With the recent activity around our local tōtara tree, featuring tūī, kererū, and eastern rosellas, I’ve ended up with an abundance of images still waiting to be processed. Working through them slowly has been a blessing, as it’s allowed me to rediscover some of the strongest photographs that were easy to overlook during the first cull.
This felt like the perfect time to go behind the scenes on a bird photography shoot and share what goes through my mind when I come across an exciting opportunity like this. From dealing with challenging light to photographing birds high in the canopy, there’s more involved than simply lifting the camera and pressing the shutter.
Finding the Best Position
Ideally, as a bird photographer, I aim to photograph birds as close to eye level as possible. While that isn’t always achievable, there are a few techniques that help create that perspective in the final image.
Lens reach plays a big role, but positioning is just as important. By stepping back from the tree, the angle between the bird and the camera is reduced, making the image feel more natural and balanced. Even when the birds are high up, this simple adjustment can make a noticeable difference.
Reading the Light Before Shooting
When there are birds everywhere, it’s easy to get carried away. The instinct is to raise the camera and start shooting immediately. However, better images come from pausing for a moment and asking a few key questions:
- Where is the sun?
- Is the light harsh or softened by cloud?
- Are there patches of dappled light to watch out for?
All of this runs through my mind before I take the first frame. Light is always changing, and understanding it is just as important as knowing your camera.
Dialing in the Settings
Once I’ve chosen a position, I’ll take a couple of test shots and check the histogram. This helps me decide whether any adjustments are needed. I want to avoid blown highlights while still retaining enough information to recover bright areas during post-processing.
In bright or dappled light, that can sometimes mean slightly overexposing to protect detail. Even after the settings feel right, they need to remain fluid. Birds move quickly, and conditions change just as fast, so being able to adjust settings instinctively is crucial.
Forgetting these steps in the excitement of the moment can easily result in an entire session ending up in the delete folder.
Learning From Repeated Visits
I returned to the tōtara tree every day for a week, and each day the light was completely different. Because of that, I couldn’t rely on the previous day’s camera settings.
What did remain consistent was what I was learning. By observing the birds’ behaviour, I began to understand where the best angles were and what I wanted to capture on each visit. That familiarity made a huge difference to the final images.
Making the Most of the Opportunity
Photographing events like this is always exciting. However, knowing how to make the most of the opportunity is just as important as being there in the first place.
If your images don’t turn out as expected and the opportunity is still available, go back. Try a different angle, wait for different light, or adjust your approach. Sometimes the best images come not from the first visit, but from what you learn along the way.
All the images in this post were taken using my Lumix G9II and Panasonic Leica 100-400 lens. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact me through my website, or follow along on Facebook or Instagram.