joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

My goal for hummers is to catch a male with light reflecting off the ruby red throat. So far this season I have had two sightings that may have provided opportunity, but I blew it both times...once while I was setting up and wasn't ready and the other, I was using flash and the preflash scared him off.

So I continue to capture females.

(Download)

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Hummer photographers could learn from those who photograph speeding bullets. Sounds like your flash is too good, or you need to stop the preflash.
https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/46105/how-to-stop-built-in-flash-from-pre-flashing

You're not the only one struggling with Hummers... go to search in UHH
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-363687-1.html

Also, Mr Google gave this and many others:
https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Photography-Tips/Hummingbird-Photography-Tips.aspx

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Thanks, a lot of good information.

Flash is a good way to bring out the colors and yes manual flash eliminates the preflash, however with most birds you are limited to one or two exposure before the bird takes off or the flash exhausts, depend on distance. With a little luck you can get excellent results.

I have gotten my best flash results with remote off camera flash set very close to the feeder in TTL, exp com, and shooting in continuous high frame rate. My flash can keep up with the camera for a quite some time and get many images before alarming the bird which usually happens before the flash exhausts. All I need is a second to get 20+ or so frames.

These are good options but have limitations as do all options.

My prefered method is to shoot in ambient light, continuous shutter, silent mode, highest frame rate, tracking mode. The best light for my present set up location is late afternoon when the sun is out. In bright overcast I can shoot most of the day, although the birds colors are muted and require additional work in post.

With cooperating birds I can get easily hundreds of images, although most will be oofs or of the bird on the feeder which I usually don't keep. Even so there will be dozens of images worth considering...many will be nearly identical.

A critical issue is balancing SS, AP(DOF) and ISO. I will shoot manual, or shutter priority, or aperture priority, even program...all work equally as well...it's really just a matter of preference when you understand how each mode works. In aperture mode it's good to set the minimum SS. When I hear manual is the only way to shoot, I suspect a lack of experience or myopic opinion.

Of course all of this depends on the bird showing up when you are available and ready. For me this is the most difficult part. Yes the bird needs to feed every 15-20 minutes and unless it has staked out your yard as its territory (which is more likely to happen when natural food becomes scarce) it can be hours before the bird returns. They nearly always have a milk run visiting many sites throughout the day.

These methods work for me most of the time and are based on experience which is my very best teacher.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

🥇🎇🥇🎇🥇

J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

tcthome Loc: NJ