Pro Tips For Photographing Birds in Flight

Photographing birds in flight is one of the most challenging yet rewarding forms of wildlife photography. Whether you’re tracking a hummingbird darting through flowerbeds, capturing a bald eagle soaring across the sky, or trying to freeze the motion of a flock of snow geese in descent, mastering bird-in-flight photography requires more than just luck. Success hinges on understanding avian behavior, choosing the right camera settings, and adjusting for dynamic light and motion. With the right techniques, your bird photos can go from blurry and frustrating to crisp, compelling, and full of life.

What You’ll Learn in This Article

• How to anticipate bird behavior for better in-flight shots
• The best shutter speeds and settings to freeze motion
• Why Auto ISO can be your secret weapon in changing light
• Tips to avoid overexposing white feathers (especially bald eagles)
• Composition tricks to capture more dynamic, engaging images

Here, our experts share their favorite tips on photographing our feathered friends once their talons leave the ground.

TIP 1: Study Bird Behavior to Improve Bird-in-Flight Photography

One of the most effective ways to elevate your results when photographing birds in flight is to understand the biology and behavior of your avian subjects. Knowing how a bird typically flies, where it nests, how it interacts with its environment, and what triggers takeoff or landing can help you anticipate moments of action before they happen—an essential advantage when dealing with fast, unpredictable flight.

For example, raptors like hawks and eagles tend to glide in slow, circular patterns while scanning for prey, giving photographers more time to frame and focus. In contrast, smaller birds like swallows or warblers often move erratically and at high speeds, requiring quick reflexes and tighter framing. By observing your subjects before raising your camera, you’ll be better prepared to lock focus, choose the right burst moment, and follow the bird’s trajectory through the frame.

Additionally, understanding migratory behavior or feeding times can help you plan your sessions during periods of peak activity. Researching the bird species you intend to photograph—whether by using field guides, birding apps, or local wildlife experts—can drastically increase your chances of success. You’ll not only capture technically sound images but also more expressive ones that tell a story about the bird’s behavior and environment.

Pro Tip:

Spend a few minutes just watching the birds before shooting. Notice patterns—where they perch, how long they stay in one spot, and from which direction they typically launch into flight. This observational habit can lead to better timing and more striking compositions.

TIP 2: Use Fast Shutter Speeds to Freeze Birds in Flight

When photographing birds in flight, motion blur is your enemy. Birds move unpredictably and rapidly—especially smaller species like swifts or hummingbirds—so using a fast shutter speed is critical to freeze their motion and retain feather detail. A general rule of thumb is to start with a shutter speed of at least 1/1200th of a second, but ideally bump it up to 1/1600th or higher when possible, especially in bright daylight.

The faster the bird, the faster your shutter should be. This will allow you to capture sharp wing positions, crisp talon details, and even suspended moments like a bird catching prey or landing mid-air. Slower shutter speeds may result in blurred wings or soft focus, which can ruin an otherwise perfectly composed shot.

Pro Tip:

Set your camera to shutter priority (Tv or S mode) to lock in a fast speed, and let the camera adjust the aperture accordingly. In Manual mode, combine a fast shutter speed with Auto ISO (see Tip 4) for the best balance between exposure and sharpness.

TIP 3: Pre-Focus to Capture Sharp Photos of Birds in Flight

Timing is everything in bird-in-flight photography, and that includes getting your subject in sharp focus before it enters the frame or begins to land. Pre-focusing allows your lens to be ready when the bird reaches the critical point of action—such as when it’s about to land on a perch or swoop in for food. This technique is especially useful for predictable behaviors, like birds returning to a nest or a favorite tree limb.

To do this, manually focus or use back-button autofocus to lock in on a spot where you anticipate the bird will appear. Once the bird flies through that focal plane, you’re more likely to get a sharp, well-timed image without the lag of autofocus hunting.

This tactic not only increases your sharpness rate but also enhances your ability to compose more dynamic and visually compelling frames, showing wing spread, talons extended, or facial expressions in detail.

Pro Tip:

Set your camera to AI Servo (Canon) or AF-C (Nikon/Sony) continuous focus mode. This will help the autofocus track moving subjects once they appear in the frame—crucial for unpredictable flight paths.

TIP 4: Optimize Exposure When Photographing Birds in Flight with Auto ISO

When you’re photographing birds in flight—especially in fast-changing lighting conditions—Auto ISO can be a game-changer. This setting allows your camera to automatically adjust the ISO to maintain proper exposure, even as clouds roll in or birds fly between shadows and bright skies.

In Manual mode, you can dial in the optimal shutter speed and aperture for freezing motion and controlling depth of field, then let the camera handle the ISO. This ensures your exposure remains consistent, even when light is inconsistent. In Aperture Priority mode, you can set a minimum shutter speed (e.g., 1/1250th) in the camera’s menu, and Auto ISO will take care of the rest based on the available light.

Auto ISO is particularly helpful when birds fly in and out of shade or the lighting shifts rapidly during sunrise or sunset.

Pro Tip:

Set a maximum ISO limit (e.g., ISO 3200) in your camera settings to avoid excess noise in your images, especially when shooting in lower light environments.

TIP 5: Avoid Overexposure When Shooting Birds with High-Contrast Features

Many birds—like bald eagles, snowy egrets, or gulls—have both bright white feathers and deep dark areas. When photographing birds in flight under direct sun, this can cause you to blow out the highlights and lose feather detail, particularly in white areas. Overexposed whites are almost impossible to recover in post-processing, so prevention is key.

One way to avoid this is to shoot in even, diffused lighting conditions, such as overcast days or golden-hour light. These settings help reduce harsh contrasts and allow your camera to capture more dynamic range. In Manual mode, take a few test exposures in a similarly lit area, then lock in those settings to maintain consistency.

When necessary, slightly underexpose your shots by 1/3 to 2/3 stops to preserve highlight detail—especially if you’re shooting in RAW, which gives you more flexibility in post.

Pro Tip:

Use your camera’s highlight alert (“blinkies”) feature in playback mode to immediately check for overexposed areas and adjust your exposure accordingly in the field.

Tip 6: Use an Ultra-Telephoto Zoom for Flexible Framing and Reach

When photographing birds in flight, having the right lens can make all the difference—and an ultra-telephoto zoom like the Tamron 150-500mm Di III VC VXD gives you the reach and flexibility needed to track fast-moving subjects from a distance without disturbing them. Birds rarely sit still, and many remain high in the sky or far from accessible paths, which makes a long lens not just helpful but essential.

The Tamron 150-500mm is a versatile tool for bird-in-flight photography, offering impressive focal range in a relatively compact form. At 150mm, you can frame larger birds as they approach or fill the frame with birds in clusters. Zooming to 500mm lets you isolate a single bird mid-flight, capture detailed feather patterns, or freeze action high overhead—all without physically changing your location.

Tamron’s VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) autofocus motor delivers fast, quiet, and precise focusing—critical when tracking birds in unpredictable motion. VXD technology ensures responsive performance that can lock onto and follow erratic flight paths, even when birds suddenly change direction or speed. The quiet drive also reduces disturbance in nature-rich environments, allowing you to work discreetly around skittish species.

The lens’s VC (Vibration Compensation) helps minimize camera shake, especially when shooting handheld or at slower shutter speeds, further increasing your chances of capturing tack-sharp images even at 500mm. Combined with the VXD system, VC enhances stability and focus accuracy, making this lens an ideal choice for dynamic wildlife photography.

Pro Tip:

Track your subject at a wider focal length (e.g., 200–300mm) to help locate and follow the bird, then zoom in to 500mm once you’ve locked focus. This strategy increases both framing accuracy and sharpness.

Bring Your Bird-in-Flight Photography to New Heights

Photographing birds in flight may seem daunting at first, but with practice, preparation, and the right techniques, it becomes one of the most exhilarating branches of wildlife photography. From understanding bird behavior and fine-tuning your camera settings to mastering light and motion, every small improvement brings you closer to capturing that perfect airborne moment. So grab your gear, head to your favorite birding spot, and start applying these pro tips—you’ll soon find yourself building an impressive portfolio of sharp, stunning images that truly take flight.

Learn about Tamron lenses for bird photography at an authorized Tamron dealer in your area or visit the TAMRON Store today.