Nature Photography How To

Professional bird photographers often travel far and wide to capture images of exotic species. But what if you’re just an enthusiast and you’d like to give this a try in the convenience of your backyard?

It’s amazing how many types of birds visit residential areas, no matter where you live. And the type of birds you’ll find in you're your yard varies by the season. In the quick tutorial below you’ll learn five helpful tips for capturing great images of our feathered friends at home.

Darrell Oakden is an accomplished British bird photographer who takes pride in sharing his secrets with others, as photographers did for him when he was first starting out. The advice he provides doesn’t require any special gear—just a bit of patience and knowledge,

For this episode Oakden draws on 10 years of experience to provide straightforward advice geared specifically toward beginners. More experienced shooters will also learn some tricks. He covers everything from focus, depth of field, and exposure, as well as how to attract birds to your yard.

Oakden considers location very important, and you’ll see how he made a couple holes in a shed so he can shoot from inside without alarming skittish subjects. He also set up a few feeders and perches in his yard, with food appropriate for local birds He did all that while carefully considering the background and direction of the sun at the best times of day to shoot.

The lesson then turns to a few technical matters, beginning with advice for attaining sharp focus of both stationary birds and those in flight. As he says, “There’s nothing worse than seeing a photo that’s blurred or out of focus.”

Oakden also discusses how to arrive at the proper depth of field (either less or more depending upon the situation). He also explains a few important camera settings and techniques that will enable you to achieve perfect exposures.

If bird photography is your thing, or you’d just like to dabble in the task on occasion, you’ll find just about everything you need to know on Oakden’s YouTube channel.

And on a related topic, check out our earlier tutorial explaining how to use focus bracketing for challenging outdoor subjects like birds.