Thursday, January 19, 2023 | By: Alan Forshee Photography
Photographing the Majestic American Bald Eagle
The American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is one of the most majestic birds to photograph. Every year, hundreds of photographers, equipped with advanced and specialized gear, travel to capture this iconic bird. As a passionate photographer, I find that I can never get enough of photographing these magnificent creatures.
Eagle Biology
Physical Characteristics
Lifecycle and Development
Stages of Development
Male vs. Female Identification
Recommended Gear
While specific brands are not critical, here is my gear list for photographing Bald Eagles:
Camera Settings
Exposure and ISO
Focus Settings
Shooting Techniques
Hand-Holding the Camera
Target Acquisition
Shooting from a Vehicle
Avoid "Chimping"
Panning
Best Locations to Photograph Bald Eagles
Bald Eagles are found along major waterways and in every U.S. state. Conservation efforts since the 1980s have greatly improved their population, making it common to see hundreds gathered.
Seasonal Tips
Finding Eagles
Final Thoughts
Photographing Bald Eagles requires preparation, patience, and respect for their natural behaviors. Embrace the challenge, and most importantly, enjoy the experience!
This is an example of an image that every photographer wants to capture and have in their catalog. A Bald Eagle swooping down to grab a fish from the water.
This is an example where the shadows across the Eagles face detract from the image quality. We will all make these images anyway, but they aren't great images.
This is an example of an image where not only is the sky bare and uninteresting, but the light is poor as well. An okay image but not a great one.
This is an example where if you were looking at the back of your camera after photographing the bird on the perch you would miss the launch. Pay attention to the bird's actions in this case and stay focused on it. Often, if the bird starts to lean forward it will launch.
We generally try to avoid clipping parts of the bird out of the image, however, in this image I think it's fine that its clipped. There is still interesting action and bird gestures that help make this image.
This is a very tough image to make with all of the branches that could attract focus away from the bird. Maxing out your focus delay can help you in this situation.
4 Comments
Jan 23, 2023, 2:57:39 PM
Norman Forshee - Thank you for the wonderful comment!
Jan 23, 2023, 2:57:05 PM
Norman Forshee - I made the conscious choice of not providing the camera settings because those change so much from the light to the camera and lens setup. What works one second won't work the next. My f-stop is always f/5.6 because the 1/4TC is almost always on and my shutter speed starts at the bottom of 1/1250 and goes up from there. I also employ exposure compensation which influences exposure and ISO. I do agree that a post-processing portion would be very good even though I have my workflow, and others have thiers, but there are tips and tricks that could be shared.
Jan 21, 2023, 5:52:49 AM
Rhonda Tyler - Overall enjoyed this blog. What would be additionally helpful to me would be to document the specific settings and gear config you used for each photo example, and a little about the post processing. Is any of the photo is photoshopped. My favorite photo is the eagle flying in the snow with a fish captured. Thank you
Jan 20, 2023, 5:17:23 AM
Andy Wilson - Truly outstanding work! Thanks so much for sharing the tips and tricks to help capture these images.