Bird Photography from Portraits to Flight

Author & Images: Roman Kurywczak

Bird photography thrives on timing, patience, and precision. To capture nature’s most elusive subjects in their best light, you need solid technique, proper settings, and good reflexes. Master the fundamentals—from exposure control to hand-holding finesse—so you’re always ready when wings take flight.

TIP 1: Time of day and zone

For dramatic bird photography, you need to be out when the light is at its best. This is generally from half an hour before sunrise until about two hours afterward. The same general rule applies to sunset—about two hours before until half an hour after.

Position yourself with the sun at your back and hold your arms out at approximately a twenty-degree angle from your body. That is your “zone,” and you should always try to capture your subject within it. Bright overcast days can also extend your bird photography opportunities.

TIP 2: What Mode?

Manual mode is the only truly effective setting for bird photography. Unlike other types of photography, your backgrounds will often change—especially when photographing birds in flight. With these unpredictable backgrounds, other modes can be easily fooled, resulting in incorrect exposure. Manual mode, however, ensures consistent and accurate exposure of the subject regardless of background changes.

TIP 3: Setting the Exposure

When you arrive at your location, switch your camera to manual mode. Set your ISO between 800 and 1600. Choose an aperture between f/6.3 and f/8, and set your shutter speed to 1/2500th of a second or faster.

Next, find a white subject—most birds have some white on them—and, with the sun at your back, take a test image. Check your histogram for proper exposure. If the image is too dark, raise your ISO or adjust the exposure in post-processing. Aim to maintain a shutter speed of at least 1/2500th for effective bird-in-flight shots.

If light is limited, you can reduce your shutter speed slightly, but do so cautiously to avoid motion blur. Always prioritize freezing the action for sharp, detailed images.

TIP 4: Speed Rules!

Whether you’re taking a portrait or capturing a bird in flight, using a very fast shutter speed is highly beneficial—especially when hand-holding your camera. There’s no downside to using a high shutter speed, and it allows you to transition seamlessly between portraits and action shots as the situation changes, without needing to adjust your settings.

Be sure to set your camera to continuous autofocus and high-speed shutter mode to maximize your chances of capturing sharp, well-timed images.

TIP 5: Extra Settings for Hand Holding

Today’s modern cameras and lenses offer many outstanding features that can significantly enhance your bird photography.

First, ensure that image stabilization is turned on—it’s especially helpful when hand-holding long lenses. If you’re photographing birds at a distance, consider using the focus limiter switch to speed up autofocus by preventing the lens from searching through its entire focus range.

If your camera body supports it, enable animal or eye detection to improve focus accuracy. For best results, I recommend using the center focus point or the center point with a few surrounding zones activated. These configurations tend to be the most accurate and forgiving, particularly when tracking fast-moving subjects.

Additionally, shoot a bit loose. Modern cameras offer high-resolution sensors with plenty of megapixels, so cropping in post-processing is often preferable to accidentally clipping a wingtip in-camera.

TIP 6: Proper Technique for Hand Holding

Today’s modern lenses are extremely lightweight. With all of the above tips, it is essential to have a good technique. With the sun at your back, you should position your legs as wide as your hips or slightly wider. Place your right foot just a bit further back from your left leg. This stance should be comfortable. Now firmly tuck your left elbow into your chest/belly area and with your right hand lower your camera and lens into your palm. This stance and technique will allow you to keep your camera steady as you zoom and pan. Don’t forget that there is no substitute for practice. Have fun!!

To see more of Roman Kurywczak’s work, check out his website, Instagram and Facebook group.