Purple Heron in Flight

[Arnon Cahen]

Hi All,
This is my first time posting to BPN. I've been watching birds for decades, and only recently got into bird photography.
The photo is of a Purple Heron in flight. It was rather far so the photo had to be cropped quite a bit. My main problem was the back light. I am wondering what can be done to compensate when shooting a bird from below. For this photo I eventually used the shadow/highlight function in CS5 quite heavily. It seems to have come out decent, but I'm sure someone here can give me some good advice as to how to achieve a similar effect without the digital manipulation. Here are the details of the picture:

Canon EOS 550D, 300 f/4L IS, ISO 100, 1/640, f/6.3, Exposure compensation +1/3, , AI Servo AF

In CS5 I did cropping, levels, selective shadows/highlight on the bird, and sharpening.

Hope this info is sufficient. Many thanks in advance for any suggestions as to how I might get better shots in these situations, and more generally (of course).

Arnon

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Arnon, welcome to Eager To Learn. I'm glad you decided to post! Please comment on other posts as we all benefit from the exchange of ideas. You have a nice flight capture but the mixed light has forced you to crush the blacks so there is very little detail in the underwing areas. When there is this much difference between the blacks and the whites it is pretty hard to add light without adding noise. You did do a good job of exposing for the whites however! I would suggest adding back some canvas on the right and maybe even a bit on top as the bird is quite centered. Colors are nice and you panned nicely to get the BIF shot. Looking forward to more!

Forgot to mention that you really didn't need ISO 100 here and it is not recommended. You could have upped the ISO for a faster shutter speed and possibly a sharper image. Most bird photographers consider ISO 400 to be the lowest setting in most cases.

[Arnon Cahen]

Thanks Kerry for the comments and suggestions!
I agree completely about adding a bit more canvas to the top and right. You also say that when there's lots of difference between blacks and whites it's difficult to add light without introducing noise, but then how would you suggest a shot like this should be taken? Should I have used more exposure compensation?
I will also use a higher ISO next time. It was my understanding however that the higher ISO introduces noise, so that a lower ISO is preferable when possible. But I guess it's a trade-off, higher ISO --> noise, but also higher ISO --> faster shutter --> sharper image. Is that correct? I obviously need to experiment more, starting with 400 as you suggest.
Many thanks again for the help.
Arnon

[Kerry Perkins]

Thanks Kerry for the comments and suggestions!
I agree completely about adding a bit more canvas to the top and right. You also say that when there's lots of difference between blacks and whites it's difficult to add light without introducing noise, but then how would you suggest a shot like this should be taken?

Arnon, the best advice I can give is to find a better shooting angle so your subject is completely in the light or completely in the shade.

Should I have used more exposure compensation?

This would not have helped, as the lighting will require you to either blow out the whites or clip the blacks. The camera simply cannot record that much dynamic range.

I will also use a higher ISO next time. It was my understanding however that the higher ISO introduces noise, so that a lower ISO is preferable when possible. But I guess it's a trade-off, higher ISO --> noise, but also higher ISO --> faster shutter --> sharper image. Is that correct? I obviously need to experiment more, starting with 400 as you suggest.

The reality of this is that noise can be dealt with in software, motion blur cannot. I will always strive for the highest shutter speed possible for flight shots. ISO 400 is not considered "high ISO" by most people. ISO 100 is below the "native ISO" of most cameras. My camera(s) seldom see anything below ISO 400, and then only when I am shooting white birds lit by full sun.

Many thanks again for the help.
Arnon

You are most welcome!

[Arnon Cahen]

Wow! Thanks again for the very detailed response. I clearly have quite a lot to learn, and I really appreciate your patience.
These comments will come in very handy next time I'm out with the camera.

[Kerry Perkins]

Arnon, we learn by doing. The more we do, the more we learn!