8 Secrets For Sharper Wildlife Photos

[@scoopnewsworthy]

Steve...As a frontline emergency physician and and professional photographer I want to thank you for your fantastic photography series. Coming home after busy shift in the ER, sitting down on my computer and listen to your informative talks on photography is a breath of fresh air. I wish you and your family a safe, healthy and enjoyable holiday season.

[@Phaedarus]

This is why Steve's channel is the best. He gets right to the point and couples his explanation with USEFUL examples. Unlike so many of the more popular photography KZbin channels, Steve doesn't need bimbos, personality hacks, cheap humour and other eye-candy to keep the viewers' attention. Sweet, short classy instruction is the way to go.

[@karenkaptures]

Someone put the link to this video in a photography group. The subject was tack sharp photos, not necessarily shooting animals. This is one of the best videos that I have ever watched. I love the picture examples. Thank you Steve.

[@lintownboy]

You always explain everything so well Steve.

[@BrianJohnson-bq9tr]

Steve, I am a long time (30+ year) hobbyist but, new to wildlife photography and your videos are the most informative I've seen. I am very comfortable behind a camera but this genre is new to me. Thanks for all of your time and effort.

[@benstanfill363]

Honestly one of if not the best channel for photo tips. Getting better images always happens after watching one of your videos and learning something new.

[@thirakhor5634]

This video is how it should be done, straight to the point, no filler, useful information. Thanks for sharing

[@matthewbell1968]

In terms of explaining photography Steve and Mark Smith are in a class of their own. Great work again thanks Steve 👍👍

[@gewglesux]

Mark smith ... The Bird and Osprey guy... i know him now..

[@lockygolfer]

I totally agree!

[@DipanDas]

Steve, your idea of using a high shutter speed has completely changed the way I take birds pics. They are much sharper than they used to be earlier. Thank you so much for this great tip.

[@XX-vs4ze]

Steve...As a person who is not a frontline emergency physician and also not a professional photographer I want to thank you for your fantastic photography series. Coming home from after driving by or maybe near or even in the same town as the ER, sitting down on my computer and listen to your informative talks on photography is a breath of fresh air. I wish you and your family a safe, healthy and enjoyable holiday season. 👍👍

[@AGag47]

Despite knowing my stuff, I can easily say I couldn't come close to the quality of Steve's teaching skills and ability to put al this information in easy to understand context. Anytime I come across someone in areas I like to shoot, I always point them to this channel.

[@hamy5050]

I have been watching your videos for 5 years and have not seen a better video tutorial bette than yours,you explain very well and easy to understand, thank you for this awesome videos !

[@mylucksmiles]

Shutting at noon ,the brighter the light helps shutter speeds. The myth that noon is a bad time to take photos listened to old wives tails. Love your help ....cheers

[@FloridaBackYard]

I been doing nature photography for 20 years and you taught me something in 5 minutes. Heat diffraction never occured to me and explains a lot as i am a Florida nature photographer.

[@johnnicholson8345]

I've had more than one photo suffer from this but had no ability to move closer.

[@japiebreedt4318]

@@johnnicholson8345 nnn

[@whakabuti]

Steve my man! Your wisdom isn't unappreciated. I've got far better shots as an amateur wildlife photographer. Appreciate it! Also cheers from Sri Lanka 🍻

[@thomasotterbein9410]

Perfect explained, but most of them I know already. But nobody can explain it, clear and understandable, like you Steve! I am always on manual mode and adjust by myself shutter speed and aperture as necessary. And.....not be scared of may be high ISO. It’s better than a blurred picture. Thanks Steve for this video.......

[@markstevens6682]

Great advice Steve.... I might also add the importance of learning not only all the functions your camera has to offer, but learn all the different ways they can be used to your advantage or disadvantage....

[@kkaraz]

Steve, you are awesome! Precise, to the point, objective, no BS. Love it.

[@skaslusky]

Great Video Steve. No matter how long we have been shooting and no matter how many times we think we have the fundamentals down its so important to return and review them. I had one of those, Oh yeah moments remembering how I forgot one of these.

[@christosphillips3568]

Great stuff, thanks for your efforts Steve, this is gold for new people to the world of wildlife photography. Also very handy when it comes down to a refresh for people teaching in seminars. Great upload once again by what I consider, hands down ,the number one YT photography channel

[@backcountrygallery]

Many thanks!

[@sfink16]

Excellent information! Now I need to show my wife that I HAVE to get out the car for better shots. She is not patient with my photography needs.

[@bassangler73]

Or you can justify to her that you can stay in the car but you have to turn heat off...lol

[@jose280714]

lol..

[@Bassbarbie]

😂 at least she's there. My husband would never accompany me when taking wildlife photos. I have a lot of photos of the back of him in our touristy ones 😂😂

[@sfink16]

@@Bassbarbie Been there, done that (of my wife's back that is) LOL

[@carlosdias1940]

Have to show my appreciation - sports photographer here...and content can really be adapted to sports. Cheers

[@robbeythecarpenter8493]

Tip 9 Steve ..... don't over extend your lens .... My 200- 500mm lens on a D500 gives me great image quality at 10 metres ... but at 30M it really falls off and IQ degrades. Thanks for your tips ... always so well explained

[@erwinplattau5891]

No nonsense video, direct, clear, very good video !!!

[@TheGroenings]

I have been looking all over for this kind of advice with no help. This video helped so much! Thank you!!!

[@RitwickSatyaki-wq3nk]

It is now summer in India. I can't really get out of my schedule to photograph birds. Waking up in the morning is difficult to get out because the sun rises at 4:30 in the morning. And the afternoon is very hot! So here i am, watching your videos after dinner while laying on the rooftop of our rental house.

[@kalenderquantentunnel9411]

Spot on! With respect to the IS-on-tripod issue this comes from the first generation of Canon IS where it was explicitly advised againts using it on a tripod and for good reasons. Later versions of all brands are just sensitive enough to sense the absence or presence of even very small levels of vibration and reliably hold still in its absence. They also do not sense if they are on a tripod - there is no switch in the screw-hole or whatever - they just reliably sense vibration. Therefore, if you have the camera on tripod and wind-gust induces vibrations into your long lens even on a heavy tripod with a fixed beefy ballhead, IS helps to eliminate that. Just dont use IS on a tripod set to active or sport while not panning, as this might induce more blur than it removes.

[@dineshsharaf4678]

I have faced most of the problems you mentioned in this video. You taught well to overcome those. Thanks very much Steve.

[@rentedtux1883]

Even though we all miss the original Journey lineup, I very much enjoy your photography videos 🙂

[@jimt9816]

Thanks, Steve.... Your videos have been a great help as I jump into the world of mirrorless and wildlife photography. You're one of the best!

[@backcountrygallery]

Thanks so much!

[@scalaacom]

Nice. Thanks for the refresher. I’ve recently bought my heaviest lens yet (200-500 f5.6) and boy hand holding is becoming a challenge for the first time ever.

[@backcountrygallery]

It's a chunk. I like that one on a monopod for extended shoots.

[@lovenature2331]

I am a beginner in photography, thank you this video will give a guidance

[@ianbrown1664]

Great advise as Always, but your book "Secrets to Auto Focus" is irreplaceable and although I have been a wildlife photographer for over 20 years I still picked up loads of information with discipline being at the top, cheers and keep safe. Ian (UK)

[@backcountrygallery]

Thank you!

[@nigelmay6349]

All excellent points! There's so much that goes into sharpness that we often don't realize.

[@malaranu6883]

Truely grateful was using monopod with my 600 zoom & struggling then saw that that I could use my tripod with it & now happy with my purchase. Seem that I should have known this but I didn’t. Thank you.

[@NotFromConcentrate]

Hi Steve! I bought your eBook last night and I really appreciate your dedication to teaching. Your videos are fantastic and full of useful instruction.

[@backcountrygallery]

Thank you so much!

[@morgancalvi6675]

You are very convincing because your video camera has such a clear/sharp picture.

[@quazisanjeed6395]

I have given tripod multiple tries. Finally, settled using it when I shoot water birds and waders. Stopped chasing forest birds. However, for BIF shots, no choice but to handhold. I use Canon 7D with Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L for this purpose. Always keep the shutter speed above 1/2000.

[@miltondsilva1933]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom. Greatly appreciate your work.

[@garyadams5201]

Great video Mr. Perry! You are very clear and right to the point. Please keep them coming!

[@julianthomas6899]

Excellent clear advice. I have discovered these methods the hard way, by trial and error. If I had seen your video earlier it would have saved a lot of time and disappointment.

[@meganferreira6216]

This has really helped a lot!!!

[@yara96]

Excellent and easy to follow.

[@TechNShtuff]

I had weeks of struggles with my Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 before I learned about af fine tune. I was told over and over not to mess with it though, finally after ignoring everyone, a -7 compensation took me from zero sharp bird images to over 75% of my images being tac sharp. I would up picking up a focusing card and all but one of my lenses have been adjusted now and provide much better results.

[@lyngregory3049]

Very helpful Steve, you explain so clearly.

[@declantarpey6642]

Super clear and informative video. Thanks Steve.

[@mylittleninjas]

Thanks Steve. I just bought a Tamron 150-600 G2 for my D850. I was planning on tuning it with the included Tap-In Console before I start using it, thanks to you and this video, I think I’ll wait and see.

[@danilomaciel1066]

Muchas gracias por los consejos de siempre, Steve! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Saludos desde Argentina

[@charliesmusic270]

In costa rica, shooting wildlife, this helped quite a bit this morning. Thanksb

[@Brentvanee]

Wow, another eye-opener..thanks for the tip on the effect of the cool air outside and the warm air within the car...never gave it a thought but glad you did.. :-)

[@DuckMisty]

Good video. I once had a Dotterel only 15 feet in front of me on a cold morning with strong sunlight. I lowered my gear to the ground and shot away. Back home on the screen the shots were all soft. I worked out why in the end - it was air turbulence near the ground. Lesson learned!

[@jochenwuest]

VR + electronic shutter + sturdy tripod and head = great combination for owls! I once did a small experiment with my 600FL in VR normal mode on my Z6 set to electronic shutter but that was back when I had my old Gitzo 3 series and a Gitzo ball head - which was a bit undersized to be honest. I now use the Sachtler Flowtech 75 with FSB-8 fluid head which is much more solid and damping. However, here are the results of how many shots out of 10 that I fired off with each shutter speed were sharp (using my old Gitzo setup): 1/4sec - 30% 1/5sec - 10% 1/6sec - 30% 1/8sec - 40% 1/10sec - 50% 1/13sec - 70% 1/15sec - 60% Now it may look odd that I sometimes got a better keeper rate with slower shutter speeds than with higher ones. But this only reflects how prone to even the slightest movements of your own body / arm it is to use those really slow shutter speeds. And on top, I started really concentrated on standing still and then I probably got a bit sloppy and more unstable throughout the experiment. I also should have made more than just 10 shots with each shutter speed I guess. I'll definitely repeat the whole experiment with my Sachtler tripod and head! With all those numbers above looking not that promising at first, I'd still prefer trying to fire off a burst with VR and electronic shutter enabled and then just browse though them and throw the blurry ones away at home rather than not trying at all. And yes, electronic shutter still has some impact on the keeper rate as even the shutter in those new mirrorless cameras produce some slight vibration that the VR has to compensate for. By eliminating this source of vibration (i.e. switching to full electronic shutter for slow shutter speeds with VR) one can "help" the VR. As I drop below 1/20sec I still find that my keeper rate is even higher with a remote or cable trigger and VR turned off though. But sometimes you can't use a remote as you always need to adjust the focus point or you just forgot it at home ...

[@roamingrodgers]

Great video. I visited South America a few years ago and took a bridge camera with me for convenience, I knew I was making a mistake but did anyway. I'm going to Central America this year so plan on taking my Nikon D750 with the 80-400 lens so will definitely practise and use these great tips before I go, thank you.

[@CodyDills]

Great video! Not just in the information provided but the presentation and flow was perfect. I could have really used this video a year ago!

[@outdoorswithed5722]

Awesome advice! Just recently started trying to shoot the birds at my feeder and these lessons immediately payed off in some great shots.

[@shutterbuginfinity]

Great advice on how to get sharp images I recently been shooting more wildlife thank for the tips,

[@lukes5533]

Your tips are the best out of everyone online , thanks for your awesome advice Steve. 👌👍

[@peterkemp4372]

Thanks, i use a mikon d7100 with a kit lens 55-200!! Not the best but all i have. Today for fun i cranked my ISO up to 6400 and tried shooting at shutter speeds 1500-2000 plus. Will try different combos. Thanks for helping paint outside the lines 😂😂😂👍👍👍 all best from the Bahamas

[@kdj.imagery4317]

Thank you for iterating using image stabilization with tele-zooms while mounted on a tripod, I shoot with a Nikon D7200/Tamron 150-600mm mounted on a tripod with a ball head and get good results with shutter speeds lower than 1/350th. However, I mostly shoot perched birds with it.

[@joh.8203]

Finally found a helpful video on this subject! Thank you.

[@kakarabreu]

this was DEFENITELY the beeeeeeeeeeeeest video i saw. And look, i saw like 2000 videos these days searching good explanation about technicals for birds. AWSOME job man. Subscribed s2

[@Charlie-wood]

I look forward to putting your advice into practice. Thank you for the video

[@garybrenner2801]

Great video... very informative & easy to understand. Thanks for posting!

[@kuau714]

Great video Steve, I am so glad I found you on KZbin

[@daniellehner1383]

I learned a lot about filming in Nature with this video. Many, many thanks. Greetings from Switzerland.

[@rajdeepmotilal]

Thank you for your extremely helpful tips.

[@claudiorusso2220]

Hey, this is the first video that explains so many technics so well in a short time. Well done ✔ Go on like this. Perfect

[@richardb649]

Always a pleasure to watch your videos Steve - and never fail to learn something new everytime .Thanks very much for all the effort you put into your videos- really appreciated

[@ozwrangler.c]

I don’t even do wildlife photos, but found great tips I can apply to photos of moving dogs and kids Thanks!

[@jamesss1953]

thank you very much for this bundle of advice with examples....

[@ianmilne655]

Thank you, I'm new to wildlife photography, this vid has some great advice👍 I shoot with a Sony A7Rii and Sigma 100-400mm

[@hotakasakurai947]

Perfect explain for an amature. I will try those things as soon as possible. Thanks for uploading this video!!

[@fezzerpaul]

Perfect advice Steve, thank you. I have a Nikon D5600 with a 70-300 kit lens which I struggle to get sharp images at the maximum focal length. I will try your suggestions as I’m sure they are the likely causes of my dull images. 👍🏻

[@davearchbell9921]

Great advice. I actually used my tripod for some waterfowl birding for the first time and what a difference.

[@SteveMasonCanada]

Some great tips! I usually try to keep the car fairly cool when shooting in winter (80% of my shooting here in Canada) but that's to keep the lens/sensor/mirror(previous to mirrorless) from fogging if I leave the car and return. Never thought about heat shimmer, but makes perfect sense.

[@AdamBenJaffel]

I ve learnt so much from you Steve. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with us. I m improving my photography by the day while applying what i watch on your channel 🙏

[@iheartchiropractic]

Fantastic video. Thank you for creating it and for sharing all this information with us!

[@DHAGMANN2]

Another great compelling Video Steve, like your books👍

[@kontrolla1]

Another excellent video Steve. Your presentation skills are second to none.

[@scarface1961]

Thanks Steve. Another well done video. Your information is invaluable.

[@HR-wd6cw]

With group AF on Nikons at least, it shows a grid of 9 points, but will put priority on the center point. If the area of focus falls out of the center point but into one of those 8 other boxes, then it will refocus where it has tracked the subject (an eye) to. So if you use Group AF for example, ensure that the center point (which is not always shown on some cameras) on the eye (for example on some of the Nikon DSLRs you get a cross, but there are really 9 points, even though it shows you 4 in a diamond formation).

[@ronaldsand3000]

Yet another easy to understand extremely informative presentation

[@Photogal]

I appreciate all these tips thank you so much!!!

[@chirping_Gypsy]

Thank you for sharing the wonderful knowledge

[@johnwinter6061]

Great tips. Thanks. Just as well higher ISO on newer cameras is not a big issue anymore.

[@nightmareaccomplice5816]

I've JUST realized my shutter speed wasn't fast enough!!!!! Thanks steve!!!

[@dougnelson423]

Another excellent video Steve. Thanks

[@rolandomunari588]

Thank you, your videos are really a pleasure to follow, so packed with useful info and tips

[@vitocarpucci]

thank goodness i stumbled on to this video while looking for something else!!! Great focus advice that I will immediately try on my Nikon D850. Thank you!!!

[@MrAllenMo]

Hope you're feeling better Steve. Wish you a quick recovery😁👍

[@backcountrygallery]

Thanks so much :)

[@mohamedhazib7781]

pretty explanation and presentation, thank you so much to share with us watching from Srilanka

[@ralphernesti834]

Started to watch and completely liked the advice you were giving and subed right away. Thank you for your no BS talk and straight to the point I look forwards and going back to see your other clips.

[@KonaLife]

Great video and tutorial, as usual, Steve. Thanks!

[@basvh666]

Good video man ! Thanks for all the advice

[@WilliamLesourd]

I did quite a lot of shooting of animals at zoos and parks across France this year and last, and a lot of my photos would have been sharper had I seen this video before. Thanks

[@ajcfactor]

A lot of great info as usual. But I can't say I agree about AF fine tune. The forums are full of people who bang their heads against the wall about soft images but haven't AF fine tuned. The first thing I do with any lens, especially long lenses, is check AF with my Lens Align tool. It takes a minute to determine if an adjustment is needed , and maybe 5 minutes to do the adjustment; at least if it's a prime lens. Both my 300mm f/4 AF-S and my 300mm PF needed adjustment. And they needed a different adjustment with TCs attached.

[@backcountrygallery]

Keep in mind I only suggested that they verify there's an issue - I don't think that's unreasonable :) The thing is, I've seen AFFT cause a lot of headaches for people. I can't tell you the number of people in my workshops that were getting soft images and when I checked their lens, it was off. Most of the time, I ended up setting it back to zero - and suddenly things were better. For more experienced people, I see nothing wrong with checking a lens, however, for less experienced people it can lead to more problems than it's worth. So, my advice is to check it first and see if there's actually an issue. Plus, the PDAF system has some variance in it to begin with, so usually there's no need to make any adjustment if you fall within a point or two of zero. Plus different distances can yield different results, so sometimes compromises need to be made. So, again, I don't think there's anything wrong with checking a lens, but I think for the average shooter, they are better served by shooting a lens in the field first.

[@HR-wd6cw]

I think part of this goes back to what we are taught from the start -- shoot at the lowest ISO possible. That and some people are mis-informed about how fast of a shutter speed you need for some things (as mentioned in the video). But the other half of this is is that in more modern cameras, shooting at ISO 3200 is not like it was 5-10 years ago which meant you probably were going to be getting a very noisy image. And for older cameras, this was true, but most cameras made in the last 5 years are more than capable of producing clean-ish images up to ISO 1600 or ISO 3200, and so if people would get being scared to incraese their ISO to get those fast shutter speeds, then I think that is a huge leap forward for them in getting sharp images. I'm not saying to set the ISO at unreasonably high levels if you don't need to, but don't be afraid to shoot at ISO 1600, 3200 or even 6400 in some cases, to get say a 1/2000s. Modern cameras handle high ISO noise relatively well out of the camera, and then you have software (in post processing) to further help you reduce noise. I know this was one thing I had to get over coming from shooting portraiture and landscapes, where you were either on a tripod, or you had a flash and you always shot at the lowest ISO possible (And you weren't trying to achieve super fast shutter speeds like 1/2000s or faster).

[@bobkids009]

Very Educational indeed......thanks buddy .......

[@Photoking26]

Some great advice there on the Z7ii camera. Thanks.

[@jrrockett]

Everytime I watch your Video's it makes me want to go photograph Wildlife lol, But its Dark out right now! I really appreciate all the Help with these, Ive improved a great deal. Thank you