My Bird Photography Project This Spring - Working the Light (And Tips on Exposure & Histogram)

[@sarahbatsford4791]

Splashing swan was gorgeous plus the flying ducks. Beaut video & super helpful. Cheers.

[@StephenBrooks-e9m]

Back lighting is my ambition this year, it’s what is inspiring me at the moment

[@paulbaldwin2290]

Love the Swan great video again great tips ! Love your enthusiasm and humour 😂 credit to you Paul duck in flight brilliant 👏👏

[@CanonEurope]

4:04 ❤❤❤

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Cheers!

[@ianpawson1356]

Loved the gadwall shot, the swans bathing catching the droplets are excellent as well.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks Ian. It's been hard work but very enjoyable too.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I absolutely love this type of Lighting for Bird Photography. So.. do you enjoy this technique? And what tips would you give on nailing that all important Exposure? Let me know in the Comments!

[@SkylarkFields]

Enjoyed seeing this - lots of useful tips to try and remember, and you got some lovely images of the ducks and the bathing swan! Occasionally I get a backlit image quite by accident rather than design, and feel very pleased with myself! (Most of my photography is done on the dog walk so as you can imagine it is all a bit hit and miss but when I get a good one it is always very satisfying!) Love your videos, especially this type.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Opportunistic photography is often more difficult - but as long as you are enjoying yourself that's what counts!

[@SkylarkFields]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography You're absolutely right! 😊

[@seanjonesphotos]

Great video Paul, really enjoyed it.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thank you

[@pdel7007]

reassuring to see great images very often have to be worked at

[@ianwilsonwildlifephotography]

Really great video Paul and very informative about settings etc. would you mind explaining the part about using minus exposure compensation for the dark background and then using water or splashes for the highlights as couldn’t quite get my head around it! Thanks Ian

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Sure. If shooting against a dark background (and using evaluative metering) the camera will automatically overexpose and make your image too bright- so you need to underexpose to counteract that. The splashes - ideally I want the highlights of the bird not too overexposed and blown out, but when there's no bird to practice on I'll use something else to judge the exposure - like the bright water.

[@ianwilsonwildlifephotography]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography thanks for that Paul, will experiment with that next time. 👍

[@JonathanMikulich]

Thank you for this. I also appreciate back-lighting quite a bit. And that typically differs me from my fellow photographers that prefer the sun behind them. I agree that the mood back-lighting gives is much more dramatic.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks very much. I agree - I also find few photographers who seem to use back-lighting. I love the effect, always have. And I really enjoy the creative aspect. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@nigelbramley4188]

Another great vid Paul. Always honest, humourous and humble. Certainly the showing of different techniques can only be beneficial to your followers. Educational but fun as always. Keep em coming...

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I do my best. Thanks for all the positive comments Nigel.

[@ScottRitchie-bw9ls]

I really enjoyed that Paul. Warts and all, your humour shines through. Project style is great as it shows the evolution of your learning, and adapting to conditions. Well done!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks so much. I hope to make more videos like this one.

[@ScottRitchie-bw9ls]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography I recently got the Canon R5-2,and am using Precapture to get photos of backlit Bee -eaters launching from tombstones. Fair dinkum. They are beautiful..

[@stephenelderphoto]

Superb video. This is the type of video that I find is great for picking up tips from, so I hope you make many more of them. I also have a quick question Paul. Which pads do you have on your tripod legs? I got Vanguard ones last year and they're quite bulky so I like the look of the ones in this video. Thanks!❤

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Many thanks. Absolutely, I hope to make more similar to this. I think the tripod legs came with the tripod, mine is an Induro CT404.

[@thomasreed49]

Thanks.

[@Kellysher]

We have a local wetlands the I literally shoot one side in the morning and one side in the evening to avoid the backlighting. Guess I don’t know how to “control the exposure” and end up with too much contrast for my liking. I usually shoot stationary birds and end up with silhouettes. Maybe BIF backlite would be interesting. Maybe it’s just a matter of practice vs. avoidance! I do like this in the field content. But please be as detailed as possible in your comments for us newbies! Thanks.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I sometimes do the same when I want the sun behind me. Definitely worth experimenting though - why not! When you say be detailed in my comment - do you mean here in the comments section, or in the video? Thanks.

[@photochop9657]

At times we are our own worst enemy especially when it comes to highlights and shadows, why put in detail when details are not visible. If the bathing Swan was blindingly bright then you should endeavour to record it that way.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I appreciate your thoughts. The Swan is pretty much how I remember it. I don't do a lot of post-processing generally.