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Nikon DSLR Cameras
D5200
camera settings for static birds
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<blockquote data-quote="BackdoorArts" data-source="post: 444018" data-attributes="member: 9240"><p>How do you get it correct? Either shoot it on an overcast day and worry about making the sky blue later, or put a giant reflector opposite the sun so you can light the shadowy area on the bird. </p><p></p><p>That, or actually consider the fact that you're not done with a photo when you image pops up on the LCD in the back.</p><p></p><p>So, if you're looking for a serious answer from a serious photographer who has shot a serious amount of birds, read on.</p><p></p><p>Question: Are you shooting RAW? If not, that's problem #1. Shoot RAW with wildlife, because lighting conditions are often very contrasted and you'll want real light information instead of having to mess with just what you have. The rest of the information will help you even if you're shooting JPEG, but not nearly as much.</p><p></p><p>I shoot birds all the time with a Sigma 150-500mm. I know the lens has a sweet spot for clarity at f8 to f11, which is a bit of a bitch when you have to shoot at 1/640s just to make sure you're not getting blurred shots. I don't like to think too much, so my camera (D7100) stays on Manual mode with auto ISO turned on (max ISO either 2400 on sunny days or 6400 on cloudy), shutter goes back and forth between 1/800 to 1/1250 depending on what I'm shooting, and aperture is on f8 on cloudy days and f9 or f11 if I can get away with it. I am admittedly a lazy photographer and I don't like to have to think too much when I'm birding, so that's the way I shoot it, which is essentially Shutter Priority but altering ISO instead of aperture. So, your settings are fine for what you shot (though I suspect that f5 may be minimum for your focal length which could lead to softness, though that's not your main problem here).</p><p></p><p>So, what did you shoot? A back-lit portrait of a Red-breasted Nuthatch, apparently. I say it that way because shooting birds is no different than shooting anything else - you need to know about the lighting conditions. I was snarky before about how to fix it, but seriously, on a cloudy day your shadows wouldn't have been as hard, and with a reflector you would have eliminated them. That's what a portrait photographer would have tried to do. But as a wildlife photographer you can't rely on manipulating your light in advance, so you need to fix it after the fact, and you do that in your "darkroom". Ansel Adams was a great photographer, but he was a better printer, and he manipulated the light in those classic shots while exposing the print to bring details out of shadows and dodge in details hidden in the bright spots. You need to do that too.</p><p></p><p>You haven't given me much to work with here as it's a low res jpeg, but in about 60 seconds I went from your shot to this...</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]152324[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Given a full-res RAW file there is a ton you can do. I'm currently doing a "Big Month" competition trying to photograph as many species as possible in April. I'm challenging myself to do all my shots from my deck, which is SSE facing, so I am almost always shooting into the sun until the late afternoon, where I have to deal with shadows from trees and branches as the sun lowers in the sky. <em>Every</em> bird I shoot needs to be processed, either because it's half in the shadows, backlit, or just dull looking because it's in the shadows. Shooting up and everything is always backlit.</p><p></p><p>Here's a Red-tailed Hawk the flew over, as it came out of the camera...</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]152328[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Decent capture, but dull, full of shadows, and sort of lifeless.</p><p></p><p>Here's the same shop editing only in Lightroom, which would be equivalent to Adobe Camera RAW. Nothing special, no gradient or brush adjustments...</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]152329[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>If it were a better shot I would have sent it to Photoshop and tweaked away, but this was good enough for what I need and a hell of a lot better than the straight out of camera shot.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Photography isn't magic, and presets on cameras don't get you any closer. You've got a serious camera, you need a serious understanding of what it can do. Frankly, if you want to just point and shoot then get yourself one of those, because they generally give you a better result right away. Each type of photography demands study. No magic bullets, no secret formulas. That's what I love about it. And it's what pisses off a lot of people who buy DSLR's and think that's what they were missing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BackdoorArts, post: 444018, member: 9240"] How do you get it correct? Either shoot it on an overcast day and worry about making the sky blue later, or put a giant reflector opposite the sun so you can light the shadowy area on the bird. That, or actually consider the fact that you're not done with a photo when you image pops up on the LCD in the back. So, if you're looking for a serious answer from a serious photographer who has shot a serious amount of birds, read on. Question: Are you shooting RAW? If not, that's problem #1. Shoot RAW with wildlife, because lighting conditions are often very contrasted and you'll want real light information instead of having to mess with just what you have. The rest of the information will help you even if you're shooting JPEG, but not nearly as much. I shoot birds all the time with a Sigma 150-500mm. I know the lens has a sweet spot for clarity at f8 to f11, which is a bit of a bitch when you have to shoot at 1/640s just to make sure you're not getting blurred shots. I don't like to think too much, so my camera (D7100) stays on Manual mode with auto ISO turned on (max ISO either 2400 on sunny days or 6400 on cloudy), shutter goes back and forth between 1/800 to 1/1250 depending on what I'm shooting, and aperture is on f8 on cloudy days and f9 or f11 if I can get away with it. I am admittedly a lazy photographer and I don't like to have to think too much when I'm birding, so that's the way I shoot it, which is essentially Shutter Priority but altering ISO instead of aperture. So, your settings are fine for what you shot (though I suspect that f5 may be minimum for your focal length which could lead to softness, though that's not your main problem here). So, what did you shoot? A back-lit portrait of a Red-breasted Nuthatch, apparently. I say it that way because shooting birds is no different than shooting anything else - you need to know about the lighting conditions. I was snarky before about how to fix it, but seriously, on a cloudy day your shadows wouldn't have been as hard, and with a reflector you would have eliminated them. That's what a portrait photographer would have tried to do. But as a wildlife photographer you can't rely on manipulating your light in advance, so you need to fix it after the fact, and you do that in your "darkroom". Ansel Adams was a great photographer, but he was a better printer, and he manipulated the light in those classic shots while exposing the print to bring details out of shadows and dodge in details hidden in the bright spots. You need to do that too. You haven't given me much to work with here as it's a low res jpeg, but in about 60 seconds I went from your shot to this... [ATTACH type="full"]152324._xfImport[/ATTACH] Given a full-res RAW file there is a ton you can do. I'm currently doing a "Big Month" competition trying to photograph as many species as possible in April. I'm challenging myself to do all my shots from my deck, which is SSE facing, so I am almost always shooting into the sun until the late afternoon, where I have to deal with shadows from trees and branches as the sun lowers in the sky. [I]Every[/I] bird I shoot needs to be processed, either because it's half in the shadows, backlit, or just dull looking because it's in the shadows. Shooting up and everything is always backlit. Here's a Red-tailed Hawk the flew over, as it came out of the camera... [ATTACH type="full"]152328._xfImport[/ATTACH] Decent capture, but dull, full of shadows, and sort of lifeless. Here's the same shop editing only in Lightroom, which would be equivalent to Adobe Camera RAW. Nothing special, no gradient or brush adjustments... [ATTACH type="full"]152329._xfImport[/ATTACH] If it were a better shot I would have sent it to Photoshop and tweaked away, but this was good enough for what I need and a hell of a lot better than the straight out of camera shot. Photography isn't magic, and presets on cameras don't get you any closer. You've got a serious camera, you need a serious understanding of what it can do. Frankly, if you want to just point and shoot then get yourself one of those, because they generally give you a better result right away. Each type of photography demands study. No magic bullets, no secret formulas. That's what I love about it. And it's what pisses off a lot of people who buy DSLR's and think that's what they were missing. [/QUOTE]
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camera settings for static birds
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