I am trying to get better with my photography and expand past the automatic settings. I enjoy wildlife/birds in flight. I just can’t seem to get my pictures tack sharp. For birds in flight, is there a setting(s) that I can start with? I have read use the aperture setting, others say use shutter priority and others manual setting. For a beginner what do you think is the “easiest” to learn with? I have a Canon 7D and am using the Sigma 150-600 mm lens. Thank you for your advice as everyone here takes such beautiful pictures.
You should be shooting manual, 1/2000 SS minimum, faster the better.
Thank you Dan. I apologize for not knowing this but should the ISO be set to auto? Like I said, I am trying to get better before giving up. We are going out this afternoon for the harriers and short-eared owls.
Using auto ISO while in manual mode is quite useful with birds/wildlife. Just pay attention to see if you are running into the upper limits of you ISO which could result in underexposed images. You may also want to practice some panning techniques if the birds are moving across your field of view. Don’t stop panning when you release the shutter; keep your panning motion after you release the shutter. It helps with smooth movement of the camera.
I find it helps to practice taking photos with common birds that are available. Best of luck and enjoy your time outside with the birds.
Thank you Bryan. I will keep the panning in mind too.
I strongly encourage manual exposure mode. Here’s the reason. The only thing that matters for a “proper” exposure is the exposure on the bird. The background will be what it will be. As the bird flys from the ground or perch or whatever, the background can easily change. Any priority mode like Aperture, Shutter, or Auto ISO (yes Auto ISO is just another form of a priority mode) can alter the suggested meter reading and change the exposure when in fact the light on the bird never changed. The ONLY way you are ever going to have a consistent exposure on the subject is to use Manual mode. Where I do a ton of flight photography at Bosque Del Apache NWR, the backgrounds change all the time during a flight pass so manual is required for consistent exposures on the bird. Shutter Speed: It all depends on the subject. If it is something like a Sandhill Crane which is a big, slow flying bird, 1/1000 is fast enough. If it is a fast flying duck like a Bufflehead, 1/2000 is desirable. I won’t say that there is a single number because like all things in photography it depends. If you want to capture some wing blur or a panning blur to really portray a sense of motion, then you might end up at 1/125 or 1/60. I have a post recently of Sandhill Cranes using that technique. The single most important thing is to become a student of the light. Pay attention to the light changing. A small cloud, between the sun and your subject can alter the exposure. Pay attention and know how to change settings without ever taking the camera away from your eye. Do NOT be afraid to push the ISO of your camera if it is needed and you want a faster shutter speed. Post processing software for noise if fantastic in todays world.
Aperture: I’m almost always shooting wide open with the lens that I’m using. Usually for me that means f/4 or if I am using a 1.4x converter, then f/5.6. There is very little to be gained by stopping down for DOF for flying birds. All stopping down does is cost you shutter speed.
Go experiment. Learn how to get a subject in the viewfinder quickly and acquire focus. You can practice this anywhere. Just go stand in your front yard, look at something that you want to focus on, lift you camera to your eye and see how fast you can get it in the viewfinder and lock focus. Do it again, and again and again……. Flight photography is challenging, but a tremendous amount of fun.
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