Bird Photography for Beginners - How to Tell Why Your Bird Photos Aren't Sharp

There's usually 3 Main Reasons your Bird Photos aren't Sharp. In this video I'll show you how to tell what's causing the problem - and how to fix it so you can take tack sharp images! Troubleshoot these problems and you'll instantly improve your bird photography.

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This video was filmed with a Canon M50 and 15-45mm lens.
Equipment: Canon R6; Canon EF 300mm f/4 Lens; Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 Lens; Canon EF 500mm f/4 Lens; Induro CT404 Tripod

Music: Trimmed & Taught by Dan Lebowitz

[laku]

Great video! A big one for me is also atmospheric distortion, eg. heat haze. It happens way more often than one would think, especially in changing weather conditions and "gets me" oh so often...

[ceejayflyer]

Another great video Paul. When I check calibration I use a ruler as the subject. I set the ruler end on, positioned on a slope of about 45 degrees. So the 0 end is closest and the 12 inch is furthest away., but higher so I can see the whole length of the ruler through the viewfinder. Camera on a tripod, spot focus on the 6 inch mark. It's very easy to see if the calibration is out. I hope that makes sense.

[paulbaldwin]

Realy great video Paul full of great tips! we all need a great teacher like you keep us learning 👏👏👏

[mickbear]

Great advice Paul as usual. Thanks for another informative video

[MrEcliptor]

AWESOME! The focus point playback… I’ve owned the R6 for over a year now and I didn’t know what it was! Thank you so much. Just did some test photos and this is an amazing feature I didn’t know I had.

You rock man, I really appreciate it!

[nsbhagwat]

Thanks for the video Paul. At 08:35 you mentioned and I quote "focus calibration should not be necessary with mirrorless cameras" - could you please explain more? Thanks.

[PhilSledge]

Great advice Paul Thanks for another informative video

[digger]

A very informative video once again keep up the good work

[Kellysher]

I struggle with sharp shots in low light situations like early morning with the RF 100-500. Can you see the autofocus playback in LR? We can clean up noise of course these days, but IQ really suffers in lowlight in my opinion. Any tips advice for us non prime shooters is appreciated! I see many You tubers talk about shooting with apertures of 2.8 and discussing techniques for primes. I love my gear, but I am looking for content on making the most of it!

[jeffslade]

If the whole bird is not in focus, your aperture is too wide. Depth of field. When you use a long lens wide-open it has a wafer thin DoF.
Whilst human vision works nothing like a camera, we accept foreground in focus and background defocused far more readily than the other way round. The way a hyperfocal range of a lens works it will produce approx 1/3 in front of the subject and 2/3 behind in "acceptable focus" within its DoF. That may mean pulling the focus near to get a good photo.

[Wim-Minnaard]

Hi paul, thanks for a great video again!
It looks like the focus for the grey wagtail is actually on the eye reflected in the water. Funny situation, do you agree here?
Thanks, Wim

[SomeonewithaSony]

Just a note that lens calibration isn’t required for mirrorless systems due to lack of mirror 😉