vulture, by Stephen Earle

Aerial Play, by Octavio Campos Salles

Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus), by Octavio Campos Salles

Aggro Malachite Kingfisher, by Morkel Erasmus

Burrowing Owl, by Mariano Fernández

Jackdaw in Flight, by Richard Peters

Hunt by Flying, by Gökhan Coral

Western marsh-harrier and its prey, by Gökhan Coral

In Full Cry, by Dave Whenham

Wagtail, by Rami Athanasious

Attack, by Vladimir Yezhov

Night Flight, by Irawan Subingar

Tawny Owl in Flight, by Mark Bridger

Bird of Prey in Flight, by Brian Deegan

In Flight Meal, by Richard Steel

Sparrow in Flight, by Tibor Jakab

In for the Kill, by Philip Higgins

Hawk Owl Flight, by Rob McKay

Humming Bird in Flight, by Dan Ripplinger

Swans in Flight, by Arman Werth

Eurasion Dove, by Spangles44

Northern Gannet in Flight, by Raymond Barlow

Great Gray Owl in Flight, by Ethan Meleg

Blue Tit in Flight, by Will & Matt Burrard-Lucas

Snowy Owl in Flight, by Richard Dumoulin

Upside Down Robin, by Austin Thomas

Barn Owl, by Bill Pound

Red Kite, by Bill Pound
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Photo Ideas

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Image copyright Ian Evenden

Are you having trouble taking decent photos of birds in flight? Don’t worry, it’s a common problem and doesn’t mean you’re not a talon-ted photographer (although if you want to see some talon-ted bird photography, we’ve got a great post on that too).

From getting an accurate exposure of your subject against all that bright sky to simply being in the right place at the right time, one of the more challenging genres you’ll ever attempt will be bird photography. Tips and techniques abound, but we’ve put together what we believe are the 10 most fundamental rules you should follow when taking pictures of birds in flight.

Tip 1: Go big
Birds tend to be on the small side, and this, combined with their awkward habit of flying high and fast, means you often have to use a long lens to photograph them. It’s hard to find a lens that’s too long for photographing birds in flight, and 400mm and 500mm lenses, both primes and zooms, are common choices.

Tip 2: Not so wide
A 400mm lens at f/5.6 and a subject 10m away gives a depth of field of 13cm. Using Av mode and stopping down to f/8 will give you an extra 5cm of depth and increase the sharpness of your image, as lenses are rarely at their best when they’re used at maximum aperture.

Tip 3: Speed is of the essence
A shutter speed of 1/800 of a second or faster will help to capture feather detail on moving wings without blurring. A more artistic approach is to deliberately blur the wings using a slower shutter speed, giving an impression of movement, especially if the bird is just taking off.

Tip 4: Set high ISO
Keeping your shutter speed high and maintaining enough depth of field to keep a bird sharply rendered can mean using high ISOs. Don’t be afraid of this, as noise reduction software, including the Digital Photo Professional that came free with your camera, can do an extremely good job.

Tip 5: The raw deal
In order to use this software to its maximum effect, it’s a good idea to shoot in raw. The tweaks you can make to contrast and saturation can make a vast difference to your images, bringing out the intricate patterns of birds’ feathers and the brightness of their eyes.

Tip 6: Captive audience
Captive birds look remarkably similar to their wild counterparts. Shooting at an organised flying display will allow you to get close to species you’d never find in the wild, and they fly lower, slower and more predictably. Better still, some centres hold special photographers’ days.

Tip 7: Use AI Servo mode and centre point focus
AI Servo mode constantly adjusts the focus on a moving target, while using only the centre focus point minimises the chances of focusing on the background by mistake. Keep your central focus point over your target and constantly half-press the shutter button to keep it in focus as it moves.

Image copyright Ian Evenden

Tip 8: Spot meter
To avoid silhouetting against a bright sky, try using the camera’s spot meter. Keeping the bird in the centre of the spot, which usually surrounds the central focus point, ensures that the feathers are properly exposed. For a deliberate silhouette, spot meter off the background and engage exposure lock.

Tip 9: Use a monopod
Handholding a large lens all day can be tiring, but using a tripod is often not practical when trying to photograph something unpredictable and fast-moving. A monopod is a good compromise, supporting the weight but enabling you to pan and follow-focus quickly, and can even be lifted entirely off the ground if needed.

Tip 10: Pick your targets
Know which species of bird to look for and you’re halfway to great photographs. For instance, a peregrine falcon can fly at 242mph, while in a ‘stoop’ dive to catch prey while vultures, geese, woodcocks and owls move at a more camera-friendly pace. Likewise, an eagle’s wings beat much more slowly than a hummingbird’s.

Image copyright Ian Evenden

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Photographing birds in flight is one of the most demanding areas of wildlife photography, but once you’ve mastered the technique, the results can be spectacular. You’ll need to find a good wide scene, and shooting large numbers of birds is always easier than capturing a single target. Don’t forget to break out your telephoto lens either, and take some care when planning your exposure settings.

Go large for great results

Swans and geese are not fast flyers and make ideal subjects on which you can hone your skills.

Choose a location such as a park, where the birds will be used to people and therefore easier to approach. Photographing birds flying straight towards the camera is easiest, as you won‘t need to pan to keep your moving subject in the frame.

Flocks of birds such as waders or geese can also create spectacular images – shooting large numbers of birds is easier than trying to capture a single subject.

Although you can get away without panning, it does limit your pictures. It pays to learn the correct technique, and this should be done before you attempt any flight photography. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart in a solid stance. Then, by keeping your elbows firmly tucked into your side, rotate your upper body from the waist.

Follow your subject through the lens and try to keep it steady within the frame. To maximise your chances of capturing a successful shot, fire a sequence of images by using the fastest drive mode on your camera.

Set the focusing to predictive auto-focus (AI Servo on Canon) - the lens will track the moving subject, keeping it in focus at all times.

Composing for moving subjects

Composing flight images is tricky, as your subject is constantly moving. It‘s best to frame the bird so that it has space to fly into.

I‘m constantly changing the focusing dot on the back of my camera depending on the direction my subject is travelling in, so I can keep it exactly where I want it and ensure the focus is locked on at all times.

Where possible, I aim to shoot images that show the subject as part of its habitat. I usually place it in a corner of the frame, so that the environment becomes a large part of the image. Pictures like this have a completely different feel to them and help to tell a story.

Exposure issues

Dawn and dusk are the best times to photograph wildlife, and birds in flight are no exception.

Head out when the sky is red and the sun is low enough to light the underside of your subject, rendering more feather detail.

When shooting birds against a bright sky, you‘ll need to increase the exposure using your compensation dial in order to keep the image bright. The amount will vary depending on your subject, so check the histogram as often as possible. If you‘re shooting against distant hills or trees, it‘s better to take a meter reading from a midtone and dial it in manually.

Owning state-of-the-art equipment won‘t guarantee great shots, but it will increase your chance of success. Faster lenses are preferable because they enable quicker shutter speeds. But lenses that open up to f/2.8 and f/4 are expensive and much heavier - try increasing the ISO to achieve the shutter speed you need to freeze the action instead.

The crop factor of the smaller sensors in most SLRs also means you don‘t need a huge telephoto lens. Ultimately, though, knowledge of your subject‘s behaviour, perseverance and personal vision will be the deciding factors of your success.