I am new to this so I was wondering how you get such good photographs of fling objects, like flies, birds, lizards, etc?

Are you talking about close-ups, or at a distance?

In general, fast shutter speed (short exposure time) is critical for any moving object. Sharp focus is also critical for a great photo. I depend on my camera's auto-focus (in single-point mode). A very steady hand or a good camera support is also important.

There are some great books that will help you understand the basics of photography and your camera specifically.

One is "Understanding Exposure" by Brian Peterson.

You can also get a book for your exact camera. Go to Amazon and search in books for your camera model. The "Dummies" series is good, but there are others out there.

Do your reading on the pertinent forums here. There are also other good sites--one called "Digital Photography School", and the site of the New York Institute of Photography have many informative articles.

Learn the basics, and practice a lot.

Also be aware that even the pros here throw away many many shots.

working on it in Middle TN
Nikon D3100
18-55 mm Nikkor VR
55-200 mm Nikkor VR
55-300 mm Nikkor VR
150-500 mm Sigma OS

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Hi Jean,

In order to give you some ideas about your question I really need to know something about your photography and equipment, but you've hardly scratched the surface with your profile and haven't told us anything about your equipment in it. Would you please fill in your profile more, so it can help us help you.

Ned
A Nikonians Team Member

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Visit my Travel Photography Blog and my Galleries.

My profile is as good as sit gets right now. all I have is a cheap XThinn 8350 that I got off of ebay. I have nothing else.

You have to have fast shutter speed. Without knowing anything else about your camera, I can tell you that your only bet is to have very good lighting. That may or may not help you, depending on the capabilities of your camera.

You should search around on Google and see if you can find a manual for your camera. That might tell you if it is possible to adjust the shutter speed to help you out with this type of photo.

working on it in Middle TN
Nikon D3100
18-55 mm Nikkor VR
55-200 mm Nikkor VR
55-300 mm Nikkor VR
150-500 mm Sigma OS

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Actually, by telling us what camera you have, you have given us far more information than is in your profile, and it's really helpful, as now I can give you a relevant answer, although, to an extent, it's not one you'll like.

You have an inexpensive Point and Shoot digital camera. The XThinn 8350, from Silicon Valley Peripherals is an 8 Mega Pixels CCD, Size : 1/2.5 inch digital point and shoot camera with a lens having a focal length range of: f = 6.2 ( W ) ~ 18.6 ( T ) mm, with a 3X optical zoom, 4X digital zoom. I immediately through away the 4X digital zoom as the quality of the photo when using that zoom will be terrible. Point and shoots have a very small sensor which limits their ability to be able to show distant objects well. The maximum focal length equivalent of your camera to a DSLR is 105mm which barely scratches the telephoto lens (The lens we use to pull in and magnify distant object.) range. For example, in a recent wildlife workshop I ran for 20 students I recommended a minimum of a 300mm focal length for wildlife photography for birds, if you're trying to get small birds. Larger birds, if you can get close can be captured with a somewhat short lens at times. For insects, one can utilize much shorter lenses if you can get close enough for macro photography shots of them.

You said in the original post, "I am new to this so I was wondering how you get such good photographs of fling objects, like flies, birds, lizards, etc?

The short answer is, if it's flying, with your camera, you're not going to get it, except for the occasional lucky shot.

You camera just isn't capable of capturing the photos you've seen like the one I'm using as an example below.

Let's examine the photo for a moment. It was taken with a D700, which is a full size pro level DSLR. You don't need a camera as good as that, but you surely need a DSLR of reasonably good quality to capture this type of image. Attached to the camera I had a 500mm Nikkor lens plus a 1.4x Nikon teleconverter to get a total lens focal length of 700mm, far in excess of your camera's capability. Moreover, there is no shutter lag with my camera, the length of time between pressing the shutter release, and when the camera actually takes the photo. I also have a significant advantage from my camera's autofocus system in keeping the shot in focus as I follow the flight of the bird. Your camera can't accomplish that. Finally, and I'm only hitting the major points, the dynamic range capability of my camera far exceeds yours. Dynamic range has to do with the range of from dark to light a camera's sensor can capture. Your camera would have probably blown out the white parts of the bird and eliminated any detail in them.

Now if you're talking about flies, birds, lizards, in trees or on the ground, you may be able to get some very nice photos of them, if you can get close enough to them to fill much of your frame (the monitor on the back of your camera) prior to taking the photo.

As it turns out, it takes good equipment for sure, but it also takes more photographic knowledge than the average beginner has, so one thing you can do immediately, if you want to make these kinds of photos in the future is start learning about exposure now. I strongly recommend the book Understanding Exposure, How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera by Bryan Peterson for anyone new to photography. It's a great book (~$16) to begin building a foundation of photographic knowledge.

"

Ned
A Nikonians Team Member

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Visit my Travel Photography Blog and my Galleries.

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Thanks for your responses. I will look up the book you recommended Ned. I think its neat to try and capture nature in action. Especially the little ones, like the blue flies, lizards, etc.

>Thanks for your responses. I will look up the book you
>recommended Ned. I think its neat to try and capture nature in
>action. Especially the little ones, like the blue flies,
>lizards, etc.

If you just want to capture natures little things, I think you may have more luck with macro photography. Insects collecting nectar on the flower tend to not move very fast, which means you can decrease exposure speed (longer shutter time), which will let you actually take a photo, rather than just have a dark screen...

What is macro photography? I've never heard of that.

Hi Jean,

Macro photography is essentially "close-up" photography. It's when you get as close to the subject, such as an insect, as you can (Watch out for those bees and other stinging insects.) to fill your frame so you get a "close-up" shot. You've seen many "close-up" shots without knowing it was macro photography.

Here's a close up of a Great Golden Digger Wasp. Close-up photographs can be accomplished with a variety of lens, but there are lenses specifically known as "macro" lenses. "Macro" lenses specifically designed for close-up work, with a long barrel for close focusing and optimized for high reproduction ratios. In other words, without getting highly technical, they can focus with the front end of the lens very close to the subject, so you can fill your frame with the small subject, such as an insect, and see their details.

I mentioned macro photography in my extensive post written to you, which you can find above.




Ned
A Nikonians Team Member

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Visit my Travel Photography Blog and my Galleries.

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That is a nice picture of a wasp. Thanks again for explaining macro photography. I read it above guess it went right on threw the brain. Nature is so cool to photo. I like getting the humming birds too. They are a beautiful little creature.