Technique assessment

Aperture Priority

Chris says... I encouraged Ed to move away from the safety of Auto mode and try using the semi-automatic Aperture Priority mode instead. This is perfect for bird photography, as you usually want to shoot with your lens ‘wide open’ at it’s maximum aperture; this will give a shallow depth of field that separates the bird from the background, helping it to stand out. Your Nikon works out the shutter speed accordingly.

Autofocus & Drive modes

Chris says... Birds move unpredictably when diving for their prey, so I got Ed to select AF-C (continuous autofocus) in conjunction with AF-Area mode set to the central cluster of AF points. When you half-depress the shutter release button the Nikon continuously refocuses to track the bird in the centre of the frame, but will switch to an adjacent AF point should it stray from the active one. Setting Continuous High drive mode shoots at the maximum frame rate, while still refocusing between

Keep an eye on the ISO

Chris says... You’ll need a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 sec to freeze the birds and splash as they break the surface of the water. By shooting at your lens’s widest aperture, your Nikon will be setting a relatively fast shutter speed by default, especially in bright daylight. However, light levels can change constantly, and if it dips below this speed then increase the ISO until it’s fast enough again.