Photograph birds at eye level – use the LCD that pans and tilts if you don’t want to get on the ground. Get close to reduce DOF.
There are thousands of apps for your desktop or mobile device that will let you see weather conditions. These apps are very useful for photographers who need to plan outdoor activities. To bird photographers – having an understanding of wind direction and patterns is crucial. Birds fly into, land into and perch into the wind. If you know what direction the wind is blowing, you know what direction the birds will be facing.
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10 Ways to Improve Your Photography Without Buying Gear
"It's very difficult to judge your own art. But that's okay - it's not your job to have an opinion about everything - including your own art. Just create your brains out and let humanity (and history) judge the value of your efforts - it's actually none of your business." Paraphrased from meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Are you interested in getting started with bird photography (wildlife) or are you looking to take your shooting to the next level? Believe it or not you can do it using Micro Four Thirds gear. I have made some great portraits, birdscapes and even flight shots with this gear, and even made salable prints from the RAW files I get from my Olympus cameras. I’ve had my images from Olympus cameras used in articles and on web sites and recently published a book that was mostly made of photos from my Olympus camera. My images have been used on greeting cards and made into posters. In every case, the quality of my pictures from this gear meets or beats that coming from other cameras I used to shoot with.
While this list isn’t exhaustive, if you can find your way to most of these traits, you’re well on your way to becoming a good photographer.
1. You need passion. You need to be obsessed with getting the shot. Not just any shot – THE shot. In other words – you need to think about, dream about, talk about and live photography.
I recently had a question on Facebook that totally surprised me. A gentleman told me that in his experience, RAW files from a camera should look flat, and unattractive and that only through post-processing, will they become beautiful images.
Great photographs rarely just happen. They usually take a great deal of work. Ansel Adams said “I don’t take photographs I make photographs.” So what goes into the birth of a photograph? What’s involved in making an image? There’s more to it than most people think.
