How To Nail The Shot: Costa Rica Edition
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มิ.ย. 2024
- It's another "How To Nail The Shot" video!
The last "Nail The Shot" video was received incredibly well so I decided to do another, this time focusing on wildlife photography in Costa Rica (although the tips apply to wildlife anywhere). In this video, we'll look at eight different bird, bird-in-flight, and mammal photos from Costa Rica and talk about the challenges each image presented, how I handled them, and what settings I used (I went into more detail this time as requested).
I think you'll really enjoy this one - it's packed with a TON of practical, field-tested wildlife photography advice that's sure to help on your next outing (even if that outing isn't in Costa Rica).
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I love these how-to-nail-the-shot videos. One suggestion, since about 70% of your audience can not afford a large prime, perhaps you could do one using a long zoom like the 200-600. I'm sure that you would have a different approach to the same shots. BTW, your Birds in Flight Book is outstanding.
Incredible shots Steve! Fantastic work and I learned a lot watching this. Really appreciate your work and pics. That Macaw at the end is amazing!
You do have mad skills sir. Appreciate you sharing not just the photos, but the tips as well. Thank you.
Amazing video as always! Packed full of information! I always immediately feel like grabbing my camera and going out to put the tips into practice!
Awesome job Steve, so much great info!!!
Love this series of videos, Steve. Equipment talking is fun, but nothing like real pictures and the story behind them. Great images.
Thanks! I honestly like this kind of thing better too. The views seem argue that the gear videos are way better for clicks, but I think these are more valuable. I'll keep doing both :)
He is such a talented photographer and good teacher, enthusiast , full of knowledge, good at teaching. It's amazing that he has so little subscribers.
I like these trip debriefings. Going through the process is a good way to learn about it.
An excellent selection of photos and it is great to hear your thought process behind them too... Thanks!
Steve, I really enjoy your TH-cam videos because they are so informative and helpful even though I shoot canon. I love Costa Rica! It is my favorite place on the planet. Can't wait to go back because the birds and wildlife are amazing! Gorgeous photos!
Excellent video as always. Your efforts are appreciated. Thanks!
As usual, one word : BRILLANT
Full stop.
Love this format, thanks Steve 🙏
One word, ‘BRILLIANT!’
Great information on the details of camera settings for the different backgrounds/lighting!!
I love this type of video ..... Great job!
Great video Steve! Thank you for the play by play for those of us not there! Loved it! Thank you!!
This was hugely enjoyable. Especially the last one, the red bird. I did like the “lots of detail/discussion” format. Thank you!
I did enjoy this and learned some things. Thank you!!!
Great video. Love hearing about the making of the shot.
Another great video Steve, thank you. Really looking forward to your review of the Z9, and your suggested settings.
Awesome videos. It's so helpful to hear what went into a shot; the circumstances, the settings used, and why. Thank you.
Beautiful shots and great information. Thanks.
Amazing images & helpful tips, thanks Steve! 🙂👏🏻
Beautiful photos and tips always.
This was really terrific (as are all of your videos). I'm going to Costa Rica next March and this really helps in my preparation. IIt was a reminder that I need to get back to reading your book on bird photography that I bought a while back!
Wow, outstanding photos... well done!
Enjoyed every minute! I have a big learning curve in front me as I am switching to Mirrorless and the Z9. I am going to soak up as much info from your videos and ebooks as I can before my trip to Costa Rica in 2023.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. 😊
Great Videos Steve ! I've been a Pro Extreme Sports Photographer in Hawaii for 35 years and I really enjoy your Videos. So much great information Very well presented!
Your images are stunning! I especially liked the roadside hawk and the macaw in flight.
Wonderful and very informative as usual 👍👍
thanks for the video steve! i love the mug🤠
So neat, thank you Steve. I'm glad to know you have the Z9 and I'm excited to see your review. But I hope to have mine by then!
I really like these after action replays stop I can learn how you worked a spot to get some you like. Maybe a useful video would be near misses so we can see what mistakes or decisions you made?
Great work again!
Great video Steve, thanks. Will be waiting for that Z9 review video patiently :D
Hi! Awesome video & pictures. Happy New Year. Keep up the good work.
Always a better shot. Very good advice.
Excellent format. 👍
Amazing photos !!!
Thank you Steve. Canon shooter but I watch all your videos. Great work.
Great tips, thank you. Costa Rica is one of my favorite places for birds, insects, snakes, and frogs. I’ll be returning this year for my fifth time.
Great photos and advice. As always. Thanks so much Steve and looking forward to your Z9 review - although I haven’t ordered one myself. I’m waiting for the “Z850.” Or, maybe the 30MP crop sensor “Z500.” Yeah, that would be cool. Meantime I’ll keep shooting my D850 for B&W.
Beautiful portraits, Steve. Love the one of the ducks! 👏
Many thanks
As always great content, chock full of useful information and stunning photos! Also, advantage of being ignored by Nikon as a non NPS member re my Z9 order :) is I suspect your review and book will be available by the time my camera arrives! Thanks Steve for sharing your artistic and technical brain -- you make me (all of us) much better photographers!!
I kind of feel the same with the timing on the Z9 - I think by the time Nikon even gets close to catching up all my stuff will be out :)
Really good tips here Steve. Always refer back to your videos. I just got another Nikon and forgot how to set up back button focus. Really helpful.
Wonderful images.
Reason I watched is to see if you'd mention anything about the Z9 so thanks for putting that out before you started. Was wondering if you received yours and started using it. Can't wait for that show. BTW, that last shot was golden. I always learn something from you, so thank you!
Went to your IG page... great CR images... love Costa Rica... Manuel Antonio... Jaco and the surrounding rain forest... amazing beaches are Santa Teresa and Montezuma... looks like you had lots of fun... ;)
I always enjoy your thoughts on the photos you produce, and these are beautiful! Also... Looking forward to your thoughts on the Z9, once you've used it for a while. Take care!
Superb video.
Very interesting video. Would love to see one on reptiles and amphibians (in Costa Rica)
Thanks, Steve.
Great video, thanks. One suggestion... show us the image straight out of the camera as well as the final version. That way we can get an idea of the possibilities for optimizing an image, eg, cropping, dodging, burning, etc. You talk about how you optimized the image, but it would really help to the see the before and after.
Great suggestion!
Thanks! Although, I won't be doing the before and after. It would fill the comments with too many questions about post processing I'd feel obligated to answer. However, it WOULD be a good idea for a start to finish post processing video series. I'll give it some thought for sure. My post processing videos just don't get much love, but might be worth a try.
@@backcountrygallery I love that you take time to reply to comments like this! I downloaded this TH-cam video to watch on my flight down to Costa Rica on Thursday (your video came at a perfect time). I'm bringing my A1+600mm GM, so glad to see that's the gear you used on this video. I bought your wildlife photography PDF a while back-it's great.
@@erikpallhansen Happy to help - have fun in Costa Rica - that a1 + 600 is a good combo there!
@@backcountrygallery Thanks for the reply. I understand the issue about mixing the emphasis of a video. You can count on me to love a post processing video when you get around to more of them. :)
You are the best. 🙏🙏
Another really interesting and informative masterclass video. I really enjoyed and learned a great deal from your ebooks too. You always inspire and educate me into different ways of approaching the subject and deciding on how to make a shot which closely resembles the shot I have in my head whenever I see something that I want to photograph. I use a D4 and a D850 with a 300PF and a 500PF and am very interested in the Z9 and would ask, when you do your Z9 review to please include a section on how the Z9 works with these somewhat older F mount PF lenses. I know that you too have enjoyed the PF range on F mount but I am wary of placing an order for the Z9/ at least until I know that I will get the full Z9 autofocus benefits with the PF lenses that I alraedy have. Thanks Steve. Good job as always.
I'm actually working on an FTZ video that will cover it. In short, the Z9 works as good or better with F-mount lenses than F-mount cameras.
Lol. Why is everything a “masterclass” now?
Great video. Very generous with your information, as always. The phrase, "the whole monkey" is now part of my normal conversation :-)
fantastic as usual, how many do you usually take on your workshops ..
Love these videos Steve. Personally, I'd like to see more because you do a great job of detailing how and why you shoot various subjects.
I realize that CR trip was 1 of the 1st with the A1 - have you since set a custom button for recall settings? I was thinking of your monkey at the 10:40 mark. Love the fact you dialled the shutter down so for perched birds or stopped animals which is why I thought of the recall button because I have the AEL button set to 1/500th. It's a handy way to shoot with the A1 (and any customizable body) because if I detect my subject's about to move, I release that and use the regular shutter which is typically ready for moving subjects.
I also love the advice of stopping to observe a subject. As long as it's done respectfully, it's a fantastic way to get various poses or behaviours. I do find most folks snap and move on. No judgement for that, but I think being patient is a huge factor for success.
Lastly, why is 1/3200 your fav shutter? I'm curious as I range depending on the subject, but curious to hear your thoughts.
Best of luck for 2022!
I actually have the Move Record button set as my "emergency action button". I press it and go to Zone Tracking, 1/3200th, wide open, etc. Normally though, I use the user modes on the mode dial, 1 is for action, 2 for normal, and 3 for slow shutter speed panning. Not as quick to switch as a button, but once I change to the mode I can make adjustments to tweak the ballpark settings to better suite the subject at hand.
I'm working on an a1 setup guide that'll be for sale soon, and I'll be doing a YT video with all my AF settings. Oh, and 1/3200th just seems to work really well for most BIF work. It seems like when I go to 1/3200th, my keeper rate goes up noticeably. It's not that I can't use slower speeds - I often do - but 1/3200th is my "safe" speed.
@@backcountrygallery Thanks! That all makes sense. Happy shooting! Appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Looking forward to your thoughts on the Z9.
Hey Steve, on your trip to Costa Rica did you go through a specific travel guide? I am thinking of going down there but I need some info regarding which travel guide to go with. Any info is appreciated. Thanks. btw excellent video, keep em coming.
Hearing how much you did things like shadow pulls, background darkening, aspect ratio changes, etc - I’d love to see a video comparing out-of-camera vs fully-processed and explaining how you made the decisions. I get how to make those edits, but not when/why.
Very nice shots... any plans to come here Costa Rica this summer? Regards Steve.
Thanks for another great video. Have you had any more thoughts about doing a Sony a1 set-up video? :)
I'm doing one better I think - I'm working on a wildlife setup guide. It'll be for sale soon and I'll also have a you tube video for the AF setup for that camera as well. I'm getting close on those, homely by the end of the month (the guide is pretty extensive, lots of screen shots, explanations, etc - way more than I can do in a video)
Great shots,Wayne from Sydney, you should try the canonr5 it has fantastic eye tracking ps don't tell nikon.
Awesome video with great results from your trip. I am planning on visiting soon and I am curious if a 100-400/100-500 for the canon RF would be adequate in Costa Rica for bird photography.
Thanks
It depends on where in Costa Rica. Where I shoot on the Osa, I tend to use 600mm and 840mm quite a bit, although there are plenty of times I can get by with something in the 500mm range. In other places, (like the cloud forest), I can often get by with just 300mm.
Hi Steve, Love the video as usual! I was wondering, I've never heard you talk about your processing. Do you use Lightroom? Topaz products? Photoshop? I use Lightroom and Topaz Denoise and Sharpen. Anything taboo for you in post?.
Thanks! I don't do too many post processing video because, to be honest, they don't get that many views. The people who watch them seem to like them, but the videos never get much traction so I just don't to them that often (usually only a one or two a year to remind myself why I don't do them LOL). I use mostly Lightroom with a dash of Photoshop if I need to clean anything up (odd branch, tick, etc.) As for taboo, I think the image should tell the story of the scene as you experience it. So, I'm not opposed to cloning out branches on a tree or a fly on an ear. Basic clean up is OK. However, drastic changes - like replacing a sky or adding an animal - are off limits for me. Everyone has their own line though.
Again, wonderful video Steve. Love that you put these out here! One question though: you mentioned taking about 500 images of that roadside hawk. OMG (I know, you said yourself you are embarassed)! Anyways, how do you cull an amount like that? I understand you want to stay on the subject just a little bit longer, and not be satisfied too quickly. But still, image selection afterwards seems like a nightmare. How do you do it? Any special software (Photo Mechanic) maybe?
That might make a good video :)
Basically, I don't look at every image. I find the poses I like first, then check for sharpness within those photos. It helps to learn what you lens looks like at maximum sharpness so you can easily spot when you have a image that's as sharp as it'll get.
Steve..love your work! Do you offer the ability to export your camera setup to your followers? The new Sony a7iv allows you to import/export the camera setup to share
Thanks! I don't offer setup files because it would come back to bite me when people couldn't figure out why their camera was doing something unexpected. Heck, it happens with my setup vides and they are literarily setting the camera themselves! I am starting to put guides together though. Not sure if I'll do one for the a74, I'm working on one for the a1 at the moment, we'll see how that goes :)
Great video, as always! QUESTION: when getting pics of the monkeys, did you use HUMAN or ANIMAL eye auto focus?
Great video Steve, Question: Have you produced any wildlife filming tutorials.? I am transitioning from stills to video.
I know next to nothing about wildlife filming, so nope. :)
Wrong question for a Nikon man. 😜
Doug Gardner from The Natural History Channel here on TH-cam does a lot of filming and I believe has workshops for filming
Excellent presentation, as usual. Did you use a tripod on one of the pictures?
I used a tripod for all but the Toucan (didn't have one along since we were headed to a boat) and the ducks. Everything else was from a tripod with a loose gimbal.
Hy Steve! Would the "expose for highlights" metering-mode work for the macau picture without exposure comp?
Steve, Steve, Z9, Z9…do have the Z9 yet, do you like the Nikon Z9 more than the Sony A1? Just kidding. Love the nailed the shot videos. I had to do a “let’s all bother Steve with Z9” questions or comments!
LOL :)
Hey Steve, excellent video and great teaching. I have a question; you mention you like to take shots a different ISO. But for most of the shots in the beginning of your videos you mention your in M + Auto ISO, so how are your changing the ISO's when your in Auto ISO? Did I miss something?
I think you're referring to the "ISO Insurance" method I use. With M + Auto ISO, as I knock down shutter speed, the ISO falls as well. So, I'm not directly dialing in different ISOs, I'm just trying slower shutter speeds and Auto ISO is dropping the ISO values.
@@backcountrygallery Thanks for the quick response.
Background is so important! Plus, having subjects that are not afraid of a human pointing a big lens at them! Sometimes a flighty bird just doesn’t give you time to think about adjusting all those settings.
Steve, is replacing a D500 with a Z7ii or Z6ii even worth a good discussion for bird photography? I won’t even ask if either of those two mirrorless cameras can stand up to my D850. I have read the Z6ii is a great camera for astrophotographers. But, I love shooting birds and clear nights in western Oregon are few and far between.
LOL, the subjects can help. What you don't see here are the majority of the subjects I find that are too far away or too skittish :)
For birds and Nikon mirrorless, the Z9 is the only one I would recommend over a D500. The D500 is tough to beat and, in my opinion, the Z6/7 don't best it in BIF photography.
@@backcountrygallery Thank goodness Lightroom makes it easy to discard those unwanted images. I can’t even imagine the number of times my wife wants a photo of a bird that is 200 yards away!
Have you used or heard anything about the Sony a7IV bird eye-AF performance relative to the a1? Silent shutter is slow so would have to use the mechanical a lot and frame rate is 10 f/s with blackout, but if bird eye-AF is really worth it then this might be a good budget way to get that since it is ~$4000 less.
I know next to nothing about that camera, I just haven't really checked it out yet - I'm up to my elbows in projects with the a1 and Z9, so I just haven't had the time to look at much else.
Love your videos, I have a D750 for around 4, 5 years, you think the Z9 can endure 6, 7 years of weddings use?
I don't see why not - it's their top of the line pro body.
@Steve Perry yea I can now justify it to my wife lol.
Ok, so 7 years = 2.94$ a day
Great video where in Costa Rica did you go just wondering
We were on the Osa Peninsula
That is interesting that birds generally take off into the wind (I never considered that) - I wonder if they do that because it creates more lift for a given takeoff, much like taking off in a plane as more lift is generated going into the wind.
Yup, that's why. Not all birds do it, smaller ones don't seem to care as much. Wind speed also makes a difference - the harder the wind, the more the need to take off into it. The real trick though is that while they prefer to takeoff and land into the wind, it's a preference most of the time and not a strict requirement. That, and often they'll takeoff into the wind and then make a quick turn, so it's not a guarantee - but hey, any way to stack the deck :) I go over lots of details about it in my BIF book.
Hey Steve, another Great video. Now that you have been working with the A1 for a super long Summer, any chance of your version on a Sony A1 set up guide book and/ or Video? Thanks
Thanks!
For the a1, I'm doing one better I think - I'm working on a wildlife setup guide. It'll be for sale soon and I'll also have a you tube video for the AF setup for that camera as well. I'm getting close on those, homely by the end of the month (the guide is pretty extensive, lots of screen shots, explanations, etc - way more than I can do in a video)
Use the camera for several months, then do the review. What a concept!
LOL! I know, right!
👍🏻
👍🏾🙏🏾
20:36
Story of my life even if I have the wind to my back 😆
LOL - I hear ya!
Question: Thinking primarily about birds in flight, would it make sense to remove the slower SD card from my Nikon Z6ii and shoot bursts only to the much faster CF Express card? Wouldn't that allow the camera to clear the buffer much faster than if it had to write to the SD card as well? I just bought the Birds-In-Flight Photography ebook and it seems to be silent on that question.
I'd take it out for sure. Yes, the SD will turn into a bottleneck.
Hi Steve
Somehow missing the point of you mentioning the shooting settings, and the reason for the -2/3 EV setting
Please can you explain that and the reason for it
Great video and great shots.
Thx
Chris
In case Steve doesn't get the chance to answer. It's all about the cameras default 'mid tone' exposure ( refardless of where you point it ) so a darker scene needs negative exposure comp & lighter scenes needs positive exposure comp to make the scene appear how you see it.
These videos are tricky for that very reason. I have to strike a balance between going into too much detail and not enough. In this case, I'll refer you to my exp comp video - it'll tell you everything you need to know:
th-cam.com/video/3TfgO4HBsac/w-d-xo.html
wonderufl
Words of Wisdom:
There's always a Better Shot !
----- Steve Perry
💘
Regarding suggestions with auto ISO AND exposure compensation whilst in Manual Mode - Any exp comp setting variations that you may apply simply change the ISO up or down - brighter or darker. So why bother with exp comp in this mode? - just change your ISO. I have the Sony A1 with ISO settings on the rear dial, very simple to change whilst shooting. Barry Barfield. Brisbane, Australia.
There are multiple reasons. First, it easier in changing light conditions, like variably cloudy skies, or as a monkey runs from a bright area on a branch to a darker area. There are times you have less than a second to adapt and while the camera can do it, most shooters will miss the shot as they fiddle with ISO. In addition, when an opportunity presets itself suddenly, there may not be time to manually adjust ISO - especially if you're working in a rainforest where every spot seems to have a different light level. M + Auto is usually pretty close, even without compensation, so there's a high probability you'll get a useable shot even without any adjustment. It's just faster. It's not that you should never use full manual - I do frequently - it's that leveraging all the tools at your disposal often saves time - and shots.
Re, Z9 comments: *Respect* .
Bueno video, pero podrías hablar más despacio? Gracias!!🙋🏻♂️
If you do go to a park, please grown an afro as well.
LOL, wish I could! I'm too folliclly challenged to keep up with Jared :)