The Golden Triad Of Bird Photography: Bird, Background, Light

^{Note: This tip comes from page 6 on Photzy’s free eBook - Getting Started in Bird Photography}

Learning bird photography in your backyard is easier than in the wild. Not that you should exclusively do one over the other. But by learning in your backyard, you have better control over the Golden Triad of bird photography.

The example photo above does an excellent job of creating a neutral background. However, the poor lighting doesn’t show off the bird’s plumage well- lacking texture and color.

By starting in your backyard, you have complete control over several essential choices in bird photography.

Where will the bird be located? What will the direction of the lighting be like at that location at a particular time of day? And what will be in the background when your camera is set up?

• What will your camera position be?

• Where is the light coming from at a particular time of day?

• What will be in the background: something useful, neutral, or distracting?

This example photo has better lighting, but the background is quite disruptive.

Follow this plan to try some backyard bird photography.

1. Decide what bird or birds you want to photograph and learn their habits.

2. Determine your camera location (using a tripod) while considering what lens you will be using. What will you capture in the background? Is the light coming from the correct position at the time of day you will be shooting? And how will you fire the camera: remotely or at the camera? Firing your camera remotely provides a lot more options. (You can acquire a wireless remote camera release on Amazon for just a few dollars.) How will you negate reflections if you decide to shoot through a window in your home?

3. Set up a bird feeder or baiting station in the correct location based on the answers to the above questions.

Now you’re ready to give it a try!

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!)