SHOOTING STEPS

SET THE SCENE Start by preparing your props and setting out the scene, making sure that the layout works and that everything is as sturdy as possible. The last thing you want is for your props to move as the bird lands, so make sure you are fully prepared before shooting. I put some small stones in the sock and attached a plastic bottle partfilled with water to the green bottle top; this helps keep them stable on the clothes line.

CAMERA SETUP Now it’s time to set up your camera so that you are ready before the birds come in. I always shoot in Aperture Priority mode and use this along with my ISO to control the shutter speed. For this particular shot I stopped down a touch to f5.6 to increase the focal depth, and a shutter speed of 1/400sec was enough to keep things sharp.

GET CAMOUFLAGED A scrim net can be used to soften your shape and help you to blend in with your surroundings. This will make you appear less of a threat and will keep the birds at ease, which will lead to more natural behaviour and better images.

CAMERA SETTINGS Now adjust your camera settings to suit the conditions. Soft diffused light is ideal for this setup, so try to choose a cloudy day if possible. A little overexposure will help brighten the scene and use a manual white balance for colour control.

AN IDEAL BACKGROUND Try to shoot towards a neutral and uncluttered area, and aim to put as much distance as possible between your prop and the background. This will help to isolate the subject and make it stand out as the key focus of the image.

FOCUS Pre-focus was used to capture this image. An AF point over the peg was selected in order to set the focus and composition before the bird arrived and entered the scene.