Birds in flight

[snake]

Hi all,

I am very much a beginnner at photography but am learning slowly,much by the mistakes I make.
There is a massive learning curve but I am very much enjoying it.
I had been watching ( from a distance ) a pair of Harriers at a nest site.
Yesterday I saw three young Harriers on their maiden flight close to the nest.
My attempts to photograph them where not very succesful.
They all have the sky washed out and the subject lacking definition.

My question is How do I get a reasonable picture of birds in the air?
Any help would be much appreciated.

This is the best of about a dozen.

[Geoff F]

Never an easy subject. Answers will tend to vary depending on what sort of camera and lens you have. But basically, you need a high shutter speed; generally I would use at least 1/1000 th sec, often 2000. To get this speed you will have to increase the ISO and lose a bit of aperture, depth of good focus.

You will need a fast auto focus, if you have AI servo, or something similar, that is ideal. If you focus and hold the shutter button half way this will allow you to pan the camera until the best moment to take the photo whilst still keeping focus.

Don't worry about the background. Concentrate on the bird; if you get good colour in the background that is a bonus. One problem caused by background light is that your camera tends to measure exposure from the background not the bird, which can result in under or over exposure of the bird. It is possible to add or subtract a little exposure compensation to counter this. But, it requires a little experimentation to work things out.

Using spot metering for the exposure will help to prevent problems caused by the background. I prefer to just use the centre focus point as it does make it easier to centre the subject.

Finally crop the image to give the most pleasing photo then adjust the brightness and use a little sharpening. I prefer using the Unsharp Mask effect.

This subject requires quite a lot of technical skill to get good results so I would recommend looking around for some of the on line tutorials which cover things in much greater depth.

[zan]

practise is the best thing you can do. Set your camera up as Geoff has recommended (or as close as you can; partial metering is next best if you can't spot meter for example). I find I can get away with shutter speeds down to about 1/250 if you can get the panning right, and it adds a nice bit of motion blur too sometimes, but start off as fast as you can and go from there.

Whenever you shoot birds against the sky, you should increase your exposure by around 1 stop (give or take) to put the detail back in the bird. Just make sure you adjust it back again when you start shooting against a darker background again!

Some of the best birds for getting in practise of are seagulls because they're dead common and will spend a lot of time in the air if you start throwing bread around Head down to your local river \ canal \ seaside and practise there. Good panning technique and knowing your camera inside out are what will help you get flight shots.

Finally, get to know your subject. Animals are quite predictable if you spend enough time getting to know them, and this will really help you anticipate when something exciting is about to happen. Waiting for the perfect moment to hit the shutter is often a better strategy than keeping your finger on the button and hoping one comes out!

zan

[snake]

Hi Geoff F,

Thanks for the information it is very interesting.
One thing puzzles me, I understand the need for the fast shutter speed to freeze any action but I dont understand how the fast shutter speed allows for any good definition in the bird. Am I wrong in thinking that the faster shutter speed reduces the amount of light getting to the sensor and therfore would reduces the detail recorded from the subject showing little more than a silhouette.

I have an awfull lot to learn.

[Hobjob]

private mail "eeyore" and ask for his excellent advice sheet

[snake]

Almost forgot,

I went out for an hour this morning, didn't have a chance at any birds in flight, but I got these two.
I only cropped them slightly and a little unsharpen mask ( Think i'm learning? ).

Any opinions would be appreciated.

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by snake

Hi Geoff F,

Thanks for the information it is very interesting.
One thing puzzles me, I understand the need for the fast shutter speed to freeze any action but I dont understand how the fast shutter speed allows for any good definition in the bird. Am I wrong in thinking that the faster shutter speed reduces the amount of light getting to the sensor and therfore would reduces the detail recorded from the subject showing little more than a silhouette.

I have an awfull lot to learn.

You can only use a shutter speed that the conditions will allow. There's no point pushing it too far.
If your shooting against a clear blue sky, the moment you point your camera skywards your shutter speed will shoot upwards, especially if your using centre metering and assuming your shoot AV mode. My general principle is simple. Clear sky, apply loads of positive compensation, or else you'll end up with a lovely silhouette. This will LOWER your shutter speed, but you should find it's still perfectly healthy. Don't forget to use your ISO speed in this as well, I'm not sure which camera you have but most DSLR's are quite happy shooting on ISO 400 as a good starting point. You'll find even with a grey sky the shutter speed will still rise when pointing skywards, so even there some compensation may be required.
As has been suggested, there's nothing like practise to help you realise what's going on, and the beauty of modern digital cameras is you can see instantly if the settings you've applied have worked.

[zan]

If you have a fast shutter speed, you open the shutter for a shorter amount of time. Given the exact same light conditions, yes, a shorter shutter speed will allow in less light than a longer shutter speed.

However, the shutter speed you can reach depends on how much light is there to begin with (e.g. a shot in the middle of the day would require a much faster shutter speed than one at night (all other things being equal)). Too much light (too slow a shutter speed) and your picture comes out white and overexposed; too fast and it will come out dark (like your bird).

In terms of the amount of light getting into the camera, shutter speed is another tool to use (along with aperture and ISO) to allow you to get the correct exposure for the picture.

Where I think Geoff is coming from re. definition, is that as you reduce your shutter speed (make it faster), you are capturing less time (obviously). If your subject is flying really fast, you'll have to have a fast shutter speed to minimise the motion blur you'd get at a slower shutter speed (birds can move pretty far in 1/50th of a sec for example!). This is where you move out of using your settings just to get a correct exposure, and start using combinations of ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed to get the creative results you want (depth of field, freezing movement etc etc.). It's a lot to get your head round when you first start, but play with your camera and the settings a bit and you'll soon get the hang of it!

Zan

Originally Posted by snake

Hi Geoff F,

Thanks for the information it is very interesting.
One thing puzzles me, I understand the need for the fast shutter speed to freeze any action but I dont understand how the fast shutter speed allows for any good definition in the bird. Am I wrong in thinking that the faster shutter speed reduces the amount of light getting to the sensor and therfore would reduces the detail recorded from the subject showing little more than a silhouette.

I have an awfull lot to learn.

[snake]

Thank for all the help guys,
I will keep practicing and let you know how I get on.

[Seajay]

A good place to practise and a very interesting day out is to head for your nearest coastal cliffs, mine for example are at Bempton, or Flanborough, East Yorks. Sit yourself down in the grass at the top of the cliffs and you will often have birds flying a few feet from you! Very forgiving whilst you develop a technique and try panning a shot. Many interesting species too! Gannets for example will gather grass a few yards from you for their nest lining. Fascinating to watch and photograph!
Don't get too excited though as it,s a long way down

Colin