Hummingbirds. They’re fast. Sometimes you hear them as they dash through the air. Then, the little hummers dart and zip through gardens at mach speed. These vibrant, zippy characters are busy little birds! We’re sharing how to photograph our zippy hummingbirds in natural light. (Note: this was originally written in 2021. It’s updated to include current gear options).
So fun to watch. Even more fun to photograph. With a little hummer knowledge combined with the right settings and timing, they’re actually quite easy to capture with the camera. Much easier than photographing our beautiful warblers!
As a long term bird photographer, my approach is to capture birds in their natural light and natural settings. That means flashes or artificial lighting don’t see the light of day. (To read more about the different types of flash and potential impact on wildlife: Flash Photography and the Visual System of Birds and Animals).
Why natural light? Our subjects live in natural light versus flash. Also, balancing natural light with our camera settings is easier and lighter than adding weight and settings management of our flash units. And, today’s powerful post processing is easier than ever to correct and enhance exposure in post processing.
How to Photograph Hummingbirds in Natural Light: Fun Facts & Shooting Tips
When photographing wildlife in general, it’s helpful to take time to understand our subjects. By understanding their habitat and behavior, it helps improve our ability to anticipate and capture the moment. It also gives us a deeper appreciation that translates into more compelling images.
1. Understanding their Behavior – Fun Facts
Wait. Watch. Photograph.
Their tiny hearts beat over 1260 beats per minute. Additionally, their wings beat at an averages of 53 beats per second. Holy hummingbird, that’s fast.
Their flight speed is pretty flipping fast too. Hummers fly up to 30 miles per hour in direct flight and up to 45 miles per hour during their courtship diving escapades. With intruders? Up to 60 miles per hour.
Speaking of courtship, it’s a short lived affair. The males do their tiny (but important) part and move on. Meanwhile, the female builds the nest and raises the young. In general, hummers are solo operators. They are quick to give aggressive, mean spirited chase to ward off other hummingbirds near their food sources.
What else is pretty cool? Not only do they fly forward. The fly backwards and even upside down. Hummingbirds also hover in flight. I love it when they hover over my head or nearby out of curiosity as in the image below.
Tip: They love flowers when they are producing nectar. When darting in and out of flowers, watch their behavior as they go in, then come back out. Those are great times to catch them ‘at stand still’ in flight.
Like many birds, some hummingbird species migrate from Mexico and Central America to breed, nest and raise their young. Then it’s back down their migratory path to winter in warmer climates. These 4000 miles roundtrips require serious energy and weight building.
Supplying your garden with nectar-giving, native plants along with sugar water helps hummers pack on the much needed weight for their travels.
2. Observe your hummingbirds and their environment:
If you’re photographing hummers in your yard or near their feeding areas, take time to observe their behaviors.
- Which plants and flowers do they visit?
- What time of day?
- When they stop on a branch, which trees or branches?
They’re creatures of habit so they return time and time again to the same spots.
They love red and shades of red. And, they love bee balm nectar. The female hummingbird below returns every 10 minutes to this group of bee balm in my garden. The good news is that if you have a garden that supplies them with nutrients, they’ll return many times over to their food sources.
Become one with nature, or something like that: What’s also interesting? Is that the more time you spend in the garden, they see you as part of their routine. When I’m misting flowers with the water hose, they dart in and take a quick bath. Then when I’m sitting or standing nearby with the camera, the go about their normal routines.
Scene/environment: Since hummingbirds return to their favorite flowers, feeders and perches, I take time to explore different photography vantage points. I look for soft, non-distracting backgrounds. Or if there’s a medley flowers, I hone in on those that are taller or that stand out from the rest.
Natural Light: By having a garden or visiting a garden loaded with native, nutrient giving plants, they’ll be there during nesting and fledging season. You’ll be able to watch and choose photo time when the light is optimal.
3. How to Photograph Hummingbirds: Lenses and Settings
Lenses/focal length: With tiny birds, I usually pull out my longest lens. That’s not the case with hummingbirds. As a result of spending time in the garden, they get close enough to photograph with my Nikon 300mm f/4E PF VR AF-S ED-IF and Nikon 1.4III Teleconverter (both at Amazon). Update: today I use Nikon’s 400mm f/4.5 S and 1.4 TC for mirrorless cameras.
If you’re heading to a hummingbird hotspot, they’re focused on their food sources. If they fly away when you arrive, more than likely they’ll return within several minutes. I find that by standing still and quiet, they quickly return to their food sources.
Hand-held or tripod: Two benefits of working with shorter, lightweight lenses? First, working handheld. As much as we need our tripods for stability and support for slow shutter speeds and/or heavier lenses, that’s not always the case with our shorter lenses. Second, is mobility. Hummingbirds move quickly from flower to flower in the garden. It’s easier to track their movement and indiscreetly adjust our position when working handheld.
When working with larger, heavier lenses I continue to use my tripod and quietly rotate the tripod head as I track and follow my subjects.
Camera Settings for Sharp Images: Harnessing Light & Exposure by Balancing Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO
- Shutter speed: With our zippy hummingbirds, fast shutter speeds freeze action. How fast? For freezing fast moving birds, I work with a range of 1/1200 – 1/2000. With 1/1200, the wings still show a soft blur. For sharper wing detail, 1/2000.
- Aperture: Because I prefer controlling depth of field I shoot in either Aperture Priority Mode or Manual Modes. (Check out: 4 Shooting Modes, Which is Right for You?). I start with an aperture setting of f/9 and may shift to f/8 or f/7.1 if the background needs softening.
- Manual Mode: I shoot hummingbirds in manual mode more often than aperture priority. I set my shutter speed to 1/1200, 1/1600 or 1/2000 (mostly 1/1600), my aperture to f/8 or f/9 and ISO on auto.
- ISO: (recaps the 2 bullets above) When photographing hummingbirds in Aperture mode, I move ISO up and down the range to achieve my needed shutter speed. If I’m shooting in Manual Mode, I set my desired f/stop (aperture) and shutter speed. I place ISO on auto so it adjusts as the light changes.
ISO Note: In general, we try to stay on the lower ISO range in all areas of our photography. However, it’s aok to go higher when needed! Today’s cameras are equipped to handle higher ISO ranges while holding on to image quality.
How to Photograph Hummingbirds: Focusing & Pulling it All Together
Even though our hummers are fast, focusing and getting sharp images is within your reach. When they hover, they’re steady. Focus on their eye and snap away. I also recommend single point focus since they are in and out of distracting backgrounds. Multi-point focus slows down the focusing for hummers. And with all birds wildlife, I keep my shooting in burst mode.
In closing, hummingbird photography takes practice. Since these little birds are repeat visitors, practice comes easy. Patience on the other hand is a virtue. When you take the time to sit, watch the birds dance across the flowers, or where they like to perch, you’re better prepared to anticipate great shooting opportunities.
Then, it’s home to process your work. When processing bird images, I rely primarily on Lightroom and Topaz Studio 2. Look for an upcoming blog on working these invaluable post processing tools.
With different vantage points, the right settings to harness the light and manage shutter speeds, awesome and compelling images are a snapshot away.
Additional reading: Photographers, We Love Chasing the Light. Is that Enough?
2 comments
Sheen, your articles are so helpful, I have been trying to get better hummingbird shots, I was surprised to see you were shooting at higher aperture f8/9. I will have to try that. I seem to be always at 5.6, to keep the iso down and keep noise at a minimum on my D500. Also maybe I can lower my shutter speed down a bit to help, I was thinking I needed to be at 3200. Thanks again for the helpful tips.
Hi Steve! Thanks for your kind comments and feedback. Glad you found this helpful. With your shutter speed between 1200 – 2000 you’ll have a variety of images to work with. Your D500 is a great machine for hummingbirds too – manages ISO very well. Hummers hold their position (relatively) in flight when approaching and backing up from their flowers which gives a bit more focus time. If the in-close background is very busy, I’ll go to f/7.1. The good news is that when a flower is ‘ready with it’s nectar’, they revisit it over and over – they’ll take a break then return after several minutes. Happy shooting and look forward to seeing your hummer images!! The one you posted in July is awesome!
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