Nature Photography How To

If you’re disappointed with your bird photos because many are unsharp, the video below should set you straight. You’ll learn the best autofocus modes to use for improving your batting average.

This helpful episode comes from our friends at Nikon Europe, and Trainer Ricci Chera discusses the appropriate focus modes to choose depending upon the type of camera and lenses you have and the specific situation as hand.

In this behind-the-scenes episode Ricci is photographing along a coast with a wide variety of species—some in flight, others on the ground, and a few in the water. Each situation requires different AF settings if you’re striving for fast and precise acquisition.

While Cher is using a Nikon camera to demonstrate his advice, most of his recommendations can be found within the menus of whatever camera you own. Another thing to keep in mind is that the various options available not only differ slightly depending upon brand, but also upon whether you’re shooting with a DSLR or a mirrorless camera.

Chera provides a very comprehensive take on the subject at hand, so we recommend you jot down a few notes. He explains how the settings you choose also depend upon whether you’re making tight shots of a subject with a long telephoto lens, of if the birds are part of a more expansive wide-angle view.

You’ll learn how to choose the most appropriate AF Area and Focus Point options, when it’s better to select Single-Shot or Continuous Mode, and much more. And naturally the configuration you make is highly dependent on whether your subject is stationary, in flight, and how fast it’s moving.

We’re very confident that if you take Chera’s recommendations to heart, your bird photography will be better than ever.

The Nikon Europe YouTube channel contains plenty of great information, and we urge you to take a look.

And speaking of important camera settings, check out the earlier tutorial we posted from another expert who reveals what he says are the best camera settings for macro photography.