How to
Photograph garden birds
To start – I assume that readers know their way around a digital SLR, and I won’t be touching on post-processing techniques here; there are loads of guides to Photoshop on the net. My only advice would be to shoot RAW; many birds have white patches, and even the best metering systems can ‘blow’ the whites, information that is lost forever if you use jpeg to record your images.Lenses
1. You will need a decent telephoto lens, somewhere in the region of 300-500mm (or maybe even longer). There are two reasons for this. First, garden birds are tiny, and if you want a shot that’s more than a dot in the image, then you need the reach of a long telephoto. Second, and much less appreciated, is how the background is pleasantly blurred as an effect of the (perceived) low depth of field (DoF). This is how photographers make images ‘pop’. With the robin shot below, the background (a winter hawthorn hedge) was about 2 metres behind the bird, and is rendered out-of-focus. In addition, you can see just how limited DoF is - here the tail isn't sharp, but this is something bird photographers often just have to live with.
2. An advantage of using digital SLRs is the crop factor found in most cameras. For example, most Nikon cameras multiply the perceived focal length of the lens used by a factor of 1.5X. However, it’s important to realise that this doesn’t alter DoF.
3. Many people have a 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 zoom. I use the Nikkor VR version, because I use Nikon cameras; Canon, Sigma and others make their equivalent versions – all are pretty good, and relatively cheap. They have serious drawbacks though – the most important of which is that they are slow. In other words, at 300mm, they are focusing at a relatively small aperture (F5.6), making accurate focus relatively slow, especially when light is poor. They also will generally not focus when used with a teleconverter.
4. A step up from these in cost are lenses like Sigma’s ‘Bigma’ (50-500mm F4-6.3) and their 100-300mm F4, or fixed focal length 300mm F4 lenses. For many people, the Bigma is the answer to their problems of reach. However, in terms of image quality it’s not as good as the other lenses mentioned, and focusing can be difficult due to its slow maximum aperture at 500mm. The other lenses lack the reach of the Bigma, but are optically far superior. Their maximum aperture of F4 allows the use of converters; a 1.4x converter results in little loss of image quality, and gives a 430mm F5.6 lens. The fast (100-) 300mm lenses are superb wide open, and so are fine at F4. The Bigma (and equivalents) need to be stopped down to F8/11 before they perform at their best. This means that you have to use slower shutter speeds – not advisable with long telephotos and very mobile subjects. My first step up from the standard 70-300 zoom was to buy a Sigma 100-300mm with matched 1.4X converter, which has proved great for garden bird photography.
5. The final step? Pro-quality 500mm super-telephotos (or even longer lenses). These are big, heavy and fast (F4/F4.5). Apart perhaps from macro lenses, no other piece of camera glass is as sharp and free from optical aberrations. This comes at a serious financial cost. Lenses by Sigma are roughly half the price of lenses by Nikon and Canon, but the street price for their cheapest lens is currently £2600 – not a small investment.
6. If you can afford it, get lenses with IS (image stabilization; Canon), VR (vibration reduction; Nikon) or their equivalent. Even on a tripod it can make a huge difference.
Accessories
7. A solid tripod is essential; otherwise your chance of getting a pin sharp shot is effectively zero in anything but perfect light. For lighter lenses, something like the Manfrotto 055 is fine, but for anything heavier, then you again have to pay the price – most pros swear by Gitzo carbon fibre tripods. You get what you pay for though – a suitable Gitzo will have a maximum load bearing capacity three times that of the Manfrotto, but weigh less. If you don’t already own a tripod, don’t bother wasting money on the cheap all-in-one models found in every camera shop, they are of little real use with telephoto lenses.
8. Ditch the pan and tilt head. These are fine for video, but useless for photography. Buy a ball head, and check that whatever you choose can take the weight of your equipment safely. I use an Arca Swiss Z1 head, but many seasoned bird photographers also choose Markins, Really Right Stuff or Acratech heads. For pro-telephotos, gimble style heads are recommended, with Wimberly being a popular choice.
9. Make sure that your batteries are charged and that you have a spare.
10. Make sure that you have plenty of memory.
The feeder set-up
11. I recommend using Droll Yankee feeders, if you can find them (I bought mine from the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust). They are long lasting, easy to clean and most important, screw into poles. Having feeders fixed to the top of a single pole answers many problems of getting birds to go where you want them to go. I simply use gaffer tape to place single twigs at right-angles to where I will be photographing from. The birds use the twigs as landing platforms before moving to where the food is.
12. Place the feeders so that the light is behind you, the birds will be at lens-height, and most important, that they will be sufficiently far away from the background to leave it as an out-of-focus blur. Make sure that the background is suitable – ideally hedging – so that there is a natural looking background colour present, and that there are no distractions.
13. Use attractive perches. This is a lesson I’ve recently learned, but you can really add to a picture by choosing a suitable perch, such as thistle heads or twigs with lichen. This set up works very well for finches, sparrows and other small passerines.
14. Woodpeckers and nuthatches are more difficult. My solution is to place a nut feeder near to a hawthorn tree, so that the birds will probably alight on its trunk before flying to the feeder. As an alternative, some people bring in attractive tree stumps, and place nuts or pieces of fat-balls hidden out of view of the lens. This has the advantage of keeping the birds in place for longer.
15. If you like using props, then the latter approach can work with other objects. For example, if you want a picture of a robin on a watering can, you can stick a small tin filled with meal-worms out of sight, but high up enough to keep the bird perched on top of the can.
16. Ground feeding birds can be attracted by apples and scattered seed. Apples are a real favourite of blackbirds.
Camouflage
17. A hide, or some other way of keeping out of view is essential. Some people hang camouflage netting over shed doors, but this then constrains where you can place your feeders.
18. I use a Kevin Keatley camouflage dome hide, which pops up in moments. This has slots for tripod legs and a window for your lens. If you want to save some money – make your own. I like the KK hide because it can quickly be put away, whereas home-made hides tend to be less convenient.
19. Use some camouflage on your lens, as otherwise your sticking a great big black pipe out of your hide, which is not very subtle, even to garden birds. You can get a range of suitable, camouflaged, waterproof covers from Wildlife Watching Supplies, or apply LensCoat.
20. Use a small chair. I use my daughter’s small plastic chair because it allows me to sit about 10 inches off the ground – chairs and stools for grown-ups result in back ache.
21. Bring a magazine to read, as you may have a long wait before the birds turn up or the light is right. Make sure you’ve eaten well, you’re warm, and most important, that you’ve been for a pee before you start – it can get uncomfortable otherwise!
21. Finally - have fun! If you found this article helpful, or if you have any comments, I'd be happy to hear from you.