Garden Bird Photography

Garden Bird Photography

How to Photograph the Birds in your Garden

Mick White LBAPA, LRPS

Spring 2020

Introduction

 I am writing this at an anxious time for everyone in our society who enjoys wildlife and nature. With coronavirus surging around the world and a lot of people having to self Isolate, it can have a serious effect on our mental wellbeing   especially for those that enjoy going out into the countryside to see wildlife and to photograph our natural world. 

But self isolation doesn’t have to mean that the enjoyment that is gained from your trips has to be completely lost, if you have a garden or not I aim here to show you that by taking a few simple steps that the enjoyment can still continue from the comfort of your own home. 

If you enjoy photography then your garden can provide you with plenty of opportunity to continue photographing your local wildlife by taking a few simple steps. If you are not lucky enough to have a garden then all is not lost as most people will have windows that can be opened or have access to a balcony where a simple home made feeder can be placed so as to encourage our wildlife to visit.

I will show you on the following pages with examples taken using my own setup on how to to achieve successful results using these methods.

—————————————————

The Setup

 

The first thing to understand is that our wildlife is inherently wary of humans and therefore to get close or to gain successful images we will first have to conceal ourselves or break up our form from what they normally associate as human. This can be done in several ways but the easiest and most simple way is to place something between us and our chosen subject, as a professional wildlife photographer I have access to a Commercially produced portable hide which I can put up quickly and simply and is designed for the purpose of concealment, But what if you do not have one of these or a garden? Then you can use an old sheet or a piece of material placed in a doorway between you and your subject held in place with a couple of pegs which will do the same job of concealment. Below is the piece of material that I use when I don’t erect my commercial hide as an example, mine here is a piece of camouflage material with a hole cut in it for the camera lens to protrude through but it really does not matter what material is used as long as it conceals your shape.  

External setup

Internal Door setup


In the examples above I have shown how this method is used both from an internal and an external perspective.When using it externally the supports used here are simply a couple of wire lantern supports that we're to hand butcan be a couple of upturned brooms or something similar pushed into a plant pot and the sheet then pegged to these. 

Setting the Stage

Having now concealed yourself you will now need to set up your camera position if your intention is to produce images, So the next stage is to construct a simple photogenic scene to complement your chosen subject. Below is a picture of my overall normal feeding station to which I have added an additional perch and feeder so as to encourage the Birds that I am intending to photograph to perch on for a while.

Overall feeding area View with added Perch

Chosen Perch

  The perch that you need to look for should have some added interest so as to complement your subject but not to detract from it. Here I have found an old branch that has some lichen on it although it is a little too straight it gives you an idea of what to look for. A better option would be a curved branch with some lichen or moss on it so as to add a little dynamism to the final image, however you can use anything that you have to hand such as a garden fork or spade or an old watering can can also make a good prop as well. Whatever you choose to use try and keep some distance between the subject and the background (approx >4m) if possible so as to render the background out of focus in the final Image. Your chosen prop or perch will need to be in place for a couple of days before photography starts so as the birds can get used to it being there and will start to use it, also make sure that any feeders are kept out of shot when photographing. If using a branch as I have used here this can be held in place on an upright pole or stick by using cable ties or twine to secure it and then placed into an old plant pot with dirt or stones in the base for stability.

Camera Settings

When photographing wildlife especially Birds I always try and maintain a shutter speed of around 1/500th sec or faster as this will arrest any slight movement in the feathers of any perched birds. If your aim is for flight shots then the shutter speeds will be a lot higher and will depend largely on the bird that your photographing, for example a Blue Tit or Goldfinch sized bird will fly quite fast and will require something around 1/4000th sec or higher in good light where as a larger bird like a pigeon or a Gull will fly slower so something around 1/2000th sec would be a good starting point. 

With regard to lenses I will generally use a 300mm with the setup that I have detailed here but anything from 100-400mm is perfect for  most wildlife subjects. 

When i am shooting I will mainly shoot in Aperture priority normally in the garden and set an aperture of f5.6 which gives me a background nicely out of focus whilst still maintaining sufficient depth of field to render the bird sharp with my chosen lens. For flight shots I will change this to Shutter Priority and set a corresponding speed to suit my subject as previously described. 

Summary

I hope that this simple guide will be of use to you and will encourage you to get out and try some of the setups and methods detailed here for yourselves and to enjoy the wildlife still to be found whilst isolating at home.

Even if you don’t have a garden by simply setting up a simple window box feeder and adapting the methods detailed here to suit your own environment they will still produce good results photographically or simply help maintain your mental wellbeing.  

Below are some examples of the Images I obtained using the setup and methods that I have described above.

Stay Safe