The first thing about getting shots of hummingbirds in action is getting up early, before sunrise. That’s when they go for a drink and quick dip in the fountain. A few sips of water and a splash on the face and they’re ready for a day chasing insects and sipping flowers.
The second thing is: don’t move. If you stay absolutely still, you can get quite close, although the birds will probably still react to the click of your shutter. With the camera on a tripod, focused on the bird, cable release or remote in hand, you should not have to move to get the shot – since the birds are coming to the fountain, you’ll know pretty much where they’ll land.
If you want to capture all that iridescent color, you need the sun behind you (or a light source that won’t scare the bird). The bird will also have to look right at you for the best effect. Tricky!
If you don’t have a fountain, you need to pick whatever flowers the birds are visiting and camp there, shooting until you get the shot you like. Early or late in the day is better, and pay attention to where the light is coming from if you want an iridescent bird floating over colorful flowers. Be persistent: this is not an easy shot and you’ll be shooting a lot of images just to get a few good shots (or only one).
High ISO, a large aperture and a telephoto lens that can focus on small birds relatively nearby are the other requirements. If you have a giant, powerful telephoto lens you might need to add an accessory so you can focus closer than normal.
If you have a simpler camera, turn off any non-optical zoom function – this just adds noise to your image. Focusing might be an issue, since fast-moving hummingbirds don’t sit around and wait for the focusing system to lock on. So shoot a lot of pictures – way more than you think reasonable, and delete all the ones that didn’t work. If you’re lucky, you might get two or three shots that you’ll love. The rest will most likely be perfectly focused plants in the background and a blurry blob (the bird) in the foreground.
Magnifique, Mike, bravo. Bises. Isa
Merci! J’aimerai capter des mésanges ou les rouges gorges, mais ces oiseaux sont plus sauvage que nos colibris! Je pense que les colibris vivent tellement vite que pour eux, nous ne bougeons guère – pas de menace, tranquille!