Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

Hello all, I just took my first bird pics. Nothing too exciting, he was just sitting in my yard. I'd appreciate any suggestions.
They were shot at f9, 1/160, ISO 400, 600mm lens

Thanks in advance

Fran

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Fotoserj Loc: St calixte Qc Ca

Pretty good, I would close aperture one click more to get background more out of focus and perhaps use the flash as fill light, fill the shadow as my mentor say.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Very nice. Sharp with good detail.
BTW, Photo Gallery is a good forum section for sharing photos.

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

I'll try that, thank you

Fran

Haydon

The second image is your best shot. I personally believe eye contact with the lens allows one to connect to the photograph. Depending on the angle, maybe a shallower DOF would isolate the bird. I know it's ackward but getting low also gives a more compelling shot.

Here's an image from several years back I made that illustrates my point.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/haydonlhall/14373444694/in/dateposted-public/

chevman Loc: Matthews, North Carolina

The shots look good to me. I wish they would land in my yard so I could get a shot like that. I do agree with Haydon on the second image center focus point on the eye always works best on any live subject. I do like the second one best.

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

Thank you Haydon. I looked at the rest of your bird pictures...they are beautiful. What settings do you use for when they are in flight? dp you use tripod/monopod or gimbal?

Fran

Fred Harwood Loc: Sheffield, Mass.

Yes, the second photo is the better, and should be cropped to the rule of thirds. The contrast is a bit high(?)

Capturing the focussed glint in the eye generally seals the deal, as you did.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Everything looks good except your shutter speed - even on GOOD support, at 600mm I would be at 1/500.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Open aperture, not close it for shallower depth of field. The rest is easily handled in post processing. The exposures are fine for any creative interpretation.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Fran, the camera work is fine - good exposure, you posted images that did not have any movement, etc. Good stuff. However, a little post processing could make these special. Saturation is fine, but revealing a little more detail in the head, revealing detail in the plumage, softening the background and foreground, etc may help. Also the white and color balance is similar for 1 and 3 but different for #2.

There is no need to go to 1/500 sec and give away image quality to noise if you have a steady hand (which is obvious by what you posted). Best practice is to shoot at the slowest shutter speed that gets you what you want, and then adjust the ISO to give you a good exposure.

I do have one question - your metadata shows the camera to be a D750, but the lens is a Sigma 50mm F2.8 Macro, so you may have selected the wrong lens profile. Also, the focal length is identified as 600mm, but the effective focal lenght in 35mm equivalent is 900mm, suggesting that somehow your software is also thinking that you are using a crop sensor camera. Lastly, the metadata is showing a .02 and a .03 circle of confusion - so it is totally confused.

Don't stop, keep experimenting, and keep up the good work!

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

Thanks for advice and compliment. I did use a sigma lens. 150-600 f5-6.3. I put it in lightroom, and that is what my metadata states/. I did also put it in the DX format (apparently forgot to mention) as I read some where that it is helpful in shots where you will need lots of cropping. I, also, am in the circle of confusion because I don't know what that is :)

Fran

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

If these are your first bird shots then you are off to a great start. I agree that number 2 is the best composition. Even if you have a steady hand your shutter speed is slow to freeze any movement the bird may make but in this case you got lucky. Very nice series!

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Pretty good considering.
Faster shutter speed
Get closer, that is a pretty extreme crop. When I got my first long lens I too was trying to take pictures of things way too far away.
Also Robins are fairly small, large birds, yes you can be further away, not small ones.

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

I was afraid he'd fly away, so i was pretty far rom him. I guess I'll get bolder as time goes on/

Thank you

Fran