5 Different Techniques to Capture Beautiful Bird Photos - How Many Have You Tried?
In today's video I explain all the different ways I photograph birds, from stalking to setups. I use numerous examples to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages. There is also a short test to see if you can tell the difference between shots that are setup or not.
I would love to hear in the comments how many you were able to get right.
Cheers, Duade
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Timestamps:
0:00 - 5 Styles Intro
0:24 - Setup or Not Test
2:54 - 10,000 Subs
3:32 - 5 Styles
4:53 - Style 1 - Walk & Shoot
7:49 - Style 2 - Sit & Wait
9:11 - Style 3 - Stalking
12:46 - Style 4 - Mobile Hide
14:38 - Style 5 - Setups
19:20 - Conclusion
19:35 - Outtakes
20:00 - Bonus Tip
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Music
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Artist: Chris Haugen Si Senorita
Title: Si Senorita
I did a similar thing with my scarlet honeyeater shots. Stalking, observing behaviour and the feeding cycle all were key to being in the right place to nail the shot.
I like you showing NZ birds.
I want to get back to NZ and photograph more birds. Cheers, Duade
Your humble approach and your transparency with your process along with the great advice makes your channel stand out! It’s great to see the entire process 😊
Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it, Cheers, Duade
Stalking like "Ninja Cat". So, it does work in nature, as well. :)
It can help for sure, Cheers, Duade
I love your humble demeanor, when you say "I'm guilty of it" that says a lot. It's obvious you have interest and care about the welfare of your subject, sadly I often see too many people doing wildlife photography for other reasons and acting poorly just to get a shot to show off on social media. Videos like this will really help those willing to learn get to a higher level quicker, when I started wildlife photos I assumed all photos were taking just walking around or stalking. Honestly some of the best tools for wildlife photography aren't lenses and cameras but often all the other things that enable you to get close or perhaps capture natural behaviour. I've really become partial to wider shots that show the animal in it's environment over the overdone blurred clean background portraits. You could seriously publish a book, it's a gift being able to explain things so clearly. Thanks for helping the art of photography.
G'day Rob, I really appreciate your detailed comment and feedback, it gives me joy to hear my videos are helping in some way. Great to hear you enjoy more habitat type shots, I am making an effort to look for habitat type shots when out and about. I get my most enjoyment from stalking birds and laying in the mud. Take care and thanks again, Cheers, Duade 👍
All of them are exeptional, set up or not they are all still looks naturaly done.. 👍👍
Agus, thanks for the feedback, Cheers, Duade
Dealing with the matter and placing a branch in such a way that the bird and the background match is a good exercise in recognizing corresponding situations in nature
Thanks Ben, it is all part of the fun, Cheers, Duade
Got em all right. I know your techniques so was easy...lol.
Congrats, yes, I do have a certain style. Cheers, Duade
i tried them all :) but i think my favourite is to sit and wait behind or rock or a tree
Thanks, yes, sometimes sitting and waiting is great, must admit keeping my eyes open is often a challenge 🙂 Cheers, Duade 👍
I binged so many of your videos! They are just golden! I love how open you are! Showing off, but not showing off at all, do you know what I mean? :D You have the skills and the images which are fantastic, but you don't brag, but instead even explain the technique behind the shot. Awesome. Especially in this age of "artificial information holdback"
Thanks Pascal, I really appreciate your comment and understand what you are saying. I am happy to share and help others, if we all did that the world would be a much better place. Cheers, Duade
@@Duade that's true! and we all would probably profit from it and grow. Thank you for answering! I really like your comment section^^
Surprisingly guessed them all. The direction the birds looked at gave it away. Last one pretty tricky but the right one just looked tense.
Well done Stanislav, a few were tricky, Cheers, Duade
Beautiful, fantastic birds. Unbelievle colors.
Thank you, yes we are lucky to have such beautiful birds in this country. Cheers ,Duade
@@Duade We cen maybe support each other, if you agree. Thx.
I guessed them all right. I felt like the ones that were set up were slightly more "alert" looking. The one's that were taken without any bait looked like they were super chill and relaxed.
Thanks Benjamin, I guess birds that are drinking/feeding are often on alert for predators which may give that different look you mention. Cheers, Duade
Really informative thank you
I got them all right! What gave it away for me is the demeanor of the bird. The setup ones are always more alert, either looking at you or at something juicy right ahead of them, while the others, even the ones in a similar position, seem to be paying attention to something else. BTW Thanks a looot for this video! I'm just getting serious about wildlife photography and this helped so much, I've been pretty much only walking and shooting and sometimes stalking, and want to learn about setups or hiding.
G'day Eduardo, well done and my pleasure, I hope it helped and you enjoy your photography. Cheers, Duade 👍
Dont wish to appear clever but I got them all right. The set up birds all looked more alert as though they were looking for something, perhaps food that had been placed nearby. Spent most of the day today watching your bird videos and feel I have learnt such a lot. Thankyou for all the work you have put in. Cheers Ken
I think that was my very first lesson was patience. As a beginner I am still trying to master getting to know my camera settings because I have a shocking memory and still experimenting with everything....but I am getting results which is why I am grateful that I can watch and learn from people like you. The tips and tricks you speak of are fantastic and I cannot thank you enough....unfortunately thats all I can do is thank you with a comment, sub and a like. Stay safe
You're very welcome!
I actually manage to guess most of them correctly. The birds just looked more engaged/attentive with the setting. I’m new to your channel & really enjoying them. Love seeing Aussie content.
Sharon, thanks for taking the time to comment, I'm glad you are enjoying the content. Cheers, Duade
Very helpful video Duade. I was that guy who thought how people are shooting those beautiful shots of a bird with a nice Bokeh and your explanation opened by eyes and gave me so much confidence to continue shooting
Great to hear Anoop, I was the exact same so I'm glad to hear others will hopefully get some confidence to continue with bird photography. Cheers, Duade 👍
Hi Duade, I think that the bird and it's habitat usually dictates the style needed for successful capture and today's photographers have great videos, such as this, to learn the necessary techniques required for each scenario. It therefore benefits the individual to learn each of these techniques/styles of bird photography and use them where suited. The other 'style' not mentioned is of course BIF but only mad dogs and englishmen try to become proficient at such a heart-breaking past-time. . .another great video added to your collection. Bruce
G'day Bruce, another excellent comment and I totally agree. Yes of course BIF, I should have included that, I don't do a lot of it myself which is probably why I forgot. Cheers, Duade 👍
I have seen so many channels here but none so informative, touching up the practical on the ground topics . Well done and keep up the good work !
Thanks Paul, I appreciate the feedback, Cheers, Duade 👍
Quickly has become my "go to" channel for photography. Also the same kind of experience got me into this as well, a red tailed hawk landed on a fence across the street from my house and let me just walk up to it and take shots with my old pentax. Ever since then I have just been doing everything I can to improve my shots.
G'day Lobster, thanks for the feedback, great to hear your story was the same as mine, funny how one incident can start such an amazing passion. Cheers, Duade
Super interesting demo! For me there was nothing about the photo itself that gave away whether it was setup or not, but it was the body language of the bird. I did get 100% right based on small tells of the bird being slightly more aware of it's surroundings.
Thanks for sharing and well done, Cheers, Duade
Another great video. Many thanks for sharing.
G'day Stephen, my pleasure, Cheers, Duade
Great video and very useful too. Looking forward to more such videos.
Thanks Atul, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Cheers, Duade 👍
Great video Duade, very informative thank you.
Thanks for the support, love that little Red-cap, Cheers, Duade 👍
Great topic and a very enjoyable video.
Thanks mate, plenty of great memories from those shots. Cheers, Duade
👍👍 fantastic video tutorial from good photographer and wonderful gentleman..!!
G'day N G, you are too kind, Cheers, Duade 👍
Beautiful
Thank you, Cheers, Duade
excellent information....
Thanks Cesar, I appreciate the feedback, Cheers, Duade
Amazing and informative as always Daude, good to learn and more glad that you have always been willing to share your techniques :) Good luck
G'day Riyaz, my pleasure, glad you enjoyed it. Cheers, Duade 👍
Got them all right. The calls incited a reaction, the earthen bowl in last is visible. Good video. I have never done hide like the ones you have made other than when it was set up by someone bird guide I have birded with. I just shoot walking/in a car.
Well done, yes there are many ways to photograph birds, the way which brings you joy is the best :-)
Another ripper video Duade and some great tips. I think I am very much in the sit and wait catergory so far. Congratulations on the 10k subs, that's quite a milestone. All the best, Brian.
Thanks Brian, I appreciate the feedback, yes sit and wait is often a good option. Cheers, Duade 👍
I've never used a hide, but have used all of these methods without really thinking about it.Often times I walk and shoot on the way to a location that I will sit and wait at, or perhaps stalk a known species/location. For me, set up has just been waiting near our bird feeders and there are many great natural perches nearby that the birds use. Of course, getting a clean background is more difficult with my method. :) I HATE shooting from a car, but sometimes that really is the best choice. In one local refuge, it is the only choice since there are wild buffalo and nobody is legally permitted out of their car, and for good reason. Anyway, your videos always spark ideas for me, and I appreciate the time you take on the production. Thanks! Thanks also for the Topaz discounts. I'm all set up with DeNoise and Sharpen now and finding them quite useful.
Great to hear Woody, thanks for taking the time to leave your detailed comment, yes, I think most photographers use a mix of techniques depending on the location and species. It sounds like you are well travelled which is great to hear. Glad to hear you are finding Topaz useful, it really is amazing. Cheers, Duade
Very informative and honest video. Hats off to you.
Thanks Muhd, I appreciate the feedback. Cheers, Duade
Very interesting!
Thanks manoj I am glad you liked it. Cheers, Duade
Thanks as always for another great video. I guessed 50 percent :-). Appreciate the tips and examples in this video. Keep up the great inspirational work.
Thanks for the feedback Sean, I appreciate it. Cheers, Duade 👍
Hey Duade, Another great video with lots of excellent tips. I have used all of what you discussed. You sure do have beautiful birds over there! Great images as always and I'm on my way out to spend some time out in my yard with some of our birds right now. Sayin' hey... Greg
Thanks Greg, yes I think we all do a mix of these styles without knowing it. Thanks for the continued support. Cheers, Duade 👍
Awesome shots!
Thank you, much appreciated, Cheers, Duade
Congratulations!!! Really find your videos helpful. You have a very experienced, practical way of delivering information. I’m a birdwatcher first and new to photography.
G'day Joshua, thanks for the feedback, good luck with your photography. Cheers, Duade
Great💚💚
Thank you, Cheers, Duade
Another great video buddy 😉🤙 10.000! Nice one! Hard work pays off 😉👌 ... JP
Thanks JP, I appreciate your ongoing support from the start. Cheers, Duade
Duade Paton you are more than welcome buddy! 😉😎👍
I do walk and shoot 90% of the time as I like the ‘bush walk’ that goes with that approach, though I will walk than ‘perch’ for a while too. I do take the opportunity to use the visitors to our bird baths and nest boxes for ‘staged’ shots sometimes though. I was able to pick a couple of the shots based on the material in the foreground, but where that wasn’t present I was just guessing.
Thanks Tod, yes walk and shoot is a lot of fun. Thanks for your comment. Cheers, Duade 👍
❤❤outtakes lol
for me the image with better lighting gave it away, since i love doing wildlife photography to get a studio lighting is almost impossible, so yeah. great video, thanks!!!!
Thanks Ayman, I appreciate the feedback, Cheers, Duade
Catching up on some of the interesting videos I missed by not subscribing sooner. Enjoyed your approach in this video from walk around, stalking, permanent hides, mobile hides and setups. I have used them, no real preference but for good shots I prefer setups with or without mobile hides. I particularly enjoyed your simple to construct bucket hides and will be using more of them in future. Recently constructed a floating hide and had major success with it, getting within 15m of my target, stalking I only managed about 60m. Your tips are particularly sensible in that you seem to like keeping costs down. Looks like when we are able to travel to Australia again, I shall have to get down to Victoria to visit both you and Jan. We have grandkids in NSW so we are just waiting for Qantas, i still need more of your parrots.
Kirk, thanks for the comment, a floating hide has always interested me, but I am yet to try it out for myself. Yes, hopefully we can all travel again soon. Cheers, Duade
Great video mate. I do believe people should declare setup perches or baiting wildlife with food or water on their photos, otherwise it's not being forthcoming about how they got their shots.
Thanks Robert, yes I agree, thanks for the comment. Cheers, Duade
Hi Daude, congrats for having 10,000 subscribers what i believe the key for your success is your open minded thoughts, Keep sharing. i tried my best to guess the shots which you have shown in the beginning there is a slight tilt of the eye towards the ground in every bird which is being attracted to either water or meal worm.
G'day Jai, thanks for the feedback, I will continue to share what I know. Cheers, Duade 👍
I prefer watching the birds in the wild as you get to see more of their behavior. The downside is it can be hard to get a good composition if the environment doesn’t allow it. That said I also love watching the birds in my garden at the feeder. I’ve set up a branch over the bird bath based on your recent video and just need to relocate the feeder near it too. The birds are starting to acclimate to the branch, so now I’m just waiting for decent weather of a morning to sit out there again.
Thanks Chris, I agree, watching birds in nature is very nice. Good luck with the perch setup, Cheers, Duade 👍
Except the last one i guessed all correct
Well done Ramesh, it was tough, Cheers, Duade
Great video here.. I was able to guess all except the last one, which I thought the left one was setup because of the interesting texture on the rock. Mostly the position or texture of the perches and the background were give aways in the shots that I guessed correctly.. When you use the calls, do you use a wireless bluetooth speaker?
Well done Vineeth, you have a good eye, yes I use a Bluetooth speaker. Cheers, Duade 👍
hi! been thinking of purchasing DeNoise but kept delaying until last night. you inspired me to go for it! thanks for your extra coupon...for a Pro like you to use it, why can't I dare not? ;D ...please keep us more inspired with your vlogs! thank you for the inspiration...
G'day Maria, glad to hear it's working for you, it is a popular piece of software. Cheers, Duade 👍
I usually start with the walk around shoot. If I see something special (something that's not a magpie) I start stalking or wait for them to go onto a clear perch. I succeed around 30-40% of the times :) Congrats on 10k subs! Keep growing your great channel! btw I have struggled to get close to pelicans/spoonbills in the Chiltern Valley Dams (the ones in the national park). Do you know any good spots near Chiltern for waders? Cheers!
G'day, sounds like we share a similar approach. Yes, I found the birds at Dam 1 and 2 pretty flighty in Chiltern and have not had any success. The video I shot was at the town lake in Chiltern, but I went recently and its full of water after all this rain and no shorebirds to be seen. Winton Wetlands has been a miss for me as well. I know Wonga Wetlands has some birds but again can be tricky to approach. I will keep looking and will let you know if I find a spot that is good for photography. Cheers, Duade
You need to visit Wattle Park Melbourne and you should be able to get some great Eastern Rosella shots. We can have a cuppa before or after.
G'day Andrew, thanks for the heads up, once restrictions lift I may come down to Melbourne. I actually just got some nice Rosella shots this weekend which was nice. photos.duadepaton.com/Recently-Added/i-gsF98s9/A Cheers, Duade
My main problem i have still... I often start with fast shutter speeds to ensure i have at least a sharp image, but i forget somehow to make also the slower shutter speeds while going slowly towards the bird. As it fly off...i have at least the shutter speed for BIF then, but at home i miss a more detailed, less noisy burst to look for a sharp image. Its also since i use 1280mm some problem... i cant go really low with shutter speed anyways and denoising/editing is anyways needed, i always prefer a noisy image over a completely unusable one.
Thanks, yes, I will often go for the high SS also to ensure some keepers, but will lower that SS once I have got a few. Cheers, Duade
Really interesting video and great photos as always!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed them. Cheers, Duade 👍
Living in Melbourne, arguably one of the best, if not the best location for bird photography, variety and numbers (especially Raptors) would have to be the Western Treatment Plant. No need for "staged" bird photography, driving or moving to various locations is far and away the best method for a full days bird photography. Of course there are "spots" that regular visitors will "prop" at for particular types of birds and or "hunting" spots for Raptors.........
Thanks for your comment, yes I spent a day at the WTP many years ago, got a nice Black and Brown Falcon shot. I really need to get back there in the future. Cheers, Duade
I thought I would be able to tell easily given I (think I) know your MO. That said, I was only right maybe 75% of the time! Things like the eastern spine bill I knew the leaf covering the tail would not be in your set-up. Same with the King fisher, the one on the perch over water the end of the perch is visible... not something I would expect you'd have in a set-up. That said, the non-setup shots are excellent and arguably every bit as good as the set-ups. Thus far I have relied on the "walk and shoot" method with a bit of stalking thrown in as we find ourselves in a good location. I feel that if I "sit and wait" I'll be there for hours. I get that you need to know the birds and their behaviour so that you can be confident of an arrival. My wife and I enjoy bush walking so we've just slowed down and I take photo's. I am not sure of the next steps other than trying to find hot spots for particular birds so we have a good chance of finding a particular bird. At the moment I am targeting the Rainbow Bee-eater (which shouldn't be hard!) but has been. I've got some plans for a sit & wait at a hot spot I found via e-bird. Hopefully this yields a good shot. I'll tell my Mrs to bring a book! My yard birth bath complete with perches has far yielded only one crow! :-)
G'day Wombat, thanks for your detailed comment, hopefully over time more birds will find your water. Some people make a drip over the bath as the noise of the water dripping can attract birds. Yes Bee-eater s can be harder than they look. It often depends on location, I have them in my property but I have not got any decent shots yet. Good luck. Cheers, Duade 👍
The strange this was that I’m not even a bird photographer at all but I guessed all of them right
Well done Ken, not easy to get them all. Cheers, Duade
I've found that eye contact is a huge trigger for birds to fly off, when they see you looking at them, they're off.
G'day Nick, yes it can be for sure, generally I have my eye in the viewfinder so they see the camera, if the bird is really flighty I will use a blind. Cheers, Duade 👍
Great video, thanks a lot! What is the name of that low, circular camera ‘tripod’ that you use? I went out today with my Sony A7R3 and the 200-600 and got.. nothing :)
G'day Michele, it's called a ground pod or skimmer pod. I believe naturescapes sell them. Cheers, Duade 👍
I could usually tell when an image was a setup perch based upon no obscuring things between bird and lens
Hi Taylor, yes, the backgrounds are a good guide for sure. Cheers, Duade
Sorry But we feed our wild Birds, and the love you get from these birds they come each day willingly and go willingly they not stuck in cages we know them by character I made a platform with dish in the middle with water in It and they love It yes I have to clean the mass every day yes I got more work But the love from them is so great .
James, great to hear your system is working well. Cheers, Duade
Hi Duade, I was playing around experimenting with some calls the other day. A Song Sparrow responded and it was very cool. The other recordings I had available did not work at all. Where do you find recordings of calls? What do you use to play calls when you do? Perhaps you could do a vid on how you try to call birds in. Thanks for your content. Bill
Bill, I am no expert when it comes to playback and it is very hit and miss. It is a hotly debated topic with plenty of discussion about the pros and cons. I think each person needs to use common sense in regard to the impact it has on the subject. Most bird guide apps these days have calls built in and most people use some sort of bluetooth speaker. Jan has a worthwhile ebook that you may find useful on his website. aviscapes.com/attracting-birds/ Cheers, Duade
I surprised myself, I was right in all of them! I just compared the birds behavior in each set. The birds in the setups, well the eyes told me the story there. In each one I could first the uneasy feelings in their eyes. Then looking at their body posture I could see the on alert, . tension and stiffness there. I never thought to look for the other things that others found. --The birds NOT in setups looked like they were quite relaxed. Now I need to go through my own photos and see what I might have missed. Great video Duade.
Well done Dianne, an interesting way of telling them apart. Cheers, Duade
There are a lot of parallels between bird photography and fishing. I am still at the walk around with a camera mode stage of this new interest. Like randomly casting lures into a big body of water. There is a frustrating Pale Headed Rosella that pops up when I am walking my dog and my camera isnt ready. My approach at the moment is to catch any image I can of whatever is available then later I delete the worst ones. I hear that darn Rosella everyday and have even seen it in consort with an Eastern Rosella in the Gold Coast suberbia. How do I get it in range and before the Miners chase it away? Its a rhetorical question that doesnt demand an answer but like fishing this bird photography caper can be quite frustrating!
Kim, yes, very frustrating that is for sure. I too have struggled with many species. Often you just get lucky when one bird allows an approach. The other way is to try and find a bird bath where the Rosella comes in to drink. You can then setup and wait and get a shot that way. Cheers, Duade
Hi. I found you here on YT yesterday, and the first I saw was the one about R6 mark 2. I have that myself. Very nice explaining, and images sharp and nice. But on this video, there is a lack of sharpness on every image. Non of the birds eyes are crystal clear. This is of course not due to the gear used here, and it is not my monitor. Why is this?
Got them all, The ones that were set up appeared to be just that much sharper than the others ?
Well done Bradley, yes in theory the setups should be more consistent in quality and sharpness. Cheers, Duade
Just cmt to check my . Thank you so much for your sharing and beautiful pictures.
G'day Quyen, thank you so much for your support, Fairy-wren looks great. 👍
I was right or wrong 50% of the time so really random. I don’t do any staged bird photography. I do mainly walk n shoot, sit n wait (without camo) and mobile from car or boat. It’s not that I do not like the other approaches just no time/opportunities for them.
G'day Dimitris, nice to hear you do a few different styles. Thanks for the comment, Cheers, Duade 👍
Only one wrong. The setup elements were cut on both sides in the photo to avoid showing the setup.
G'day Anuj, well done, I will often crop out and setup elements such as the perch holder. I just wanted to demonstrate that it can be difficult to tell if a photo is setup just looking at the final picture. Cheers, Duade 👍
Well you see, first of all I need birds to be able to take pictures of which is part of my issue currently, lol.
Yes, it has been a tough time not being able to get out with the birds. Hopefully you get out soon, Cheers, Duade
Both were same I did not really recognize which was set up and which was not
Thanks Farhat, it can be hard to tell for sure. Cheers, Duade 👍
How did I get all of them right? Lol I know nothing about bird photography.
Well done Blake, you must have a good eye for a setup. Cheers, Duade 👍
Do you not like to photograph any sort of raptors?