I have been thinking about utilizing fill flash in some of my avian shots. My main concern is to what level does it harass the birds. I like to think to the best extent I can I blend and let my subjects carry out their business. In thinking about flash it leaves me an ethical dilemma. I would love to here some thoughts on this.
Not too long ago there was quite a discussion on this topic, I don't remember which forum it is under. Maybe someone else can tell you where to find the start. IMHO, depends on the situation. I have photograhed many different animals using flash and have not had a negative reaction from the subject.
Posted by bill meikle on April 9, 2010 at 11:10 PM
It depends on a lot of things Michael, if you understand the animals behavior and can sense their response to flash then if they change their behavior you should not use flash again. We shouldn't need to cause animals distress.
I rarely use a flash these days, but when I did I never really had any negative reactions from the birds. The only birds I would never use a flash on are Owls.
I think the best way to find out the extent to which you should use your flash would be to start at a very low setting far away. You should compare this to a similar image taken without the flash. Continue either increasing power output or moving closer to find an acceptable result. If you see any signs of stress back off and learn the boundary. Different creatures will likely have different tolerances and you should use this process to find out to what extent or if you can use flash on the varieties of species you encounter. I would start in a more controlled environment like a bird feeder on a both prevalent and docile species and work your way up from there. To find out how much flash to start out with, you could use a cable release and shoot toward a mirror and tone down the flash to a point where it is unobtrusive. Note that I haven't actually used the flash, this is just what I would do to figure it out.
Posted by Nate Chappell on April 10, 2010 at 8:34 PM
Hi Michael,
I use fill flash quite a bit. Here are my observations: about 95% of the time I see no noticeable reaction by the birds to the flash. This doesn't mean they haven't noticed it I just can't see any reaction they make to it. I'd say less than 5% of the time there is a reaction where the bird will flutter it's wings like it has been spooked by the flash. Most of the time even in this situation the bird will stay in the area and not fly off right away, but occasionally they will leave.
I'd say the farther you are away from the bird the less you will generally disturb them. For example if I was using a 300mm lens and was 10 feet from the bird the percentage of birds that flutter their wings as a reaction to the flash would be much higher, but with a 500mm lens working from a distance of generally 30 feet or more my percentages above are fairly accurate I think.
Posted by Nick Saunders on April 11, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Actually, I tend to find many species bothered more by shutter-noise than the light given off by my flash !
I always keep the light down to about -2 or 3 though, and although I can't speak for the birds, I have never noticed any discomfort exhibited by them.
Heres a link on the subject of using flash after dark on owls. http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=51654&CGISESSID=73266a5ab5744f9cacd39e275c4f8c60&u=9381
Discussion
7 repliesI use fill flash quite a bit. Here are my observations: about 95% of the time I see no noticeable reaction by the birds to the flash. This doesn't mean they haven't noticed it I just can't see any reaction they make to it. I'd say less than 5% of the time there is a reaction where the bird will flutter it's wings like it has been spooked by the flash. Most of the time even in this situation the bird will stay in the area and not fly off right away, but occasionally they will leave.
I'd say the farther you are away from the bird the less you will generally disturb them. For example if I was using a 300mm lens and was 10 feet from the bird the percentage of birds that flutter their wings as a reaction to the flash would be much higher, but with a 500mm lens working from a distance of generally 30 feet or more my percentages above are fairly accurate I think.
I always keep the light down to about -2 or 3 though, and although I can't speak for the birds, I have never noticed any discomfort exhibited by them.