Bird photography seems simple. You see a bird, you take a picture of it. But birds don’t just walk around – they can be in different environments and have countless types of light shining on them. Suddenly, bird photography starts to get more complicated.
And in some ways, it is. I have so much to learn myself that I wonder if I’ll ever understand it all. But there are also some very simple things you can avoid and make your bird photos much better. Here, I will tell you about five of them.
1. Self-intersection
The bodies of birds are very flexible and as a result, in certain postures, their bodies produce strange self-intersections. Here are three examples:
The problem is that these distorted shapes hinder recognition of the bird’s form. Although there are some cases where intersections can be interesting if done intentionally – or small enough not to be distracting – random intersections generally seem confusing. Therefore, one of the easiest things to improve bird photography is to pay attention to the size of the bird when composing in the viewfinder. Birds move around a lot, so it’s possible that a strange or distorted appearance will be changed to a more recognizable one within the next minute.
2. Nictitating Membrane
Birds have a translucent inner eyelid called nictitating membraneActually, this also happens in some other animals like sharks. With the exception of a few mammals such as beavers and polar bears, most mammals do not have a fully developed nictitating membrane. Who is that for? This protects the eye when the eye is in a risky situation, such as when a bird dives into debris-filled water. It looks like this:
Unfortunately, when a bird’s eye becomes covered with a nictitating membrane, it often looks strange. And even birds that remain relatively still sometimes “blink their membranes.” So when you’re taking a shot of a bird, especially one that’s doing something near water, make sure the nictitating membrane is not clogged in your shot. When I look at a bird like a heron or a duck, I often take two shots of it, one second apart, so that I don’t get a shot when the nictitating membrane is completely or partially closed.
3. Barely visible eye
Although this can happen with any type of photography, including portrait photography of people, it is a very common problem when photographing birds. This happens when one eye is hidden and the other is barely visible:
The problem is again in the same form, but I’m highlighting it here because it’s particularly important. After all, people go straight to the eyes. When we look at the barely visible eye, it often seems accidental, random, and confusing. Therefore, try to involve one eye or both, but not half the eye. If you notice a barely visible eye, she will often take a step to the left or right to get rid of the problem, or wait a moment for the bird to move its head.
4. Fading tail
Once you learn about it, you won’t be able to “unsee” it. This happens when a small bird is sitting on a branch and its tail goes behind the branch:
The disappearing tail gives a break to the bird’s appearance. However, this is somewhat more subtle than other problems. If the bird is in a more front-facing position rather than in silhouette view, the effect is not as obvious and may not be as distracting. Or, if the bird is pleasingly framed by a clump of leaves, the lack of tail will not be a distraction.
But, if the rest of the bird is clearly visible and the tail suddenly and suddenly disappears, you may have a problem. So, this thing to “avoid” is more of a guideline: look at major body parts like the head, beak, tail, wings, and see if they’re disrupted, and understand how that disruption contributes to the overall look – Or hinders it. Message.
5. Straight line out of focus
Out-of-focus straight lines occur when you have an otherwise smooth background and it contains some areas with shiny strands of grass. it looks like this:
Of course, out-of-focus grass in some shots is not a big problem, especially when it is soft and creates a pattern. But when you have some wrong varieties that do a lot Specific The lines in the background, they’re distracting. Really, imagine yourself painting a scene like this. You have a nice bird on a soft background. This out-of-focus line is like taking a big blob of paint and applying it to the background. why would you do that?
The best thing is to avoid them in the first place. When you approach potential shooting areas, look for distracting lines out of focus. Check them in the viewfinder while you’re shooting. Send the FBI after them if necessary. Avoid them like the plague. Trust me, your shots will look much better without them.
In some occasions, it is possible to reduce their emphasis with post-processing. But it’s not easy, and it only works if they’re already on the vulnerable side. In any case, it’s one of the first things I pay attention to when I’m in the field, and it’s not too difficult to avoid with practice.
conclusion
The best part of photography is the creative process that can take you on a journey of self-discovery. Along that journey, there are also some basic guidelines that can make your photos more effective, and I hope the five guidelines I’ve discussed today will help you improve your photography. They are not absolute rules, but rather good guidelines that follow the more general principle of being intentional and thoughtful in photography.
Do you have anything else in wildlife photography that you always look for and avoid? Let me know in the comments!
