Proper Lens Handling Is Essential in Bird Photography

^{Note: This tip comes from Photzy’s 10 Bird Photography Cheat Sheet Snap Cards.}

The biggest challenge to bird photographers is getting close enough to see the details of the bird. No one wants the bird in their photograph to appear as a spot in the distance. A longer focal length lens - either a telephoto prime or a telephoto zoom lens - is your best choice!

However, these lenses bring handling concerns that are not present when using shorter focal length lenses.

In this Quick Tip, we will look at proper lens handling with longer telephoto lenses.

Tip #1 – Do not use the Live View Function on your camera when using telephoto lenses.

The ergonomics of the camera body and viewfinder are essential to tracking a bird for composition. In addition, a camera is designed to be held tight to the face as this is part of what’s known as three points of contact.

Three points of contact will always be steadier than one or two. That’s why tripods have three legs, and sailors are taught always to have two feet on deck and one hand on a rail.

Live view is best for static subjects, such as landscapes, or stagnant subjects, such as a portrait of a professional model.

Tip #2 – Using the viewfinder and pressing the camera to the face with one hand is not enough. That’s two points of contact.

You might get away with this example of poor lens handling if the telephoto lens has a shorter focal length, say 150mm or less.

However, most bird photography will be created with telephoto lenses that are longer than that.

QT #3 – This example photo obviously is not a bird photography situation, but it displays perfect handling of long focal lengths.

Do you see the three points of contact?

• The camera is pressed to the face.

• The left hand is under the lens near the front 1/3 of the lens barrel and supports the weight of the lens.

• The right hand is holding the right side of the camera body. It supports the weight of the camera and releases the shutter at the appropriate moment.

Pro Bonus Tip: When hand-holding the camera with a long focal length lens you can gain even more stability by pulling your elbows inward and resting them onto your chest.

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!)