SET UP TO CAPTURE WONDERFUL GARDEN WILDLIFE

Use some basic photography essentials to get set up to take striking garden wildlife imagery

01 CREATE A PERCH

Giving the birds a place to land enables you to control the composition to an extent. I added an old gatepost to the garden and placed it in front of some foliage, but you could also set up some gnarly old logs for a more natural look too.

02 KEEP IT CLEAN

You’ll discover quickly that any feeding table or perch will soon get covered in white bird poo. This looks unslightly, so if you can, clean it regularly, but if you forget to do so you can always remove any marks with the Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop.

03 ADD YOUR FOOD

Place some bird seed on your impromptu perch to lure the birds in your garden over to this spot, which will photograph much better than a standard bird feeder. Try to hide the seeds from view as much as possible so you don’t give the game away.