Bird Photography With Your Pentax Equipment

Here are some top tips for bird photography with your Pentax gear.

24/08/2013 - 00:00

Bird photography can be a tricky area of the craft to master. Not only do you have to be fast, you also have to be stealthy and be able to hide away from your subject to avoid scaring them away. Here are a few top tips to help you when you're out in the field. 

Research 
Certain species of birds can be difficult to find so it's worth knowing the rough habitat that the species you like to photograph is most likely to be found in, so that you can narrow your search. You could also go on a few scouting missions and note down what you see to give you a better idea of what can be found in your local area. This is of coure once you've exhausted your back garden and the park, where many species can be found.

Action mode
Most Pentax cameras will feature a sports or action mode, designed to enable you to capture clear shots of fast moving objects. This will be an ideal mode to use for your bird photography. If you've only got a compact camera, or don't have a long reach lens, don't worry. Great bird  photography can be captured at rescue centres and zoos too, where the birds will be a lot easier to capture.

Fast shutter speed 
If you have a DSLR or mirrorless camera, or even an advanced compact camera, then you can set the shutter speed in most cases. Most bird photography will take place in daylight, so you should be able to use a relatively fast shutter speed, 1/500 or above should do it, and still get a perfectly light shot. Using shutter priority mode will allow the camera to choose the aperture it thinks is correct. If it's not producing the effect you want, switch to manual mode and set the aperture as you wish. 

Reach
Birds can be scared away easily, so it's best to shoot from quite far away and use a long reach telephoto zoom. A lens such as the 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED will be ideal. Use a tripod to keep the camera steady. 

Camera angle
A common mistake with bird photography is to take the photo from the human perspective. Sometimes it's necessary to get down low or up high to really immerse the viewer into the world of the bird. Placing the camera on a bean bag or tripod with splayed legs will enable you to get down low whilst still keeping the camera steady. Use of a remote release will also enable you to trigger the camera away from the scene.

Bait
To lure birds to your garden in order to photograph them, you can use bait. Seed, a little bread and a bird bath should be enough to get some flying visitors visiting the garden. Then, you can work on more elaborate props such as bird feeders, houses and ornamental logs to get birds flocking in and added background interest for your photos at the same time. 

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