Indoor Avian Photo Studios

[Shirley]

Sometimes making a little indoor avian photo studio is most helpful when trying to photograph birds who are insecure with the large open spaces or have a tendency to fly away.

The first one I made was used for the family of Bourke's... Papa is flighted but not tame, and being enclosed on all sides but one *really* made the difference in calming him down and allowing me to shoot away, all with a flash, and with chicks that didn't want to sit still. I finally put the one chick that kept wanting to hide behind his parents in the antique cup, along with his brother. Then I placed the parents up higher, and it made for a decent family portrait. The cup with the chicks is cute, but it was inspired because of the younger chick constanty running behind his parents. Look for good outcomes in challenging situations. Or... wait for another day.

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/PicPerch/simple-studio.jpg

Black is a nice background color to bring out the colors in lighter birds, and if you keep your flash LOW, then it looks even blacker. (or get back further and zoom in if you can't control your flash) My flash here is about -2.0.
The camera is also on sports setting, not portrait. Sports is a much faster shutter speed to stop moving birdies.

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/PicPerch/Family-3wks.jpg

And baby in the cup. I also took a nice portrait of just the two babies, both in the cup, and it made a nice card for Easter. Photoshop cleaned up the bird droppings. You can't worry about that while you're shooting.

Next studio: Bringing the outdoors inside... and using the bathroom if the bird might fly rapidly or erratically.

We had a Magnolia Warbler knock himself out on our patio door. He was very cold when I found him, and conscious. I put him in the incubator (baby bird brooder) for 2 hrs and he was then fine. Then I photographed him and released him. In the box, he was a remarkable subject to photograph, quite calm. Rather than fly out, he tended to duck down into the foliage.

This is a very low-res image, but the large print (same image) I made for my avian vet's mother, a bird watcher, is crystal clear and just stunning! I loved photographing this little guy -- he turned and looked in several directions and was very calm throughout the 45 minutes of shooting. My son, also a photographer, was visiting and shooting at the same time... so he was doubly covered!

Notice the "studio" is made in a large rectangular box and set on the counter in the bathroom, shower curtain is closed, cat is out, door is closed, and of course, Toilet seat is down! ;)

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/PicPerch/flower-studio.jpg

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/PicPerch/MagnoliaWarbler.jpg

Different views had different flower arrangements...

Hope this gives you some inspiration... both of these sessions were most of the afternoon in the creation and shooting, then the rest of the afternoon in Photoshop - cropping and sorting, resizing and such. I don't now how many shots I deleted of the warbler, but I have 76 that I kept.

[Sue]

Shirley, I love these pics, I WILL get started on Photoshop soon:emot-danc

[Jean]

Such a clever way to get the background. Especially, for the little ones.

[Shirley]

right! I don't do this for the big guys. Except maybe hang a big black sheet behind them if necessary...

haha! I can just see me moving a big tree in the house for Skyler who's flighted! nope, I photoshop his harness off instead!

[Jean]

right! I don't do this for the big guys. Except maybe hang a big black sheet behind them if necessary...

haha! I can just see me moving a big tree in the house for Skyler who's flighted! nope, I photoshop his harness off instead!

I can see that with Elvie too! He'd think I lost it, for sure! :roflmao2::rofl:

[Jean]

Shirley, I want to mention how nice it is of you to show the members some photography behind the scenes tricks, of how to set up a perfect prop for photo shots.

:thanx: :tighthug:

[Shirley]

Thanks, Jean! I hope anyone with questions will ask, and I ask of other photogs all the time... and we all ask questions of each other at the monthly get-togethers, too. no questions, no learning...

Here's Skyler in the live oak about two blocks from Ginny's house in Florida... Troy had the end of his leash... don't think my heart didn't do a flip flop... he flew from Troy to the tree! but Troy DID have the end of the leash!

He's about 8 ft high.

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/Skyler/Skyler-Wings-252.jpg


I used that sawed-off limb for most of the large parrots... Taco their Macaw looked magnificent on it! So did Bacardi, their MSC2. :clap:

[Shirley]

Taco... I made an 8x10 of this at Ginny's request...Taco is flighted and was wearing his harness, of course.

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/Taco/Taco-Tree-248cpyrt.jpg

[Shirley]

And lovely Miss Bacardi...

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/Bacardi/Bacardi-Tree-cpyrt226.jpg

[Shirley]

Here are some unedited pics other than low-res for fast load of Bacardi in the tree... she was so pretty in the afternoon setting sun.

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/Bacardi/243-tree.jpg

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/Bacardi/242-tree.jpg

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/Bacardi/241-tree.jpg

http://shirleymorgan.com/misc/Bacardi/239=tree.jpg

I was also playing with the depth of field... note the focus on Bacardi and the tree out of focus last pic, and everything in focus or varying degrees of in focus in the distance on the others.

[Majj]

Great Photo`s ...I love them all :thumbup: thanks for sharing some little secrets with us amatures...:foot-tap: :thanx:

[Jean]

Oh Shirley, they are all absolutely beautiful pics.:heart: :wub: :heart: I could look at parrot pics all day. :heart:

:thanx: for sharing them. Please, tell Ginny her babies are beautiful. :heart:

[morgavin]

:thanx: Shirley for the gr8 pics and hints.... I like the composition of the pics and will definately try the suggestions. I haven't had much time lately as work has stolen my life....but when things slow down I will definately try your tips....THNX again...

[Jim]

Shirley those are great photos and beautiful birds. WOW!!! Glad you told me in your reply to my intro post these were here.

All the best
Jim

[Shirley]

Thanks, Jim! I'm so glad you liked them! I have Holly in the Glorious Greys forum... and others scattered in various other forums. I LOVE taking their photos! :emot-danc

[Jean]

She does beautiful work too! :) I have sent her several pics of Elvie to enlarge.
She's even done some of mine in fact, she is doing some more now. :beerchug:

[lilbaypony]

Oh wow, those pictures are gorgeous... Makes me wanna take some "good" shots of my birds... :)

[Scout Bird]

What type of camera? I could never dream to get anything that good and I have 7.2 megapixels Sony Cyber Shot. I need a real camera...What should I get?


Bric

[Shirley]

You can get those shots with your camera... my son gets his with his first camera... an Olympus 2.1 megapixel... or maybe it's a 3.1.
What should you get? I'd need to ask you first... what do you want to use it for? What do you want to spend? It's like buying a computer...

[icebear]

What type of camera? I could never dream to get anything that good and I have 7.2 megapixels Sony Cyber Shot. I need a real camera...What should I get?


Bric

:rotflmao:You have more potential than me and my Sony Mavca with its whopping 1.6 megapixels.... of course my Sony is about 5 years obsolete :D

[Shirley]

What type of camera? I could never dream to get anything that good and I have 7.2 megapixels Sony Cyber Shot. I need a real camera...What should I get?


Bric

If you search through the Picture Perch there's a thread there I think Morgavin started that ends up telling a LOT about how to use digital cameras with lots of links that are helpful.

:highfive:

[Scout Bird]

I look for that thread thanks! You also asked what I wanted the newer camera for. MY KID! I have an 18 month old and catching a pic of bird in flight is easier LOL. I keep threatening the husband to buy a regular old 35MM, my parents got great pics of me with it. It is seems like it is always something with the Digi....skin color off, eyes wrong, focus off something. I just remeber classic 35MM making easy good pics?


I want to point shoot and get good pics, I may even want to do something fancy with it like you have with the Bourkes. The Digi is driving me bonkers; maybe I have the wrong one?

Bric

[Shirley]

You have an excellent camera... and I would give ANYTHING to have had digital when my boys were young... I had (still have) a super Nikon 35mm with all the lenses... but... didn't get it out often enough... bought film, took 36 shots, threw the bad ones away, and kept the good ones (I'm real picky) and that's expensive... and now they are in photo albums, who knows where the negatives are... and with digital, they are all in immaculate condition on hard drives, always will be, won't turn yellow, won't get wet... my kids have them...

Anyhow... download the full-blown manual to your camera, not just the little one that came with it. Or it might be on the CD as a pdf doc and you can print it out. Mine cost about $10 to print and spiral bind at Staples... it's a big thing!! 1.5" thick!

Study it... your camera has features you probably aren't even aware of.

Next, get Photoshop Elements for cheap on eBay or $99 new, or free with a good printer (Epson) and use the BEST paper (Epson Photo Luster) I never use glossy, and learn to fix your pics... basic color correction, light correction, cropping, and simple retouching does wonders.

You can't do that with 35 mm without a super scanner (Lost quality already) and you may as well have a digital. Thing is... Digital DOES have to have write-time to the card, film cameras don't, and that's a pain. And the flash you have to get used to... if you don't adjust it, you will have way too much and wash out the image. You have to figure out how to turn it way down. And use the sports setting for birds and kids b/c they MOVE.

And once you focus, if you move the camera before you take the pic, the focus is based upon where you had the camera BEFORE you moved it. :doh:

~ Shirley

[Scout Bird]

Okay I messed with it some last night and figured out I could change the flash...duh. I was so mad at that flash, it was too bright. I just know nothing, I went I bought the smallest with the highest megapixels and came home. I wanted high megapixels but small size...this was the only then.

My main problem with Digi, was I was used to *snap* pic is done. The split second lag between snap and click of pic was driving me nuts.

I think you are right, I just need to read and learn...thanks SO MUCH for the help. :thanx: Can I bug you more if I need too?


Printer I have a Canon i960 Good, Bad, In between?
and I have Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 Still need the other program?

I will get the better paper, I forget what this stuff is. I think we got low grade to practice with the printer, not smart LOL.

Bric

[morgavin]

Bric,
It will take a little reading and a lot of experimenting, but with a little guidence (especially from Shirley):agree: , you will see a great improvement in just a little time. The thing about digital. as Shirley mentioned, is the lag time and focus on where you Started to take the pic. But on the other hand, digital is throw away what you don't want, delete, and it doesn't cost anything. Good luck and have a little patience. The paintshop pro is a decent program. It should do all you need. I think familiarity and comfort zone are improtant when using editing programs. Just my :cents:

[Scout Bird]

Patience is a virtue...Where can I buy one of those :shrug:

I will play for awhile, then come bug some more. Thanks!

Bric remembering Patience Patience..

[Shirley]

Yes, you can ask, otherwise, how does one learn? I ask other photogs all the time. :thumbup:

Oh, btw, I just realized... some of those pics I posted were taken with a Fuji S1 Pro... that's not my usual point and shoot digicam... it's a professional digital that I recently bought and am still learning to use properly... it's an SLR like a 35mm but digital, takes interchangeable lenses like my Nikon lenses, and various flash attachments plus the flip-up built-in flash.

As for your printer, I'm not familiar with it... I'd have to look it up. Epson is the one most photographers use, and whatever brand printer they use, they choose the photo printer, not the "all-in-one" printer. Usually the paper made for the printer does the best job for that printer... and I buy the highest grade Epson paper for printing. Cheap paper on an excellent printer makes a photo look awful. Also, I print from Photoshop at 300 dpi tif. 72 dpi looks terrible as a print and terrific on the monitor. A lot of people print 72 dpi.

I buy all my paper and ink online -- usually at www.thenerds.net

I spray all my prints with "Print Guard" which I've only found online. Anything similar at scrap book store is NOT what you want to use. Print Guard is $15-18 a can. The other stuff is $6-8 a can and is not what you want.

I've seen your paint program, but know nothing about it.

Adobe Photoshop is what the professional photographers use... it's expensive, but there are other programs that are very good and much less expensive, and do a lot less, and you don't need all the things photoshop can do to make excellent bird portraits or children's portraits. There are some things Jasc probably can't do for children's portraits, but I'm not sure.
(retouching faces, the healing tool in photoshop is wonderful!) Photoshop elements has a lot, but not the healing tool.

[Shirley]

Bric, sometimes I'll take 40 pics and toss all of them. Sometimes 40 and keep 10. Back in the film days, I just missed out on taking so many pics due to not having film bought, or not wanting to spend the money getting it developed... and so while I have a lot of pics of my boys, I should have so many more of them, and I don't! :( And organizing digital is so easy... just name and date the folder!

[Shirley]

Bric, this is something my son Troy made in Photoshop..., using a photo I took of Skyler about 18 mos ago...

http://www.shirleymorgan.com/sjm/Skyler.jpg

[Shirley]

Here's a printer discussion:
http://www.thebirdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20

And another digital camera discussion:

http://www.thebirdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=498

And yet another digital camera thread you may have missed:

http://www.thebirdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=620

[icebear]

Bric, this is something my son Troy made in Photoshop..., using a photo I took of Skyler about 18 mos ago...

http://www.shirleymorgan.com/sjm/Skyler.jpg



:rofl:

[Scout Bird]

Shirley!!! You rock! :dance: I am going to get Matt on here tonight, husband with as many parrots as me, to read this thread. Wish he was a forum hound too. I am going to tell him, read this and help me make it happen.


Bric Thinking...A couple of months is not to soon to toss the old printer :roflmao2:

[Shirley]

:o Thanks, Bric... I learned photoshop hands-on and mainly from my son, with the same file on his computer and on mine... and on the cell phones late at night....

Manuals with photoshop are pretty much not fun... I've seen them, but never gotten past the first page.

Also... every now and then cnet.com give free online lessons and they ARE hands on if you own the program, and they are worth taking.

www.adobe.com for photoshop, and you can buy it on eBay... but don't buy the CS version unless it's sealed in the box never ever used, or it WILL NOT RUN regardless what you are promised... it can only be registered one time, it will not run unless it is registered, and cannot be installed on more than one computer regardless that you own two computers. I have 7.0 and my son has CS.