11 ESSENTIAL TIPS
Whether it’s reducing camera shake or knowing what to focus on, here’s our top tips for taking wildlife shots with a bridge camera…
BLUR THE BACKGROUND ACTIVATE IMAGE STABILISATION
Open the aperture of your lens in ‘aperture priority mode’ (or Av) to its widest setting (usually f/3.5-5.6) to blur the background and direct attention towards your focal point. Many bridge cameras come with image stabilisation for taming camera shake, so make sure this is activated when you are using the long end of your zoom.
GET AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TILT SCREEN USE A MONOPOD OR BEAN BAG
Another way to banish camera shake from your shots is to stabilise your camera on a tripod. Monopods and beanbags are also good portable methods of stabilisation. While a zoom is handy for shooting faraway subjects, this makes images more prone to camera shake so it’s worth getting as close as you can to your subject without disturbing its behaviour. If you see a beetle crawling along you don’t have to get down and dirty. Many bridge cameras come with a tilting screen that you can use to see your composition when you hold it near the floor.
TRY A HIDE MACRO SETTINGS MASTER YOUR SETTINGS
If you’re struggling to get close by moving towards your subject it’s worth checking out a wildlife hide. Here you can wait patiently and let animals come to you. Then you can take a photo when there is an opportunity. For smaller subjects like insects or reptiles you will need to get really close to achieve a frame-filling shot. In order to do this you should activate your camera’s macro (up-close) mode for the best results. Spend some time getting to know your bridge camera and reading the manual so you can dial in the right settings quickly when the perfect photo moment presents itself.
FOCUS ONTHE NEAREST EYE BOOST THE ISO
To avoid camera shake you need a shutter speed equal to or higher than the reciprocal of your focal length. In other words, if your zoom is set to 200mm you need a shutter speed of 1/200s or faster.
SHOOT RAW
Ensure the animal’s eye closest to the camera is the one you focus on for a headshot. Place the active autofocus point over the nearest eye and half press the shutter to focus, then push it down to take it. In addition to JPEG, bridge cameras can shoot in the larger RAW format. These files contain more imaging data and help you adjust the exposure, contrast and colours in software once you are back at your computer.