Bluetail
Active member
Thanks, Eric; I am guilty of the sin of ‘set it and forget it’ with the 2 lock-on settings (default to midpoint on each) & that’s something to be more mindful of. Also, I think I’ll take my 70-200 2.8 next time
How do you practice shooting small birds in flight?
- Thread starter Bluetail
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Bluetail
Active member
Thank you Kim—I’m not familiar with Allen Murphy and will certainly check him out! Getting the bird arriving at the perch or feeder makes sense, too; what I’d been practicing was to first focus on the bird at the feeder, and then try to follow it when it flew off but it usually had a seed in its beak or unsightly crumbs all around it.
JSD
Active member
I just posted one of my attempts in the Critique section. I'd be grateful for any and all comments, if anyone cares to go have a look, thanks.
Bluetail
Active member
I was about 10 yards/9 m away from the feeder sitting in a ‘blind,’ aka my car with the window open, when i was shooting, and for demonstration purposes I cropped away about 2/3 of the rest of the image. And since i live in notoriously cloudy Western Pennsylvania, I’ll have to wait for that rare sunny day to try again! Thanks, Wayne, for chiming in.
Dan291
Member
Pretty sure it was golfer Greg Norman.Someone, a golfer maybe?, said “the more I practice the luckier I get”, and a photographer said, “ if luck smiles on you, don’t screw it up”.
Practice, and be in the zone when the time is right.
The saying has been very true for me, in everything... except golf.
To answer your question as to where you can go to practice shooting birds in flight, you may want to try a place locally where they fly model radio controlled airplanes. This is a model jet and trust me, they move REALLY fast!
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Andy Work
Well-known member
Those little son of a guns could make a preacher cuss. Those and purple martins are tough!
arbitrage
Well-known member
You might want to have a watch of this...lots of good ideas here....all prefocused with specific setups to increase chances...
DripDryMcFleye
Well-known member
Really useful video. Thanks for posting.
Bluetail
Active member
Pretty much just what I’m looking for—thanks for posting
Bardot
Well-known member
I find a good way is (as Eric mentioned) to pre-focus on an area you are expecting a bird to occupy. Use a tripod allowing you to look up from the camera. As you don't need to be looking through the eye piece you can take in more of what is happening. Use an aperture as high as possible giving a bit more room for error in distance, balanced of course with a shutter speed sufficient to freeze the action. I have used this set up attempting to catch swallows dipping down and drinking from the surface of a pond in flight. After a few hours and several hundred shots you may get lucky and get the shot you are after. I also used a similar technique for the shot of squabbling Goldfinches I have just posted to the wildlife forum. Having said all that the truth is as stated on nearly ever comment practice, practice, practice. always assess what you have achieved try to decide what could have been better and ring the changes next time out.
Bardot
Well-known member
I quite like the hubcap suggestion . Panning is an art you need to learn.
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Jim G
Well-known member
Hi all.
One thing I don't see mentioned in the replies to this post is the one thing that helped me the most with bif. That is to practice tracking without taking pictures. Nobody wants to do this but if you try it you will be amazed.
JIM
Drbobcameraguy
Active member
Thank you for some helpful suggestions & I do indeed use bbf; also, i tend to toggle between d25, single point and group using the Pv and Fn1 buttons, depending on what’s in front of me & what I’m trying to accomplish. Also, I have Steve’s ebook on the Nikon AF system & maybe it’s time for another review of that excellent resource! So here are my takeaways from your comments: what I can practice is tracking—that comment really resonated—& that the music analogy broke down pretty quickly!Thanks again.
Also you will find it useful to understand the nature and habits of what you are shooting. Study the bird and you will realize what it does right before it takes off. Then you can shoot right as it takes off instead of right after. Kind of like shooting top fuel dragsters. You have to push the shutter right before you see it move. My first pics of top fuel were empty. Lol. Same with birds. I hope I explained it so you understand. If not let me know and I'll try to do better.
AnnetteJane
Well-known member
Great suggestion...try to get the birds as they approach rather than take off..I’m going to try that one.
AnnetteJane
Well-known member
Great question ! I am definitely interested in answers here and pointers ! Higher speed to start with..
Calson
Well-known member
What I find most helpful is learning which AF modes work the best for small birds. Group AF works well with hummingbirds with the D500 and D5 and D850 cameras but was a complete failure with the D750 camera. The digital film is free so experiment with different settings and also with pre-focusing at the distance where you expect the birds to land and take off. In my yard I have a feeder station and have lots of plants and trees nearby and so the birds will land first near the feeders and this is the easiest time to zero in. Someone told me that a bird will take a crap just before it takes off and I have found this to helpful.
With my cameras there is a a7 setting that changes the autofocus based on camera orientation. I have my cameras set for AF-S Single Point autofocus in the vertical mode and for AF-C and DAF 9-point when it is horizontal and this works well for my own bird photography efforts.
Each camera will focus differently and different AF settings or modes work better with clear backgrounds and others work better with busy backgrounds where back focusing is more likely to be encountered. Light direction also plays a roll in multiple ways. AF depends on contrast detection and the dimmer the light the less contrast for the AF sensors to detect. Cross type AF sensors work on both horizontal and vertical lines of contrast but with most Nikon cameras these are located in 3 columns in the center of the viewfinder and so the subject needs to be centered in the viewfinder.
The AF system is designed for sports photographers and we wildlife photographers have to make do. This also results in more success when a subject is moving paralllel to the camera sensor and cameras are the least successful when a subject is directly approaching the camera. In this last situation even with birds of moderate size like an osprey, the capture rate was acceptable only with the D5 and the D500 and D850 cameras were far less effective. The D5 camera has less to compute and so is able to do so more quickly than with other two cameras that are otherwise identical in terms of the dedicated AF processor.
Lastly, a FX camera makes it much easier to get a bird in the frame. When I used the D500 I found that I was often either having the bird poorly placed in the frame or partially cut off in the frame. Not a problem with the FX D850 where I could crop after the shot was taken to place the subject where I wanted to have it in the "frame". Painters crop every picture and with film I could not crop at all so with digital the only time I do not crop is when using the Nikon 5:4 crop in the camera so I can produce 8x10 prints with no cropping in post.
With my cameras there is a a7 setting that changes the autofocus based on camera orientation. I have my cameras set for AF-S Single Point autofocus in the vertical mode and for AF-C and DAF 9-point when it is horizontal and this works well for my own bird photography efforts.
Each camera will focus differently and different AF settings or modes work better with clear backgrounds and others work better with busy backgrounds where back focusing is more likely to be encountered. Light direction also plays a roll in multiple ways. AF depends on contrast detection and the dimmer the light the less contrast for the AF sensors to detect. Cross type AF sensors work on both horizontal and vertical lines of contrast but with most Nikon cameras these are located in 3 columns in the center of the viewfinder and so the subject needs to be centered in the viewfinder.
The AF system is designed for sports photographers and we wildlife photographers have to make do. This also results in more success when a subject is moving paralllel to the camera sensor and cameras are the least successful when a subject is directly approaching the camera. In this last situation even with birds of moderate size like an osprey, the capture rate was acceptable only with the D5 and the D500 and D850 cameras were far less effective. The D5 camera has less to compute and so is able to do so more quickly than with other two cameras that are otherwise identical in terms of the dedicated AF processor.
Lastly, a FX camera makes it much easier to get a bird in the frame. When I used the D500 I found that I was often either having the bird poorly placed in the frame or partially cut off in the frame. Not a problem with the FX D850 where I could crop after the shot was taken to place the subject where I wanted to have it in the "frame". Painters crop every picture and with film I could not crop at all so with digital the only time I do not crop is when using the Nikon 5:4 crop in the camera so I can produce 8x10 prints with no cropping in post.
@Bluetail As noted by others small song birds in flight is a challenge. Around a feeder is good practice but the real challenge as some have mentioned and shown is out in the wild with swallows and such and swallows over open water can give you a lot of practice with panning and tracking. I do not use a tripod ... but a well balanced gimbal head would be important if you did (I have one sitting in the closet on a tripod ready to go but it has been more than 2 years since I used it) I personally find tripods to confining and cumbersome but others find them or a mono pod indispensable.
Shots as birds takeoff is a good tactic and learning the signs a bird is getting ready to fly helps. Easy on raptors they frequently poop before they fly harder on song birds. I focus on the bird perched and start shooting before they take off and keep the shutter down as you pan and follow through. With a good fast card the D500 buffer is huge and I have never buffered out with XQD and now CFExpress. You will be deleting images as you screen through them on your computer but you will most likely find some gems.
I do not use my 500pf on my D500 at this time only on my D850 and now my D6. I use a Tamron 150-600 GC on my gripped 500 and an 18-400 on my ungripped 500. I have had excellent success with the 500pf on BIF on my D850 and just got the D6 so have only shot it on about 3 small BIF but it works great. I have shot far more BIF with my variable focal length lenses since I have had them longer.
One of the reasons I like to use a variable focal length lens was aleready mentioned ... there are times when 500mm is to much ... of course there are times when it is only half enough
Certain settings mentioned already are important starters ... one not mentioned as often is the CH continuous high speed. Other settings as mentioned are important a fast enough shutter speed to show the amount of wing movement, motion blur etc that you want ... I have BIF shots in the files and on the wall from 1/1250 to 1/8000 but faster is easier. A stopped down aperture can be a challenge in low light and it can also give you background more in focus than you want but f/7.1 or f/8 on the 500pf can give you more margin of error on the little birds if light (ISO) and background (distance from nature of etc.) work for you.
I only shoot in AF-C for everything (except for something like in camera HDR etc.) I actually have many of the AF point options turned off and only use Single point and Group (learning the Group C1 & C2 options setting in the D6). But others do okay with the dynamic 9 point.
All that said if you have not read @Steve Secrets to the Nikon Autofocus System I would highly recommend it. He also has videos on shooting birds in flight.
Shots as birds takeoff is a good tactic and learning the signs a bird is getting ready to fly helps. Easy on raptors they frequently poop before they fly harder on song birds. I focus on the bird perched and start shooting before they take off and keep the shutter down as you pan and follow through. With a good fast card the D500 buffer is huge and I have never buffered out with XQD and now CFExpress. You will be deleting images as you screen through them on your computer but you will most likely find some gems.
I do not use my 500pf on my D500 at this time only on my D850 and now my D6. I use a Tamron 150-600 GC on my gripped 500 and an 18-400 on my ungripped 500. I have had excellent success with the 500pf on BIF on my D850 and just got the D6 so have only shot it on about 3 small BIF but it works great. I have shot far more BIF with my variable focal length lenses since I have had them longer.
One of the reasons I like to use a variable focal length lens was aleready mentioned ... there are times when 500mm is to much ... of course there are times when it is only half enough
Certain settings mentioned already are important starters ... one not mentioned as often is the CH continuous high speed. Other settings as mentioned are important a fast enough shutter speed to show the amount of wing movement, motion blur etc that you want ... I have BIF shots in the files and on the wall from 1/1250 to 1/8000 but faster is easier. A stopped down aperture can be a challenge in low light and it can also give you background more in focus than you want but f/7.1 or f/8 on the 500pf can give you more margin of error on the little birds if light (ISO) and background (distance from nature of etc.) work for you.
I only shoot in AF-C for everything (except for something like in camera HDR etc.) I actually have many of the AF point options turned off and only use Single point and Group (learning the Group C1 & C2 options setting in the D6). But others do okay with the dynamic 9 point.
All that said if you have not read @Steve Secrets to the Nikon Autofocus System I would highly recommend it. He also has videos on shooting birds in flight.
Bluetail
Active member
Indeed; learning more a out the bird species, habitats, etc., is half the fun! I’ve been practicing keeping forefinger on the shutter, thumb on af-on in anticipation of takeoff with some success.
ProperFrame
Active member
Staging is great to get a good shot like the video suggests but in essence it seems he is using a static focus point with a tripod and the exercise is coming from his ability to anticipate/press the shutter in a timely fashion. Good strategy to get some keepers. Highly recommended. A skill - but perhaps not the one the OP is trying to develop. What should be a given is back button focus and continuous auto focus. Putting a Single point on the eye of a static/slow bird is fine but trying to acquire single point focus on a fast moving small bird is going to mean a tiny fraction of in focus shots. Behavior,staging etc can be picked up in moderate time. I can opine on the exercise/practice aspects.
To practice I shoot moving cars in 10-15 minute sets as they travel 45mph in front of my office. Trees block from the left and a hill blocks from the right - so I have about a 25 yard window to get focus and press. At 45 that is pretty tight. Always rusty in early Spring but it comes on fast as you keep at it. I progress to lock focus on the driver faces. I use Single point focus for practice/evaluation, but use Group for BIF in the field. People do a lot of weird stuff !
Second, and very frustrating, is head over to a local school/park to the tennis courts. Shoot just the ball as it flies. The back and forth timing is a help but the acceleration and reversal of the ball flight is maddening. Just don't sell the equipment if you get zero good shots. The point here is to get/keep the ball in the frame. Timing (Deceleration/Acceleration) while panning is useful when birds takeoff/land or veer toward you. Or at water impact for certain species. Practice at a seemingly impractical level and the small birds will appear like seagulls. Helpful for erratic movement birds like Swallows or an Ospreys corkscrew adjustment.
For me the practice also helps get used to the weight as I have heavy gear. Using shotgun stance I try not to lower the rig for the entire session. You know what happens in the field when you relax !
To practice I shoot moving cars in 10-15 minute sets as they travel 45mph in front of my office. Trees block from the left and a hill blocks from the right - so I have about a 25 yard window to get focus and press. At 45 that is pretty tight. Always rusty in early Spring but it comes on fast as you keep at it. I progress to lock focus on the driver faces. I use Single point focus for practice/evaluation, but use Group for BIF in the field. People do a lot of weird stuff !
Second, and very frustrating, is head over to a local school/park to the tennis courts. Shoot just the ball as it flies. The back and forth timing is a help but the acceleration and reversal of the ball flight is maddening. Just don't sell the equipment if you get zero good shots. The point here is to get/keep the ball in the frame. Timing (Deceleration/Acceleration) while panning is useful when birds takeoff/land or veer toward you. Or at water impact for certain species. Practice at a seemingly impractical level and the small birds will appear like seagulls. Helpful for erratic movement birds like Swallows or an Ospreys corkscrew adjustment.
For me the practice also helps get used to the weight as I have heavy gear. Using shotgun stance I try not to lower the rig for the entire session. You know what happens in the field when you relax !
If you didn't say it was a model, I'd thought you shot it at an air show. Awesome detail
Great advice. I pretty much have done all the same drills except I do not use back button since a half press on the shutter button with everything in AF-C has the same impact and keeps my thumb free to move my focal point as needed. I like the fact that you mentioned the shotgun stance that is my normal and my holding technique is a leftover from my target rifle shooting days. How you stand and how you support the camera when shooting birds in flight is very important. My heaviest rig is a Nikon D6 with a Sigma 60-600 Sport. I was a bird hunter and sporting clays shooter for years so have the benefit of many thousands of rounds of shotgun shells fired at moving targets.
If you are photographing birds in the wild, I think there are few opportunities to prefocus on the area where you expect to photograph the bird - there is waiting for the bird to takeoff, waiting for the bird to emerge from a nest hole, etc. But, there are some bird behaviors that you can try to leverage.
Spontaneous - you are not prepared but an opportunity turns up. One of my spontaneous catches is shown here. I was photographing stationary ducks, explaining the low shutter speed, when this small flock (not sure what they are - some type of field sparrow, I think) headed for me, then veered slightly.
Birds over water - nighthawks, swallows and other birds swoop to drink or pick up water. Sometimes they are predictable enough to provide a window. This is one situation where you *might* be able to prefocus your lens to the neighborhood for faster acquisition.
Swallows riding the wind - swallows are very difficult to track, but sometimes conditions are right for them to turn into the wind and ride, almost in place, for awhile. At times you can also position yourself so that the swallows are heading toward you, returning to their nest, returning to a cliff resting place, etc.
Dragonflies - I like to practice on dragonflies in flight. They tend to hover over an area at times and may congregate along pond/lake shorelines presenting a rich practice environment.
Birds coming at you - as for the swallows mentioned above, if you place yourself so the birds are headed for you, that’s an advantage, at least for tracking and taking an in-focus shots. When the birds are coming right at you though, this often results in a not great aspect angle on the birds. It seems to me, many of the smaller birds like the ones in my example, pump and glide - so when they’re gliding with wings tucked back, that results in a boring shot. I’ve taken shots of grackles coming at me - they take the same route every day - but they turn out to be very boring photos.
-Nikon D850 and 200-500
Spontaneous - you are not prepared but an opportunity turns up. One of my spontaneous catches is shown here. I was photographing stationary ducks, explaining the low shutter speed, when this small flock (not sure what they are - some type of field sparrow, I think) headed for me, then veered slightly.
Birds over water - nighthawks, swallows and other birds swoop to drink or pick up water. Sometimes they are predictable enough to provide a window. This is one situation where you *might* be able to prefocus your lens to the neighborhood for faster acquisition.
Swallows riding the wind - swallows are very difficult to track, but sometimes conditions are right for them to turn into the wind and ride, almost in place, for awhile. At times you can also position yourself so that the swallows are heading toward you, returning to their nest, returning to a cliff resting place, etc.
Dragonflies - I like to practice on dragonflies in flight. They tend to hover over an area at times and may congregate along pond/lake shorelines presenting a rich practice environment.
Birds coming at you - as for the swallows mentioned above, if you place yourself so the birds are headed for you, that’s an advantage, at least for tracking and taking an in-focus shots. When the birds are coming right at you though, this often results in a not great aspect angle on the birds. It seems to me, many of the smaller birds like the ones in my example, pump and glide - so when they’re gliding with wings tucked back, that results in a boring shot. I’ve taken shots of grackles coming at me - they take the same route every day - but they turn out to be very boring photos.
-Nikon D850 and 200-500
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I shoot with a D500 and also have a D750. I am curious as to what settings you eventually found workable for the D750.
Thanks,
--Ken
D
Deleted member 115
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I like to practice on the thousands of Gulls and Terns that constantly circle the reservoir in a somewhat predictable pattern. And just about any evening in the summer we have Swallows and Night hawks circling above our place. I use my 70-300 and do my best on those. Lots of fun imo
I am thinking this 500pf might produce some decent results as the autofocus is so much faster that I am used to.
I am thinking this 500pf might produce some decent results as the autofocus is so much faster that I am used to.