What do you think?
Rate this book
The Handbook of Bird Photography
The Handbook of Bird Photography distills the knowledge, talent, and experience of three well-known professional wildlife photographers into one beautifully illustrated volume. Written in a manner that is easy to understand, this book offers fresh insight and practical tips that will broaden horizons for nature and bird photographers. The authors share their stories showcasing photographs for which they have received awards in major international wildlife photo competitions.
In this book, you'll learn about all of the elements that lead to a great bird photograph,
You'll also learn how to show, share, promote, and sell your photographs.
Bird photography is a brilliant way to spend your free time, and for some it's a career. This book helps beginners get the hang of things quickly and accurately, and offers field-specific expertise for more experienced photographers.
In this book, you'll learn about all of the elements that lead to a great bird photograph,
You'll also learn how to show, share, promote, and sell your photographs.
Bird photography is a brilliant way to spend your free time, and for some it's a career. This book helps beginners get the hang of things quickly and accurately, and offers field-specific expertise for more experienced photographers.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 9, 2019
Three photographers joined forces to write this book. They alternated topics and used their photos to illustrate each concept. Initially, I was overwhelmed by the complexity of the information. Perhaps, it is more suited for intermediate photographers. I was very thankful for the emphasis on respecting birds by minimizing distractions to their daily lives.
January 22, 2014
The Handbook of Bird Photography is filled with excellent images of birds in various types of shots and under several climatic conditions.
It presents a well organized introduction into the world of bird photography, and I suspect would prove to be a fine read for most anyone with a strong interest in the field. It includes a section about the equipment needed, from the cameras and lenses on down to the necessary accessories. The information is concise and would be a reliable aid in making decisions on what’s what when considering making purchases if one is venturing into this form of outdoor photography.
Use of existing and artificial light, focusing methods, purposive use of blur, and ISO settings are among the topics that are elaborated on, each with its own section in the book.
I found the authors’ discussion of “arrangement” of photographic settings helpful. The blending of such a controlled and standardized approach with a spontaneous, shoot what moves one seems to be helpful, and given to the production of art rather than an assembly line approach.
The authors address the importance of increasing the chances of good pictures by a)building a blind, b)positioning oneself in a place and at an appropriate angle, c)using means of mobility (e.g. car, boat) and d)appropriate accessories (e.g. window tripod), and using gathering points (e.g. nests, bodies of water, feeder boxes).
Topics such as “knowing your area”, adapting to circumstances, and using weather to one’s advantage, contain worthwhile material that at one level or another applies to most forms of photography…not just to outdoor photography, or even more specifically, outdoor bird photography. It follows that the material presented lends itself to being generalizable to photography in many of its forms, if, that is, the reader is open and willing to extend the effort to make the stretch.
It presents a well organized introduction into the world of bird photography, and I suspect would prove to be a fine read for most anyone with a strong interest in the field. It includes a section about the equipment needed, from the cameras and lenses on down to the necessary accessories. The information is concise and would be a reliable aid in making decisions on what’s what when considering making purchases if one is venturing into this form of outdoor photography.
Use of existing and artificial light, focusing methods, purposive use of blur, and ISO settings are among the topics that are elaborated on, each with its own section in the book.
I found the authors’ discussion of “arrangement” of photographic settings helpful. The blending of such a controlled and standardized approach with a spontaneous, shoot what moves one seems to be helpful, and given to the production of art rather than an assembly line approach.
The authors address the importance of increasing the chances of good pictures by a)building a blind, b)positioning oneself in a place and at an appropriate angle, c)using means of mobility (e.g. car, boat) and d)appropriate accessories (e.g. window tripod), and using gathering points (e.g. nests, bodies of water, feeder boxes).
Topics such as “knowing your area”, adapting to circumstances, and using weather to one’s advantage, contain worthwhile material that at one level or another applies to most forms of photography…not just to outdoor photography, or even more specifically, outdoor bird photography. It follows that the material presented lends itself to being generalizable to photography in many of its forms, if, that is, the reader is open and willing to extend the effort to make the stretch.
April 23, 2017
A great book with lots of useful ideas to help and inspire you. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I got a lot out of it. I just wish there would be an updated version as there has been so much progress in cameras and lenses since this book was published.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews