Superb fairy wren. Composition ideas for birding?

[Bismuth]

First of all, EXIF data is aperture 4.0, shutter 1/500, ISO 800. Can provide gear info if requested, but I'm not certain it's important. Editing: crop, denoise and sharpen.

I took this at the wetlands that are on the edge of town near me. Composition can be hard with birds because what you see, you get - you can't ask them to pose and you need to get the shot before they fly off. My specific question is, are there particular composition ideals for birding? Or is it just luck of right place, right time?

Any other critiques also will be taken on board.

 

[jordan2240]

Totally subjective comments, but I might have tried some shots with the bird a bit closer to the left side of the frame (or perhaps this is just how you cropped it in post), though I don't think the subject being right in the middle is necessarily unappealing in this case.  I also would have cropped some off the top to get rid of that stray twig on the left (or whatever that is).  I think I would have also tried some shots with a slight overexposure of .5 or 1 to see if that brought out the eye a bit more, though it could just be my monitor.  But an auto-adjust in photoshop or such might have done the same thing.

From what I've seen and done with bird photos, you just have to shoot multiple frames and hope to catch a unique pose, but shooting in the right light (i.e. not in the middle of the afternoon) also adds a lot of appeal.

[hjoseph7]

This is a very nice shot ! The bird is in total focus,  the colors are popping, the bird definitely looks alive(not stuffed). The composition is good, the backround is gorgeous and not distracting, you could even see a sparkle in the bird's eye. To me, this is "Magazine"/Bird-book material with no further processing IMHO.

One nit-picky thing, there seems to be a stray hair in the upper left of the image which may be a little distracting , but is not a big deal by any measure.

[Bismuth]

34 minutes ago, hjoseph7 said:

One nit-picky thing, there seems to be a stray hair in the upper left of the image which may be a little distracting , but is not a big deal by any measure.

It’s a spider web. Those spiders - so inconsiderate…

Thanks for the positive feedback 🙂 

I found this photo a bit boring, I’m glad someone likes it. I do have better bird ones, but wanted to share one that I thought wasn’t so good for critique.

[kmac]

I wouldn't say it is boring, but a little post processing helps IMO. I agree with Jordan, it needs cropping and auto adjust.

Hopefully it now looks a little less boring ... cropped, and Levels auto adjusted.

 

[Bismuth]

Still looks boring to me… but all art is subjective. For example, with wildlife, I quite like being able to see things like the wisp of spiderweb. I’ll remember what you said though - is it more classically correct to have less distraction? That is a helpful pointer.

I like this one I took better. It is more interesting. New Holland Honeyeaters, if anyone is interested in the species. Amongst agapanthus, a nasty little invasive weed.
 

[samstevens]

On 2/15/2023 at 2:07 PM, Bismuth said:

Composition can be hard with birds because what you see, you get - you can't ask them to pose and you need to get the shot before they fly off.

Same for most street shooting, photojournalism, all kinds of candid photography, most wildlife photography. You are not alone.

On 2/15/2023 at 2:07 PM, Bismuth said:

My specific question is, are there particular composition ideals for birding?

Many would be the same as composition ideals for other genres of photography. These composition ideals can be good guides and learning tools and a good means to suppress otherwise creative approaches, so know them and use them to your advantage while at the same time ignoring them and intentionally breaking them when the situation and your gut suggest you do so.

On 2/15/2023 at 2:07 PM, Bismuth said:

is it just luck of right place, right time?

No. It isn't just luck of right place, right time. That's just an element. The rest is the photographer making the best of any place and any time. In the same situation, what one photographer sees is what they will get but what another photographer sees may be much more interesting, vivid, different, personal, incisive, or any other number of adjectives. There's usually some angle to be found. If you don't find it, nothing is lost. Another opportunity will come along. Not everything we see or shoot is a worthy photo. Far from it.

__________

I don't know that this photo is boring as much as it is static. I like the tangle of branches at the bottom so, if I were to crop, I'd take off some of the space at the top and some of the left. The second photo you posted appeals to me more but I imagine many bird enthusiasts would find it a bit busy and distracting. I would understand but disagree with that, but I'm neither a bird enthusiast nor a bird photographer so what do I know, haha? If that's the type of photo that appeals to you, go for it and develop your own more active voice. I feel flight in the second photo. Dynamics. I'd be mindful of what centering, both horizontally and vertically, does in a photo.

Edited February 17, 2023 by samstevens

[Bismuth]

2 hours ago, samstevens said:

Same for most street shooting, photojournalism, all kinds of candid photography, most wildlife photography. You are not alone.

Many would be the same as composition ideals for other genres of photography. These composition ideals can be good guides and learning tools and a good means to suppress otherwise creative approaches, so know them and use them to your advantage while at the same time ignoring them and intentionally breaking them when the situation and your gut suggest you do so.

No. It isn't just luck of right place, right time. That's just an element. The rest is the photographer making the best of any place and any time. In the same situation, what one photographer sees is what they will get but what another photographer sees may be much more interesting, vivid, different, personal, incisive, or any other number of adjectives. There's usually some angle to be found. If you don't find it, nothing is lost. Another opportunity will come along. Not everything we see or shoot is a worthy photo. Far from it.

__________

I don't know that this photo is boring as much as it is static. I like the tangle of branches at the bottom so, if I were to crop, I'd take off some of the space at the top and some of the left. The second photo you posted appeals to me more but I imagine many bird enthusiasts would find it a bit busy and distracting. I would understand but disagree with that, but I'm neither a bird enthusiast nor a bird photographer so what do I know, haha? If that's the type of photo that appeals to you, go for it and develop your own more active voice. I feel flight in the second photo. Dynamics. I'd be mindful of what centering, both horizontally and vertically, does in a photo.

Thank you! That’s very helpful 🙂 

Just editing to say: I’m not a bird photographer, but I am an avid birdwatcher, and that could be why I don’t like the “good” photos that are cleanly of the bird with little distraction. It’s unnatural. A bird lives in its habitat, not apart from it. Maybe a raptor perched on a vantage point has little around it, but it’s less common.

Edited February 17, 2023 by Bismuth
Clarification of point about “boring”

[mikemorrellNL]

I'm neither a bird-watcher nor a bird photographer (though I do enjoy photographing birds too). My 2 cts.:

- I really like both photos. Both are sharp and colorful but I prefer the 2nd because it shows more of the habitat. In the 2nd photo, I also really like the 'color harmony' between the yellow in the wingtips and tail and the yellows in the vegetation; blue is the contrasting color for yellow. In the 2nd photo I also like the way the 'diagonal angle' of the birds' bodies is opposite to that of the flower stems. So just in terms of compositional 'lines', the birds stand out from the background. So all in all, I find the 2nd photo more interesting in terms of composition. Yes it's pretty much impossible to 'compose' a photo of birds (from a distance through a long lense) that may fly away (or move) to somewhere else at any moment. But sometimes you just have to be thankful for 'serendipity' 🙂

- Your 2nd photo looks to be a 2:3 photo (portrait mode) which works really well for this photo. The 1st photo is square implying that it's a crop. I don't know whether the original was taken in landscape or portrait mode and the crop is always your choice

- I personally regard 'composition' in 2 stages: the first - and most important - is in the viewfinder of your camera, the second is in post-processing (cropping). Wildlife, especially (including Birds) but other genres too have the specific challenge of trying to get (optically) close enough to capture the fine details while allowing some 'space' for possible cropping. So IMHO - with very little experience - wildlife photography has to balance the 'optical zoom' with the 'space' around the subject for possible cropping (= recomposition in post-processing). Too much space and you lose the detail. Too little space and you limit your options for 'recomposing' in post-processing.

To the extent you don't already do this, I suggest:

1) always shoot in 'burst mode' (to capture multiple shots per second of whatever you're photographing - birds move fast!)

2) always shoot in 'RAW' (so you can adjust exposure, white balance, etc. in post-processing if need be)

3) If you have the time and opportunity take photos in both landscape and portrait orientation; sometimes you don't know what works best until you see your shots on a screen (and decide which ones are 'best' and how best to crop them).

To summarize, I love both photos and I truly hope you'll upload more in a personal/private 'gallery'.

FWIW - ignoring the superb photography - I associate your 1st photo with a 'macho bird': wide leg stance, challenging posture - not a bird to be messed with😉. I associate your 2nd photo more with a (bickering?) couple.  However personal and wrong my associations might be, I find it interesting that both of your photos inspire some kind of 'association' in me. Neither are 'passive'. So (to me) boring they are not!

Edited February 19, 2023 by mikemorrellNL

[mikemorrellNL]

@BismuthJust out of interest, what kind of lense (focal length) do you use to capture these kinds of photos? With an 1.4 extender, I can get to about 600mm on my current full-frame camera with a 400mm lense. And about 800mm on my much older (1.4) crop camera.

Mike

[samstevens]

6 hours ago, mikemorrellNL said:

always shoot in 'burst mode' (to capture multiple shots per second of whatever you're photographing - birds move fast!)

For me, advice starting with always sends up a red flag. 🚩 

Honestly, though, even without the always, I think you can process the upsides of various ways of shooting and approaching subjects and genres, with lots of experimentation for yourself. Consider allowing yourself to develop several shooting methods that might help you adapt to different situations at different times. 

Now, the article linked to below is geared towards photographing children. There are similarities and differences to bird photography. I’d emphasize the rapport section, even if it seems unlikely one would develop rapport with birds. I think one can, just as I developed rapport with buildings when working on a recent project revolving around a local college closed during the pandemic. Rapport even if the bird doesn’t know you’re there.

Most photographic choices we make come with trade-offs and it pays to think about the trade-offs when shooting in burst and when not. If it were me, I’d get comfortable shooting both ways, enjoying the differences, and using those differences creatively and effectively. 

So, I’m not advocating one method or the other. I’m advocating an open mind and using a variety of methods even when shooting the same subject. Because circumstances change from one situation to the next and doing something you’re not used to relying on can be inspiring in itself. 

LINK

Edited February 19, 2023 by samstevens