Feed back on black birds.

[Needa]

I have noticed some very great photos of black birds posted on this site and since I only only occasionally shoot birds what do you think? Had my best luck with spot metering in manual mode and adjusting exposure to compensate, what do you use. Feel free to comment on the below posted images, the good and bad are welcome.

You may not be able to see the difference in the first two in the exported jpg, just the treatment in contrast on the feathers.

 

[BF Hammer]

You got better feather detail than I did last year with my blackbirds. But I looked, was using matrix metering and no compensation. I also was not planning to photograph blackbirds at a place named Goose Pond.

 

[hark]

I tend to use center weighted metering for most of my photos including birds. It depends on the scene – I eyeball it and use the +/- button with Aperture Priority and Auto ISO. You did great here, @Needa.

Do you know if this is a grackle? They are black with iridescent bodies. Sometimes their heads are kind of dark bluish.

 

[hark]

Hopefully @Woodyg3 will chime in. I'm pretty sure he's photographed many black birds while showing detail.

 

[Needa]

I tend to use center weighted metering for most of my photos including birds. It depends on the scene – I eyeball it and use the +/- button with Aperture Priority and Auto ISO. You did great here, @Needa.

Do you know if this is a grackle? They are black with iridescent bodies. Sometimes their heads are kind of dark bluish.

Do you use a custom setting for center weighted. I was using manual with auto ISO (Matrix), tried compensation but wasn't liking the results so switched to manual (Spot) and then just adjusted the exposure. After reexamining the original 6 (not shown) there was a strong back light behind the bird this probably didn't help. The other images were a diffused light situation created by clouds so that probably helped.

Grackle could be, I'm lucky to identify blue jays, cardinals and doves. Thanks for the input.

 

[hark]

Do you use a custom setting for center weighted. I was using manual with auto ISO (Matrix), tried compensation but wasn't liking the results so switched to manual (Spot) and then just adjusted the exposure. After reexamining the original 6 (not shown) there was a strong back light behind the bird this probably didn't help. The other images were a diffused light situation created by clouds so that probably helped.

Grackle could be, I'm lucky to identify blue jays, cardinals and doves. Thanks for the input.

Use whatever works for you. I first learned on a manual focus 35mm SLR that had both Aperture Priority or full Manual Mode. It offered center weighted metering so I found center weighted metering on a DSLR better than Matrix metering for my preferences. I was already accustomed to using it. Center weighted simply measures the majority of the light within the circle area. If a lot of the sky is in the image, or if the background behind the bird is really bright, then I use the +/- button to overexpose by around .7 stop. Sometimes I have to go to 1-stop over.

I just couldn't get Matrix metering to work for me. My exposures were all over the place – sometimes way too over exposed and other times not enough. The thing with Spot Metering is if you focus then recompose. Unless you use the exposure lock button to make sure the exposure doesn't change when recomposing, I don't think it will be accurate. And if I'm using back button focus, that button is assigned to focus, not to lock the exposure.

Like I said, find what works for you. Play around with the different metering options. Maybe you will have to switch from one metering method to another depending upon the scene in front of you. Back when I shot 35mm, I also used a handheld light meter. Incident metering is when you stand where your subject is located and aim the handheld light meter towards the camera. It is more accurate than reflective metering which is what our camera's use. I had the ability to input my aperture and ASA (ISO in digital photography) into the light meter and it would give me the shutter speed to yield an 18% grey image. Having used the light meter enough, it helped me intrinsically learn differences in lighting. A handheld light meter is something most people don't use. In certain conditions, usually indoor events where the lighting varies around my subject and when I cannot use flash, is when I still find it to be helpful.

 

[hark]

Oh ... I just remembered there was a time when I switched to spot metering temporarily. I used to photograph high school musicals and dramas. No flash was allowed, and of course the stage had really bright lights. Spot metering helped prevent the stage lights from interfering with the camera's metering system by honing in on metering a person's face.

 

[Clovishound]

This is where the mirrorless cameras really shine IMO. You get a nice preview of the exposure in the viewfinder. For example, I know that with white birds in sunlight I'm going to have to give it anywhere between 1.0 - 2.5 stops of underexposure to avoid blowing out the highlights in the birds. With my mirrorless, I can just rotate the compensation until I start to see detail in the feathers, and I'm good. I probably could use a little less compensation, and deal with things in post processing, but this methods seems to work very well for me, and gives less headaches in post. I'd much rather deal with underexposed shadows than overexposed highlights.

 

[Marilynne]

Do you use a custom setting for center weighted. I was using manual with auto ISO (Matrix), tried compensation but wasn't liking the results so switched to manual (Spot) and then just adjusted the exposure. After reexamining the original 6 (not shown) there was a strong back light behind the bird this probably didn't help. The other images were a diffused light situation created by clouds so that probably helped.

Grackle could be, I'm lucky to identify blue jays, cardinals and doves. Thanks for the input.

Yes, it's a male grackle.

 

[hark]

This is where the mirrorless cameras really shine IMO. You get a nice preview of the exposure in the viewfinder. For example, I know that with white birds in sunlight I'm going to have to give it anywhere between 1.0 - 2.5 stops of underexposure to avoid blowing out the highlights in the birds. With my mirrorless, I can just rotate the compensation until I start to see detail in the feathers, and I'm good. I probably could use a little less compensation, and deal with things in post processing, but this methods seems to work very well for me, and gives less headaches in post. I'd much rather deal with underexposed shadows than overexposed highlights.

How different is the preview? I have a D750 that allows me to see the exposure on the rear screen. In the past, I know I had to enable it in the camera's settings. Just can't remember if it was my D750 or D610.

Is the preview that different from a DSLR that allows the actual exposure to be visible?

 

[hark]

By the way, @Needa, I'm not a fan of grackles. The adults don't hesitate to kill smaller birds. They poked a hole into a sparrow's head once. Had to bury the poor little bird. They often attack other birds while they are trying to eat. Fortunately I haven't had many over the past 2-3 years. No idea why or where they went, but I don't miss 'em.

 

[BF Hammer]

How different is the preview? I have a D750 that allows me to see the exposure on the rear screen. In the past, I know I had to enable it in the camera's settings. Just can't remember if it was my D750 or D610.

Is the preview that different from a DSLR that allows the actual exposure to be visible?

DSLR image review shows what you just took. Mirrorless displays what you are about to take as you compose. You can set the view in the finder to reflect the exposure settings, and see the changes applied as you change them with the command dials.

 

[hark]

DSLR image review shows what you just took. Mirrorless displays what you are about to take as you compose. You can set the view in the finder to reflect the exposure settings, and see the changes applied as you change them with the command dials.

Forgot to mention this is when in Live View!

 

[BF Hammer]

Forgot to mention this is when in Live View!

Should be about the same, but a mirrorless also shows that inside the viewfinder so the sunlight won't wash it out.

 

[Needa]

Use whatever works for you. I first learned on a manual focus 35mm SLR that had both Aperture Priority or full Manual Mode. It offered center weighted metering so I found center weighted metering on a DSLR better than Matrix metering for my preferences. I was already accustomed to using it. Center weighted simply measures the majority of the light within the circle area. If a lot of the sky is in the image, or if the background behind the bird is really bright, then I use the +/- button to overexpose by around .7 stop. Sometimes I have to go to 1-stop over.

I just couldn't get Matrix metering to work for me. My exposures were all over the place – sometimes way too over exposed and other times not enough. The thing with Spot Metering is if you focus then recompose. Unless you use the exposure lock button to make sure the exposure doesn't change when recomposing, I don't think it will be accurate. And if I'm using back button focus, that button is assigned to focus, not to lock the exposure.

Like I said, find what works for you. Play around with the different metering options. Maybe you will have to switch from one metering method to another depending upon the scene in front of you. Back when I shot 35mm, I also used a handheld light meter. Incident metering is when you stand where your subject is located and aim the handheld light meter towards the camera. It is more accurate than reflective metering which is what our camera's use. I had the ability to input my aperture and ASA (ISO in digital photography) into the light meter and it would give me the shutter speed to yield an 18% grey image. Having used the light meter enough, it helped me intrinsically learn differences in lighting. A handheld light meter is something most people don't use. In certain conditions, usually indoor events where the lighting varies around my subject and when I cannot use flash, is when I still find it to be helpful.

Probably would need to commit to the use for awhile to get a good feeling for it. Mainly use matrix and highlight metering (D810). I do have a light meter and often use it for flowers and indoor shots. Even light meter can be technique sensitive.

 

[Needa]

This is where the mirrorless cameras really shine IMO. You get a nice preview of the exposure in the viewfinder. For example, I know that with white birds in sunlight I'm going to have to give it anywhere between 1.0 - 2.5 stops of underexposure to avoid blowing out the highlights in the birds. With my mirrorless, I can just rotate the compensation until I start to see detail in the feathers, and I'm good. I probably could use a little less compensation, and deal with things in post processing, but this methods seems to work very well for me, and gives less headaches in post. I'd much rather deal with underexposed shadows than overexposed highlights.

Would love a ZF but it so far down on the list of thing requiring money its not funny. Yes you probably can because most cameras base that information on the jpg so if you are shooting RAW you have some head room.

 

[Clovishound]

How different is the preview? I have a D750 that allows me to see the exposure on the rear screen. In the past, I know I had to enable it in the camera's settings. Just can't remember if it was my D750 or D610.

Is the preview that different from a DSLR that allows the actual exposure to be visible?

The preview isn't that much different, but, you don't have to go through putting the camera in LV. Not sure about some of the other models, but my D3400 has a long delay between pressing the shutter button and having the shutter actually release. It sounds like the mirror goes back down, and then comes back up to take the picture. All in all, I found LV to be very unsatisfactory.

And then you have folks like me that grew up with film cameras, and don't think well using the backscreen to compose. The viewfinder appears to be a much larger, more detailed display than the backscreen IMO.

It took me about a couple weeks to get used to the viewfinder on my Z5. After I got used to it, I absolutely hated going back to the optical viewfinder. Just my experience, of course. Everyone should use what they are comfortable with.

 

[Woodyg3]

Without good light, black birds are really hard. You just need to do the best you can exposing for the bird and very likely overexposing the background. From there processing with masks can usually get the background back in control. In bad light, though, it can be impossible to get the details to show on a black bird, or even the black portions of a bird like a Magpie.