7 Bird Photography Genres You Need to Know

^{Note: This tip comes from Photography Life’s article - The 7 Genres of Bird Photography}

1. The Standing Bird

Even though the standing bird might seem ordinary, it can still be the centerpiece of a stunning and well-composed photograph. Focus on the bird's immediate surroundings—notice how the leaves and flowers are positioned. You can create a more intentional and captivating composition by paying attention to these details.

2. The Bird Portrait

Capturing a great bird portrait is no easy feat, as it requires getting up close and personal with your feathered subject. But proximity alone isn't enough to guarantee a stunning shot. Like human portraits, the key to a captivating bird portrait lies in good lighting and thoughtful posing. You can turn a close encounter into a truly remarkable image with the right approach.

3. Bird In Flight

For many, a bird in flight epitomizes the essence of bird photography. While this might be an exaggeration, there's no denying that capturing a bird soaring through the air is incredibly thrilling. It encapsulates the age-old human dream of flying. Photographing birds in flight demands both skill and the right equipment. It's a genre where technical prowess and quality gear come together to create awe-inspiring images.

4. The Environmental Shot

An environmental shot captures a bird in its habitat, highlighting the beauty of its surroundings. Unlike a simple perched bird photo, this approach emphasizes the broader landscape, showcasing more than just a branch or a few blades of grass. Different birds thrive in diverse environments—forests, seasides, rocky terrains—and a compelling environmental shot should convey this to the viewer. By immersing them into the bird's world, you create a vivid portrayal of its habitat. If your photo sparks the viewer’s imagination and transports them into the bird’s natural setting, you’ve achieved the essence of a proper environmental shot.

5. Bird in a Landscape

The bird in a landscape goes further than the environmental shot. The purpose of this photo is to show a landscape that may happen to have some birds in it. It could also be an excuse to get into landscape photography even if you’ve never taken a landscape in your life. This genre requires a composition decision. Do you compose to make the birds the subject or the landscape the subject, and the birds are a storytelling focal point?

6. The Behavioral Shot

A behavioral shot captures a bird in action—doing anything other than perching or flying. Think of behaviors like eating, nest building, playing (yes, birds do that!), and preening. Capturing these moments adds a dynamic and captivating layer to your photography, showcasing the bird's personality and activity. A well-timed shot of an intriguing behavior can transform your photo from a simple snapshot of a bird on a branch to an extraordinary glimpse into the life of your avian subject.

7. The Abstract Bird

The abstract bird photograph stands apart from other categories. Unlike typical bird photos that clearly showcase the whole bird or recognizable parts, abstract shots dive into unique details that might make it hard for viewers to identify the subject as a bird.

These photos can be close-ups of various bird parts, birds artfully camouflaged in their surroundings, or any composition that catches the viewer off guard. An abstract bird photo should captivate with its form, color, or pattern, creating a visual intrigue before the viewer even realizes they're looking at a bird.

Want more? If you want to learn more about bird photography, and capture beautiful shots of your own, we recommend downloading and printing out Photzy’s 10 Bird Photography Cheat Sheets (Special bonus available now!)