Feathers and Focus: Harnessing Drive Mode for Dynamic Bird Photography

^{Note: This tip comes from page 17 in Tobie Schalkwyk’s free eBook - Getting Started in Bird Photography}

Setting your camera’s Drive Mode to continuous shooting is quite a handy feature for bird photography (especially when shooting birds in flight), so try to get a frame rate of at least six frames per second (fps). In some cases, the more the merrier!

But don’t always set your camera this way; always using a mega frame rate has downsides.

One such downside is ending up with dozens of frames that you don’t need. It just leads to more editing time.

Take, for example, the above photo. When a flock of birds is flying at a slower speed and at some distance from you even single shot mode is fine and perhaps preferred as it will force you to concentrate on composition for the perfect shot.

Tip #1 – When birds in flight are at a distance and traveling relatively slowly, use the single shot mode. It will improve your composition technique, save space on your memory card, and reduce your editing time.

Another time that the single shot mode is preferable is when photographing birds at rest.

The sound of a high-speed drive setting can likely spook your subject and cause them to fly away.

Tip #2 – Use single shot mode when photographing birds at rest. This is true even at great distances, as birds have exceptional hearing. Silence is your friend in this case.

When birds are running, the frame rates of continuous drive mode can be very helpful.

Depending upon the speed of a bird running, you may want to consider using the slower continuous mode versus the high-speed mode. Again, you don’t need fifty frames to get an excellent shot of a bird running at average speed.

When a bird is running toward you or away from you, you may want to consider going to short, high-speed bursts.

When birds run across the water, it is always at high speed. This situation requires your fastest frame rates.

Tip #3 – Some birds can run at very high speeds, while others are quite slow. Use that information, along with their angle of travel, to determine which continuous mode should work best.

While it might be tempting to always use the fastest frame rate for a bird flying, you must once again consider the speed and angle of the camera relative to the subject.

Pelicans fly relatively slowly; the single-shot mode would help you concentrate on your composition and framing.

These seagulls are a perfect example of a situation where high-speed burst mode is the best option. They are relatively close to the photographer, making their movements faster in relation to the camera, and they are both moving, making on-the-spot composition difficult.

The above photograph is a beautiful scene, but it has one big problem. None of the birds, especially the faces, are in critical focus.

High-speed burst mode tends to create a lot of wasted, unsharp frames. Some cameras have a function that can be set in the menu options so that the camera will not fire unless critical focus is achieved at your chosen focus points.

Tip #4 – When using the high-speed burst continuous mode, set your camera not to fire if critical focus isn’t achieved at your chosen focus points.

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