Winter brings snow to many areas, (sometimes lots and lots of snow) and that can lead to some creative composition with snow, shutter speed and birds!

We were in NY when the crazy blizzard hit!   When it was calm, Brian and I grabbed our cameras and spent three hours wandering through Central Park.  Breathtaking.  A cherished memory of total creative play, specifically creative composition with snow, shutter speed and birds!

As we wandered the snow covered paths, we encountered a cluster of chick-a-dees.  Someone had left seeds for them, and they were all digging through the snow chirping and cheeping away.  Magical!  Brian and I got down on our knees so that we were eye level with the birds.  We wanted to capture a photo of these little birds taking flight.  Here’s our Photo-Recipe so you can give it a try too!  All you need is your camera and some birdseed!

Photo-Recipe for Creative Composition with Snow, Shutter Speed and Sweet Birds!

1.  Gather the Birds. Bird seed is a must to gather your birds.  Sprinkle a handful of bird seed in a select area.  Get as low as possible so you are eye level with the birds.  We used Sony’s Live View on their mirrorless cameras so that we could be at ground level without lying on our tummy’s in the snow.

2. Put your camera in Manual mode. You will need control of the Magic Three (Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO) so you can set all three settings where you want them.  Therefore, you must move to Manual mode (but it will be worth it!  promise!)

3.  Low ISO. Set your ISO as low as possible for the best color, clarity and smoothness.  My ISO was 100.  How blurry do you want your background to be?  I wanted the birds in the back to have detail, so I didn’t go as low in my Aperture/f-stop.  I kept it at f/4.5.

4.  The key is your Shutter Speed. You want a slower Shutter Speed so that when the birds take flight their wings have motion blur.

Here are the birds before they took flight.  So sweet!  I just love them!

The birds that are moving have motion blur because my Shutter Speed was moving slow at 1/60th of a second (or 60).  Thus, the ones holding still are much sharper.  And then they took flight!

To “freeze” action, you need your Shutter Speed to move fast.  At 1/60th shutter speed, you can only get a sharp photo if the subject is holding super still and your hands don’t shake.  If the subject moves at all, the movement is blurred.

5.  Play!  Play!  Play! I had so much fun photographing these sweet birds.  I tried horizontal shots, vertical shots (like the one below), super blurry birds, you name it!

Without realizing it, my creative well was filled up by the squeaks and peeps of these little ones.  Creative composition with snow, shutter speed and birds is limitless!  You’ve got to try it!  When you do, post one of your favorites on my facebook page!  I’ll be sure to give you feedback!

If you want more after reading Creative Composition with Snow, Shutter Speed and Birds check out Photographing Snow: 4 Steps to Success.

May your creative well be filled too, as you take a walk in the quiet snow fall.

xo,

m

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