Birds & Flash photography

[Sidharth Kodikal]

On receiving my new Canon 50d and 300 2.8, I headed to the nearest pond, and as luck would have it, found a Great Blue Heron in a very cooperative mood.
Unfortunately, I didn't do it enough justice :(
It was quite over-cast; and I didn't have a tripod.
I did have a flash with me but I decided against using it lest I disturb the bird.

A newbie question (do not mean to stir a religious debate):

Is flash usage considered ethical for bird photography? Is it harmful in any way to the subject?

(or can I safely go get that better beamer? :)

[James Shadle]

I have no problem with flash as fill or main light in low light conditions.
Many will debate it's use at night.

If I use it at night, it is for a very limited duration, under conditions I feel will not be harmful to my subject.

[Colin Knight]

I use the better beamer as well. Back that flash comp off though. If your herons are anything like the ones around here, they're scared of it.

Colin

[Tony Whitehead]

Interesting question. Using fill flash in daylight I have seldom noticed any significant reaction from birds. On occasion small finches at close range in Africa have startled to the flash or shutter sound but seldom flown and even if they have only up to a nearby branch and then returned and been quite oblivious from then on. While sitting low and still in the open at waterholes I have had birds hopping toward me and feeding up to within 12 inches on me while continuing to photograph with flash. On NZ birds I have never noticed any reaction to flash even in quite dark forest cover. I have found African herons particularly skittish to any disturbance, NZ ones less so.

[Desmond Chan]

Is flash usage considered ethical for bird photography? Is it harmful in any way to the subject?



Perhaps the answer is not a simple yes or no. I understand quite a few photogs use flash on birds. And if you ask some birders, their answer could be a simple: "No!" Or, it depends on what birds, juvy or adults, daytime or nightime, etc.

Here's a link to discussions on a local site:

http://www.birding.bc.ca/community/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3107


http://www.birding.bc.ca/community/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3158


So to some photogs, flash is a definitely no-no on birds.

Personally, I would like researches done on this subject so that there's no need to debate anymore.

[Jack Faller]

I agree with James, fill flash & flash in low light conditions seem fine to me. I have yet to see any reaction from the birds I have photographed using flash in these conditions. If the birds were startled or spooked by it, I wouldn't use it, but it seems to me that they are oblivious to the use of flash.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Thanks for all the replies.
Although there isn't a definite answer your replies are helpful and give me some guidelines (thanks for looking up and sharing the links, Desmond).
I guess the bottom line is that a photographer should be careful to cause as little disturbance to the subject as possible (through a flash or otherwise)

[DarrenMcKenna]

I have no problem using fill flash in harsh light or low light conditions. But there are skittish birds in which flash will send them on their way.






darrenmckenna.com (http://www.darrenmckenna.com/)

[Michael Lloyd]

I think the birds will be around longer than we will :) and using a flash on them won't matter in the least. The only time I've seen a bird react is when I shoot hummingbirds. They are so fast that the little wing flutter that they sometimes do when the flash (with a better beamer) goes off is captured in the image. I think the "true" hummingbird shooters, whatever that means, use a much different flash setup (more like an array) than a single flash used with a better beamer. I've shot with and without flash/beamer. I use it when I need it. It's that simple... sometimes I don't use it when I need it. For doing that I get mediocre images that just about anyone with lens similar to what I'm using can get :)

One place that I won't use it is in the "line of photographers" at Bosque. It's rude IMHO. Out of 40 people in a line trying to shoot, one guy blazing away with a flash/beamer is going to trash the other photographers images if they shoot when his flash is on.