Beginner Wildlife shots

Petejones

Petejones

Messages
98
Edit My Images
Yes
I've been out for a first attempt today with my 18-55 lens with only one result I was vaguely happy with.

My first impression is not to bother using this lens at all outdoors and to use the 55-250 as standard.

Generally I will be at least 5 metres away from the subject but if there is a better way to use the 18-55 I'm open to suggestions.
 
•
I would use both… but that's just me!

From 18~255mm is quite a wide range with only two tools. The idea
is, when you're out image hunting, that most of the time one cannot
afford to loose a shot for not having the right tool —cause you hardly
ever know what will come before your lens.

The only good gear is the gear you have when you need it!
 
I think Kodiak's answer is based on your first sentence where you mention you have been out with your camera, (apologies if I have misunderstood Kodiak).

For lots of outdoor shots those two lenses would be fine. However, as you have titled you question "Wildlife Shots" I assume you are asking about taking shots of birds and other animals.

It is possible to get good wildlife shots with the 18-55mm lens but you will need to be close (closer than 5 metres for many animals) and that usually means being in a hide or concealing yourself is some other way.
Another way would be to have the camera on a tripod placed close to where the animal will appear and use a wireless remote release to trigger the shutter from some distance away, though this is not appropriate if you are out and about.

However, in general a 18-55mm lens is not the one you would choose for photographing wildlife and at the 5 metres away you mentioned there are not that many animals in the UK that are large enough to appear reasonably sized in the photo.

You are more likely to get better results with the 55-250mm lens but you are lightly to need a higher shutter speed with longer lenses. 250mm is probably a bit short as a wildlife lens but it will give you more reach than the kit lens.

If you have a garden you could set up natural looking feeders to attract birds and hone your skills there.

Dave
 
Tringa said:
I think Kodiak's answer is based on…
Click to expand...
•
No apologies needed Dave!
My idea is that for wildlife, a longer lens is more appropriate but, from
wildlife to landscape, one extra lens is not to be ignored since wildlife
lives in a wild environment that is often worth taking. ;-)
 
Thanks guys, I will take both lenses in that case but I will have the 55-250 in my hand ready to go

I'm using the aperture priority and slight adjustments to the iso to start with as I find shutter speed baffling at the moment so I'm letting the camera work that out for me at the moment

image.jpeg

This was the best shot I got with the kit lens, I've tweaked it with picassa and my iphone app which gives me a benchmark to start from but a long way to go I think.
 
For wildlife the longer the lens the better usually. 250mm isn't that long, even on a crop body where the focal length will be 375mm, but is adequate. Therefore I'd certainly be recommending the 55-250 (unless you're in a unique case where you can be 2m away).

As for shutter speed I'd recommend taking control of it yourself rather than letting the camera do it, especially if the subject is moving as you want to avoid motion blur. 1/1000 is a good starting point and then adjust as you see fit depending on the amount of movement. Don't forget you should always make sure your shutter speed is 1/focal lens of your lens, which in this case is 1/375 (well you can't get 375 so whatever's closest (which I think is 1/400)
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the tip I will give the shutter speed a try, if I switch between the AV and the M dial will the camera retain it's last setup on the modes, thus making it easy to switch between setups

The camera is a canon 500d
 
Don't know, I shoot Nikon but normally no if you change ISO in Av it will have changed in M too. However, as we're talking switching between M and Av if you change shutter in M it won't effect shutter in Av as the camera controls shutter in Av (I'm assuming Av is aperture priority btw :LOL:)

For wildlife I tend to shoot in manual with auto ISO. This way I can control aperture to give me depth of field and shutte to freeze motion, knowing that exposure will be correct (except where exp comp may be needed) as the ISO is adjusted automatically.
 
That makes things a bit clearer, I'll change the ISO setting to auto and start trying to work out the shutter speed for my next attempt.
 
Petejones said:
That makes things a bit clearer, I'll change the ISO setting to auto and start trying to work out the shutter speed for my next attempt.
Click to expand...
Just so you're aware not every camera has auto iso in manual mode unfortunately. It's not the end of the world as you can use full manual and alter ISO yourself, which some people recommend when you're first starting out so that you can understand what your camera is doing and how it works. Where this becomes difficult is when you're panning and going from light to dark areas, there's not always time to change ISO yourself which is where auto ISO comes into its own.

If you do have auto ISO then make sure you check the ISO limits in the menu. If your upper ISO is only set at 1600 for example you may find that some of your shots are underexposed if the light's not good enough as ISO won't go high enough.
 
I have the 550D and I use exactly Snerkler's technique for birds, except if the exposure is completely wrong when I check the histogram. Then I'll look at what iso the camera chose and manually tweek accordingly. The iso setting is independant of the mode you set, aperture and shutter speed are not. I shoot a lot of landscape and use av with a fixed aperture and iso to get a guide to exposure, so whenever I go out I set the aperture the same on av and manual modes. I use a 18-135 lens for birds I can get close to (especially if the light's not that good) and a 70-300 for longer range, but backed off to about 280/290 for better IQ. Those choices because they're all I have....!
 
Petejones said:
Thanks for the tip I will give the shutter speed a try, if I switch between the AV and the M dial will the camera retain it's last setup on the modes, thus making it easy to switch between setups

The camera is a canon 500d
Click to expand...
Yes it will, but given you're a beginner, I'd not use the M.
Use Av and Tv, and I'd suggest Tv rather than Av for wildlife.
For now, leave the ISO on auto, come back to that once you've got to grips with the behaviour of the shutter speed settings.

Once you're happy with the behaviour of both Tv & Av, then move over to M to control them both to suit you & the situation.

That's my thoughts anyway :D
 
For me the image you posted is a little too saturated. It seems there is a lot of chromatic abberration and the image is a little out of focus.

I would also use the longest lens you have and I also use Tv instead of Av mode for wildlife :)
 
Last edited:
snerkler said:
Don't know, I shoot Nikon but normally no if you change ISO in Av it will have changed in M too. However, as we're talking switching between M and Av if you change shutter in M it won't effect shutter in Av as the camera controls shutter in Av (I'm assuming Av is aperture priority btw :LOL:)

For wildlife I tend to shoot in manual with auto ISO. This way I can control aperture to give me depth of field and shutte to freeze motion, knowing that exposure will be correct (except where exp comp may be needed) as the ISO is adjusted automatically.
Click to expand...
I can see why you think it helps, but please don't recommend Manual with auto ISO to a Canon newbie, it removes the one necessary tool they need; exposure control.

Only the 5dIII and 1dx allow exposure compensation in manual mode (it's really unnecessary as a function - until you introduce auto ISO), so in M with auto ISO a Canon newbie is stuck with whatever the camera decides is the 'correct' exposure, which we all know isn't much use.
 
Dael_Pix said:
I would also use the longest lens you have and I also use Tv instead of Av mode for wildlife :)
Click to expand...

I can see why you are saying that but i'd disagree - the trouble with using TV to set a (presumably high) shutter speed is that in changeable conditions if the light improves , or if you are taking a light subject you can wind up with a narrow apperture and too much dof

I nearly always use AV for wildlife and set the widest possible apperture to use a relatively narrow dof to seperate subject and context - a wide as possible apperture gives you the maximum ammmount of light per time period anyway so it usually maintains an acceptable shutter speed in poor light (if its very poor the iso needs to increase - i do this manually instead of trusting auto iso), while in brighter light you get a faster shutter speed still with a shallow dof (it is unsual in the uk at least to have the light get so bright that you need to narrow the apperture to get a useable exposure with the fastest possible speed and the lowest iso)

Lens wise i tend to feel that 250 is too short - thers not much you can do about that in the short term but if you become serious about wildlife photography i'd sugget looking at a 400 or 500mm lens (personally i use a 150-500, which cost about £600)
 
Amazing advice guys there's lots for me to digest there, I managed to get out this afternoon with my 55-250 lens, image.jpeg

Again this was AV mode as I tried the shutter speed with the M mode and got some very dark images, I'm going back tomorrow so will do some experiments with the TV mode, this I think means shutter speed with the aperture on auto
 
I'm using between 4.0 and 5.6 as my favoured aperture size at the moment, this seems to be yielding decent results.
 
Petejones said:
I'm using between 4.0 and 5.6 as my favoured aperture size at the moment, this seems to be yielding decent results.
Click to expand...
Nice that you're getting results and finding something that works for you. As you continue to learn about exposure, the exposure triangle and how each element of the triangle affects your image as well as the exposure you will be comfortable being more flexible with the settings whilst still maintaining good results. For example if light's good enough stopping down to f8 (lens dependant) on a telephoto often yields sharper images, whilst if you have a fast lens such as f2.8 you can really isolate the subject.
The important thing though is to keep practising, keep learning and see what works best for you :)
 
F4 seems to be as low as I can go, I will work up to 8 with todays session, it has snowed a little overnight so hopefully some interesting results will present themselves
 
As others have already said, I would leave manual alone for now. AV is your friend. One tip I can give is to spend a few minutes when you arrive on a location to assess your settings. For me my process runs as follows
  • Set in AV and choose my aperture (usually a stop down from wide open, which is where my lens is sharpest)
  • Set ISO at 400
  • Take a shot of a tree (boring but it will be deleted anyway)
  • Review shutter speed. If it is too slow (normally below 1/500) then I will increase the ISO to get it there
  • Finally every so often, just check the settings of the shots you take to make sure they're still right
Again as has already been mentioned, try and focus on the eye.

Final tip and this is an important one. Post your photos on here for critique, we're a friendly bunch and are always happy to help others out. After all many of us have received and still do receive helpful tips and pointers from our peers :D
I look forward to seeing your progress

Edit: should have said the 1/500 is subjective and will vary for many. For example if you want to capture Birds in flight you will need faster. Experience will tell you this
 
Last edited:
A good quality lens will help enormously but I appreciate the budget cannot always what one really wants. Chris's post above is a helpful summary.

And practice really does help. As does practice with stalking and learning how to get closer without the birds flying off. A pop up hide might help in some situations.
 
EdwardL said:
A good quality lens will help enormously but I appreciate the budget cannot always what one really wants. Chris's post above is a helpful summary.

And practice really does help. As does practice with stalking and learning how to get closer without the birds flying off. A pop up hide might help in some situations.
Click to expand...
^^^^ this. It's amazing how much practice and experience helps improve your photography. I remember when I started out and I was sure that everything was technically correct, exposure, focus etc but the pics still looked rubbish. I can't exactly put my finger on what's different now as my 'approach' is broadly the same, but my pics certainly have improved (still a long way to go mind ;))
 
The tips have all helped, I took a little trip this weekend with my Cousin who has helped enormously to make sense of the many many questions I had stocked up. We went up Mam Tor on Saturday, unfortunately the conditions were rubbish but I had a bit of a masterclass on landscape shots and general use of the camera resulting in an interesting technique with a 30 second exposure. Lots of shots later this resulted in this shot: -
_MG_4322.jpg

But I had a joyous moment the morning after when I went to the dreaded MANUAL and managed to setup the aperture, shutter speed and ISO the way I wanted it with the result I expected: -
_MG_4502.jpg

This probably won't rate highly as a "good photo" but for me it is a benchmark moment and therefore worthy of a mention, also spent a bit of time on photoshop.

A busy weekend of learning, I highly recommend it.

The AV mode is definitely my best friend
 
Last edited:
EdwardL said:
A good quality lens will help enormously but I appreciate the budget cannot always what one really wants. Chris's post above is a helpful summary.

And practice really does help. As does practice with stalking and learning how to get closer without the birds flying off. A pop up hide might help in some situations.
Click to expand...

I did have the opportunity to try some better quality lenses this weekend and the difference is huge, I will definitely be mindful of this for birthdays and christmas but I think at this stage the best thing I can do is learn to get the best out of what I have, I find that better equipment removes your excuses and at this stage an excuse or two can be very useful
 
I started with a not very good lens and it makes you try and improve your technique so when a quality lens is more affordable it really does make a difference. Quite right about the excuses! :)
 
You are going in the right direction IMO Pete - taking time working with what you have before you decide if you need something different.

AV can be useful for wildlife shots, at the long end of a zoom the DoF is pretty small anyway so giving yourself as much as possible by choosing the aperture is not a bad idea. However, that can easily lead to a shutter speed that is (a) too slow to stop any movement in the animal, and/or (b) too slow and camera shake becomes a problem. Then TV could be the answer, but that could easily give you a wide aperture with very little DoF. As I'm sure you are finding out, its all a matter of balance and what you want from the shot.

Dave
 
I'm definitely making progress, 20 minutes shooting an apple with different apertures cleared up what DOF is, in the end manual is obviously the target giving me full control, but I'll stay with my stabilisers on for a while and see what happens next weekend
 
At the end of the day the old saying of "practice makes perfect" has some truth.
Maybe there should be one that says "experimenting helps understanding".
 
Petejones said:
I'm definitely making progress, 20 minutes shooting an apple with different apertures cleared up what DOF is, in the end manual is obviously the target giving me full control, but I'll stay with my stabilisers on for a while and see what happens next weekend
Click to expand...

As I said on another thread I've been shooting for about 35 years (and doing paid work off an on for ten) and I don't feel the need to use M very often - about 80% of the time i'm in AV. Once you properly understand the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO you'll find that you can be in "full control" using any of the proper modes (by which i mean P, AV,TV or M - not the full auto modes denoted by little pictures)
 
big soft moose said:
As I said on another thread I've been shooting for about 35 years (and doing paid work off an on for ten) and I don't feel the need to use M very often - about 80% of the time i'm in AV. Once you properly understand the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO you'll find that you can be in "full control" using any of the proper modes (by which i mean P, AV,TV or M - not the full auto modes denoted by little pictures)
Click to expand...

That sounds like the ticket, I don't know what the P mode is, I thought it was just for software updates as that was the mode I used to update the firmware.

I haven't used the presets at all but they seem pretty obvious in how they work though
 
I hardly ever use manual. I take a lot of landscape shots so DoF is important to me and I use Av most of the time. P mode on my camera allows me to have Av and Tv at the same time. In P mode the rear wheel changes the aperture(and the camera then adjusts the shutter speed) and the front wheel adjusts the shutter speed (and the camera adjusts the aperture).

There are times when manual is the mode to use but if you are in M mode and set the aperture to, for example, f8 and then adjust the shutter speed so the exposure indicator in the viewfinder is in the middle of the scale then the result is the same as if you had used Av.

Dave
 
I use manual instead of shutter priority as I always want to control aperture too, however I use auto ISO a lot of the time with manual so it's not truly manual ;)
 
This is starting to become more clear in my mind, I did some M mode shots today finding that an ISO of 3200 and a fast shutter speed delivered some half decent results in the latter part of the afternoon.

Af the moment the exposure comp is a little confusing, is this like ISO?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top