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How to Photograph Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are small, agile birds that at first glance, are often mistaken for shimmering, jewel-like insects. Some hummingbirds, like the ruby-throated hummingbird, weigh about the same as a penny; they have one of the fastest wing beats of any bird, with 12-90 beats per second. Their small size and incredible speed make them a difficult subject to photograph. Knowing something about their preferred habitats and behaviors, as well as what settings to use on your camera, can help you capture these beautiful birds on film.

Things You'll Need

Field guide to birds
Camera with flash

Instructions

- 1
  
  Look for hummingbirds around nectar-filled flowers.
  
  Before you venture out with your camera, you must first become familiar with hummingbird habitat and behavior. Hummingbirds are nectarivores (nectar-feeders) and feed on ornithophilous (bird-pollinated) flowers. Some flowers that attract hummingbirds include Sunset Hyssop, Columbine, Fox Glove, Morning Glory, Iris, Lupine. Look for these flowers to find hummingbirds. You can also find hummingbirds around nectar feeders -- set one up in your garden outside a window for great shots.
  
  You should also learn the name of the species you would like to photograph, what time of year they are most active, and what they sound like. The distinctive hum of a hummingbird can help you locate them in the wild.
- 2
  Use continuous autofocus (AF) -- a feature that most SLR cameras should be equipped with -- to keep the lens focused on the bird, even as it moves through the air. Set up your camera to use the center AF point only; this will help keep the center point focused on your subject at all times.
- 3
  Use a high shutter speed. Shutter speed indicates the amount of time your camera's shutter will be open. 1/800 second is the least you can use in order to capture a crisp image of the wings in motion. Using a lower shutter speed (for example, 1/200 second) will result in a washed-out, blurry image.
- 4
  Setting the ISO between 400-800 will also help. The ISO setting indicates how sensitive your camera will be to light. Lowering the ISO setting will mean that your camera will be less sensitive to light and that your shots will be finer-grained. When shooting hummingbirds, setting the ISO to anything higher than 800 will result in a grainy image.
- 5
  Use flash to get a crisp photo of the wings in motion. If using flash, shutter speed does not matter. In low-light environments, you can get an exceptional image with a shutter speed of 1/200 and ISO of 100 when using flash.

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