I love crows, and I love to photograph them. It’s quite a challenge for many reasons. A black bird is difficult to focus on, especially when that bird is in motion.
Auto focus is very helpful, but doesn’t always come through when you have a lot going on in the background, because the bird comes out like a shadow to the sensor. It’s helpful to have a background that is considerably lighter than the bird, or to have something to lock focus on that is the exact same distance away as the bird.
Additionally, in order for any details to come out on the crows, you have to overexpose a little bit. Most of the time it’s easy to get away with, but when you have something in the image that is white, the detail can get bleached out really easily. Cloudy days are really nice for photographing crows, because it reduces the ambient contrast.
And cuts down on glare off the feathers.
For those that are interested in photographing crows, or darkly plumaged birds in general, I hope that you find these tips helpful. I am still learning, too, and welcome any tips that you have as well! Thanks for looking.
Shot with my Nikon D7500 f/6.3 1/1000 70mm ISO 640 on a cloudy day. Edited with Apple photo editor.
