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I am wondering if it is necessary to use flash on a regular basis for small bird photography?

As a general rule what do most bird photographers do, flash or available light? If flash what equipment do you use?

I live in Australia so think light is not a real problem here except for summertime when it is harsh but I mostly shoot under tree conopy cover to get the softer light.

I have looked at the bird gallery and can not see any details that say flash was used.

Thanks for any information.

Many bird photogs use flash. Ever heard of Better Beamer flash extender ?

It could be controversial though especially when used on owls. But then, many photos you've seen of owls at night were lit with flash or some kind of lighting.

I'd say most photogs don't photo birds with flash though. I mean, of all who photograph birds in this world, how many of them do go out into the wood late at night photographing owls, or other birds for that matter ? Of course many who use flash use it to soften the shadows or create a highlight in the bird's eyes.

I sometimes use flash as fill for small birds in forest habitat. It helps me to strike a balance between available light and brightening shadows or low light levels.

Paul

I shoot warblers and all manner of birds with flash. Last year and up to this May I used a SB-900 with the SG-9 power pack. I keep the strobe under exposed by -2.78. This gives me a catch light in the eye (using the MagMod extender) without over powering the bird with flash. At the camera I'm using manual with AutoIso running or I'll set to shutter priority with a high shutter speed. I always keep the SB-900's set to 1/320s (Auto FP)  
 Now I've got a SB-910 (again MagMod is used) and a PROPAC PB 960 power pack. The PROPAC PB 960 will keep up with the motor drive when using 1/4 power. I set the flash to manual and set the power to 1/4. All my cameras are set to 1/320s (Auto FP). I adjust lightening or darkening with the camera compensation. I very rarely point the camera up past 20 degrees. When I do that I open compensation to between +1.3 to +2.3. One year I was over +4.0 for very strong backlighting.
Flash photography for birds is very complicated shooting. One needs to know their equipment so well that they can make changes to exposure without looking at the camera. Also with the strobe set to 1/4 power I have to stay within 20 feet of the subject. Without using the MagMod  extender and at 1/4 power my distance out would be only a couple of feet.

Cheers
Larry

I think it's very situational. I definitely use it less than I used to due to the dynamic range in cameras today but there are instances where it definitely helps as Larry pointed out above. But if the bird is well lit and in good light, there's usually not much need. Another area where it is very beneficial is with hummingbirds to freeze the wings and we often use 3 or 4 flashes at a lower power setting to reduce the flash duration for that.

Thanks to all for the information. I use flash alot with my macro work and my camera is set to Auto FP. I do not have a Mag Mod or power pack though as weight is an important consideration for me.

I have refined my bird shooting methods to placing a branch at the edge of a dam, or pond, in good light during spring and summer and simple sitting on a stool nearby, about 15ft away and waiting for the birds to come in and drink or bath. As water is scarce and becomes more so as summer develops I get a good variety of birds in the 3 locations I have set up and they seem ok with my presence. I choose location depending on time of day and water level.

So maybe as EJ suggests the flash would not be a great advantage to me.

Years ago I tested fill flash on a front lighted Barn Swallow. I first shot without flash then I turned on the flash and shot. This was back in the film days so I could look at both prints at the same time. The flashed shot was the better one since it lighted up his feathers and I could see even more detail. This test was back in 2002 or 2003, I have since used flash fill all the time shooting birds. The secret is not to over flash the subject. So shoot in either manual AutoIso or shutter speed with AutoIso with camera use compensation for backlighting and use the highest shutter speed you can, adjust the flash compensation so that it delivers a catch light in the eye but doesn't over flash the bird. This all works well as long as the subject is not too far away, however I shot a great Horned Owl in 2012 and the flash traveled 229.6 feet. I know the flash hit the Owl because it showed red eye on the Owl in post.

Larry Shuman wrote:Years ago I tested fill flash on a front lighted Barn Swallow. I first shot without flash then I turned on the flash and shot. This was back in the film days so I could look at both prints at the same time. The flashed shot was the better one since it lighted up his feathers and I could see even more detail. This test was back in 2002 or 2003, I have since used flash fill all the time shooting birds. The secret is not to over flash the subject. So shoot in either manual AutoIso or shutter speed with AutoIso with camera use compensation for backlighting and use the highest shutter speed you can, adjust the flash compensation so that it delivers a catch light in the eye but doesn't over flash the bird. This all works well as long as the subject is not too far away, however I shot a great Horned Owl in 2012 and the flash traveled 229.6 feet. I know the flash hit the Owl because it showed red eye on the Owl in post.

Remember that in 2002 you were dealing with 4-5 stops from solid black to blown out white, today that's more like 12...

Kim wrote:I am wondering if it is necessary to use flash on a regular basis for small bird photography?

As a general rule what do most bird photographers do, flash or available light? If flash what equipment do you use?

I live in Australia so think light is not a real problem here except for summertime when it is harsh but I mostly shoot under tree conopy cover to get the softer light.

I have looked at the bird gallery and can not see any details that say flash was used.

Thanks for any information.

Just remember the key to using flash well is to make the photo look like no flash was used when in fact it was.  The balance of available light with the flash is what takes some practice and comes with a bit of a learning curve.  Trial and error are your friend.  Once you become comfortable with balancing the two light sources, the use of flash becomes second nature.

Also, if by chance you're using Nikon equipment as opposed to Canon remember that you can dial in flash compensation on BOTH the camera and the flash itself and the two values are cumulative.  If you've got other gear I can't offer any advice.  E.J. may know............

Like others I use flash on occasion but rarely these days with the dynamic range of digital. Interesting article here:

https://www.naturescapes.net/articles/h ... d-animals/

Greg Downing wrote:Like others I use flash on occasion but rarely these days with the dynamic range of digital. Interesting article here:

https://www.naturescapes.net/articles/h ... d-animals/

I have shared this link so many times when people are adamant about flash being bad for bird photography.  Dennis gives good insight on flash photography with this article.

Only when I have to or no other choice.  Many people would have chosen flash for this shot as the light was dim.  You wouldn't know it by looking at the image as I did a long exposure on a tripod with remote release.  Yes, not everyone brings a tripod with them.  However, at night there may be no other way to take a shot other than with the use of flash. 

OntPhoto wrote:

Only when I have to or no other choice.  Many people would have chosen flash for this shot as the light was dim.  You wouldn't know it by looking at the image as I did a long exposure on a tripod with remote release.  Yes, not everyone brings a tripod with them.  However, at night there may be no other way to take a shot other than with the use of flash. 

So what is the EXIF data for this image?

unozig wrote:

OntPhoto wrote:

Only when I have to or no other choice.  Many people would have chosen flash for this shot as the light was dim.  You wouldn't know it by looking at the image as I did a long exposure on a tripod with remote release.  Yes, not everyone brings a tripod with them.  However, at night there may be no other way to take a shot other than with the use of flash. 

So what is the EXIF data for this image?

Yeah, and how long was that long exposure exactly?