Introduction
Taking photos of birds in flight is a challenge. There is an explanation following - read if you wish, or just check out some of the photos.
To get good photographs of birds in flight, I find I must do roughly the following:
- Use a shutter speed of around 1/2500th second
- Use an f-stop of at least 5.6, preferably f-8
- These first two items impose a very high ISO, often 3200
- For birds against a bright sky, adjust the focus the exposure down slightly for white birds, up a lot for dark birds, and punt for black and white birds
- Use central area focus (not center spot focus)
- Try to track the bird with the camera to minimize relative motion
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