When I post on my social media accounts, someone will always ask me what camera I use, which lens I use, what were my settings etc. blah, blah, blah. The camera and the lens are just tools. If I picked up Eddie Van Halen’s or Jimmy Page’s guitar I couldn’t play either one. They have awesome guitars, but if you don’t know how to play, the best guitar won’t matter.
You as a photographer know there’s much more to an image besides the camera. Again, I’m talking about using or modifying the lighting, the composition, (BTW I’m a big fan of “Rule of Thirds”), the action etc. All the elements that go into creating a satisfying image.
There are so many cameras and lenses on the market now I can’t begin to tell you which camera is better or the best. Obviously most folks shoot with Canon and Nikons, along with the very popular Sony cameras. The “bridge” cameras will work also.
- The focal length of your lens will depend on the size of your back yard. My yard is fairly large, so I use my 400mm prime lens. A decent zoom lens will work great too, especially if you move your set ups around.
Next, you’ll need a tripod, and a shutter release cable. Without the shutter release cable, you’ll have to keep your finger on the shutter button for hours, and that’s not very comfortable. - I try to shoot a minimum of 1/2000 sec, and usually an f/stop of 5.6 to 8.
MACRO LENSES/REMOTE SHUTTER RELEASES
Let me back up for a moment. I also shoot bird photos with a 100mm Macro lens and a wireless remote shutter release. You’re probably thinking what? A Macro lens.
I find Macro lenses to be very sharp, and occasionally I will shoot with this lens depending on what’s going on in my yard, or the neighbor’s yard I should say.
My normal setup is me sitting in my shed photographing across the yard because I have some beautiful vegetation to use a background. I now have new neighbors and the kids ride their little scooters in the driveway so I felt uncomfortable photographing birds with my camera pointed in their direction.
So, I had to find a new setup quick and here’s what I do. Macro lens on my camera mounted on a tripod. Wireless remote shutter release mounted on my camera. And finally, me sitting in my shed, or my house, or in my car.
I have found that this rig allows me to shoot anywhere in my yard now.
Here’s a shot of my Macro lens setup. Normally I would shoot with those trees as my background, but when the neighbors are hanging out in their driveway, I switch to this. And it works. I can shoot portraits or flying birds.
Notice the branch on a tripod? That’s a staging area for the birds although they don’t realize it. A bird will land on the branch, (not always but most of the time) and walk or hop right up to the tip. When they get to the tip, get ready to start shooting because they will fly to the feeder.
When using a wireless remote, Manually focus on the pole that supports the feeder because you can’t see what’s happening unless you’re using an App or have HDMI out to a monitor, and if your camera is focusing on something else then all the cool shots you thought you had will be out of focus. Trust me.
After you focus on the pole, turn the camera away from the feeder and try to aim it in the dead space between the feeder and the branch. This way you’ll get some nice flying images.
Initially I focused on the branch where the birds were but soon found out that because the birds move around too much, I missed a lot of images. The branch was always in focus but not the birds face or eye.
You’ll see also that I use a very small feeder. I do this intentionally to slow things down and to limit the amount of real estate the birds have to land on. If there are a few birds in the feeder than the bird on the branch will wait its turn. This gives me a bit more time to get ready.
By using this small feeder, it keeps the birds on a straighter flight path from the branch to the feeder giving me more opportunities to nab some cool flying shots. Think about it, if you had a big feeder the birds would depart the branch and fly off on angles, off the plane of focus.
Word of caution. When using a remote shutter, birds will land on your camera and may poop on it. YUCK!! If you have an articulating LCD screen be sure to fold it back because that makes a nice perch. If I see a bird on the camera I will fire a few shots and scare it away.
Here’s a few shots using the Macro lens on a remote shutter. You can any lens with this set up but the macro lens works great for small yards.
Can you believe these are from a macro lens?