Small birds in Flight, a bit of advice needed

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natureiser

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Hi Guys,

I have been reasonably successful at shooting larger birds in flight, Hobbies and Herons are my current favourites, and I am trying to up my skill set into shooting smaller birds in flight.

I have been shooting small birds leaving their perch as it seems to be the only way to catch them. I am happy with the subject matter, it seems to be throwing up some interesting poses and compositions, much more interesting than the usual "bird on stick with blurred background" but the technical aspect is eluding me, I am having to stand a bit further back so I don't lose depth of field immediately they leave the perch, and crank the shutter speed up to 1/3200 to 1/4000 ( which is still not fast enough ) and then the iso rises and I lose a lot of detail.....so all three aspects are working against me to get sharp results.

These are my ( cropped ) results so far, all comments and assistance welcomed.

DSC_2586 by Nature Ist, on Flickr

DSC_2589 by Nature Ist, on Flickr

DSC_2616 by Nature Ist, on Flickr

DSC_2696 by Nature Ist, on Flickr

DSC_2716 by Nature Ist, on Flickr
 
Easiest way is getting them go ON a perch as they are slowing down where leaving a perch they speed up so easier the other way. Leave loads of room and pre- focus on a point( then take it off auto focus). You dont need shutter speeds as high as your using. Speeds of 1/1000 sec can be fine but best atart around 1/2000th if you can and feel happier. A little wing blur works in most instances as it conveys movement. Practice, practice and practice more.
 
As Above ,plenty of practise ,also it helps to make a project out of it,by that I mean knowing what type of shot you want ,what subject to choose were best to place perches and as Mark says getting them on a perch rather than leaving ,it can be frustrating getting all those nearly shots but keep at it and you will achieve it in the end ,you will also find that certain birds are slower at landing on the perch than others that will help you choosing your shutter speeds ,get the eye in focus and you're as good as there
 
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