Tips for wildlife and bird photography with the EOS R6 Mark II

You don't need to go on safari to exotic locales to photograph and film wildlife. Wherever you live, there are sure to be appealing animals and birds nearby – in Europe, for example, there are more than 900 different kinds of birds alone.

Austrian photographers and filmmakers Christine Sonvilla and Marc Graf, Canon Ambassadors who specialise in nature conservation and wildlife, regularly travel throughout Europe and beyond on their shoots, but it depends on what animals you're looking for. A wildlife reserve, national park or picturesque coastal habitat might be only a short journey away from you.

Christine and Marc often use a Canon EOS R6 Mark II, which is a great choice for wildlife photography. It can shoot at up to a blazing 40 frames per second with outstanding image quality even in low light, which is ideal for capturing fast-moving animals at dusk or deep in a shady forest. "We're not taking photos for billboards," Christine says, "so the 24MP resolution is just right for our type of photography." The camera's AI-based, deep-learning autofocus locks on to fast-moving subjects wherever they are in the frame, with Eye Detection AF to track animals or birds and keep them in sharp focus. Importantly, it's just as capable when shooting video as stills, with powerful image stabilisation and the ability to save professional-quality 4K 60p footage.

Whichever camera you're using, here are 10 tips from Christine and Marc to improve your wildlife and bird photography and video.

Autofocus (AF) functions can help ensure your subject is in sharp focus, whether it's a deer grazing in the forest or birds just taking flight. In some recent Canon EOS models, including the EOS R6 Mark II that Christine and Marc use, there is an Animal Eye Detection AF feature, which can lock on to the eyes of animals and birds. This is a real game-changer, Christine says, because it means you can concentrate on the composition and framing of your shot rather than worrying about focusing. If your camera model doesn't have this, you can still use AF – set it to AI Servo AF (also called Servo AF, depending on the camera model), and the camera will continue to focus on your subject as it moves, as long as you hold down the focusing button. This will work whether you are shooting stills or video.

"Most wildlife is most active at dusk and dawn, so this is when we tend to shoot," Christine says. Besides, Marc adds, "We believe photography is mastering the light, and the most beautiful light is around sunset and sunrise." However, autofocus might struggle to pick out your subject in low-light situations, or if the animal is small and distant in the landscape.

To help with these issues, Christine and Marc recommend the technique of back-button focusing. Here's how to use it on most Canon EOS cameras (some terms may differ on some camera models).

• By default, both AF and exposure metering are assigned to the shutter button. Change this in the camera menu to metering alone, then assign focusing to the AF-ON button, and set AF Operation to One Shot.
• Point the camera at your subject and press the AF-ON button until the camera focuses on it, then release. You can now change the framing of your photo and take as many shots as you like, and the focus will stay where it was.
• If you want to change the focus, hold down the AF-ON button again, pointing at the subject or something the camera can focus on at approximately the right distance.

Christine and Marc say separating the focusing from the shutter in this way solves the problems that AF can encounter in low light and gives them much more flexibility to reframe and capture the scene they want.

Use a fast shutter speed (1/1000 sec or faster) to freeze an animal in motion – but remember that this has consequences for the other elements in the Exposure Triangle. If you're using a fast shutter speed, you'll need a wider aperture (small f-number) for a good exposure, and this will result in a shallow depth of field, isolating your subject from its out-of-focus background. This might not capture as much of the animal's environment as you want in every case. Also, it's good practice to keep the ISO as low as possible to minimise image noise, but you'll often need to raise it in low light conditions.

If your priority is capturing fast action, setting your camera to Shutter Priority (Tv) mode gives you control of the key setting, shutter speed, and the camera will adjust the aperture and ISO as required for a good exposure.

Instead of aiming to freeze the motion of your subject, try capturing the drama and feeling of action by using a longer exposure and panning – moving the camera smoothly to follow the motion of the subject. Set the camera to Shutter Priority (Tv) or Manual (M) mode, and try a shutter speed of around 1/60 sec. With your feet planted securely, pivot your whole body in a smooth motion to track your subject's movement. Using Continuous shooting, keep the shutter button held down to take a series of shots as the action takes place. If successful, you can end up with the subject perfectly in focus but its legs blurred by motion and the background a silky smooth blur.

Wildlife won't often stand and wait while you adjust your camera settings. Marc recommends saving custom presets, which you can then recall instantly by setting the camera to the Custom shooting mode. Here's how to do it.

• Set the dial to one of the shooting modes, such as Tv, and enter your desired settings.
• Then navigate to the spanner menu, choose 'Custom shooting mode', and register those settings. Depending on the camera, you may have more than one custom mode available, in which case choose one – C1, C2 and so on.
• Now when you turn the dial to C1, your saved settings will all be applied straight away.

Saving custom presets means you avoid wasting time configuring settings and don't miss the shot.

If you really want to capture the action, of course, you can go one better and shoot video. It's also great for sharing your experience with your followers on social platforms. The EOS R6 Mark II makes it easier than ever to switch rapidly from shooting stills to video, with a dedicated control for this on top of the camera. Other models offer different ways to do this – on the EOS R7, for example, you use the power switch to start the camera in one mode or the other.

Marc found it handy to switch quickly from stills to video when photographing vultures in Croatia, when he knew they were about to take off and video was the best choice. To speed things up even further, he saved customised video settings that would immediately be ready to shoot video as soon as he switched modes.

Note that video settings are saved separately from photo settings, so you can save a video setup as well as a stills configuration as a custom preset. When you then set the camera to video mode, selecting C1 will recall your preset settings for video.

When you're capturing video, a useful rule of thumb is to set a shutter speed of about 1/2R, where R is the frame rate you're shooting at. For example, if you're filming at 4K 60p on the EOS R6 Mark II, this means a frame rate of 60fps, so the ideal shutter speed is about 1/125 sec. If you're shooting at 25fps, you should set a shutter speed of about 1/50 sec. This ensures that the individual frames are correctly exposed and appear sharp. If the shutter speed was too slow, the action would seem blurred. If the shutter speed is too fast, the footage can appear choppy on playback.

It's a good idea to carry a spare battery if you have one, so you can keep shooting for longer if necessary. Consider taking a tripod or monopod, especially if you're using heavy telephoto lenses, which are hard to hold steady over a long shoot. That said, wildlife photography often requires a long trek to wherever the animals are, so it makes sense to keep your kitbag as manageable as possible. Christine and Marc say they often do without carrying a tripod to their most difficult locations these days because the image stabilisation in the latest generation of EOS R System cameras and RF lenses is so good that they don't need a tripod, and the weight they save makes a big difference on long hikes up steep mountains.

If you're still using a favourite EF lens, particularly if it's a big telephoto lens, it might be time to consider investing in a newer RF lens. Not only do RF lenses incorporate more advanced optical technologies, they are smaller and lighter than their EF counterparts. To save weight, Christine and Marc also recommend zoom lenses, which can cover a range of shooting situations without the bulk and weight of a set of prime lenses in your kitbag.

Which lens is best for wildlife photography? This depends on your subject and style of shooting. Birds can be skittish and easily startled, and of course are usually found in the trees, so you're often shooting from some distance away, when a telephoto lens will be of benefit. The Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM, for example, is a versatile and powerful super telephoto lens that gives you greater reach combined with incredible flexibility wherever you are.

Christine and Marc say they typically carry a whole selection of lenses to be ready for whatever shooting needs might arise, but their favourite lens is the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM – its extensive zoom range makes it versatile enough for a wide range of situations. When they're out photographing Alpine ibex, for example, this might be the only lens they take for a day's shooting. For small wildlife, they love the RF 14-35mm F4L IS USM because, Christine explains, "you can get really close and still get a sharp image while you also have the whole background."

For successful wildlife photos and video, there are two key things, say Christine and Marc.

The first is to learn as much as you can about your subject, so that you know what you are looking for and can be in the right place at the right time. This applies particularly to the animal's habits and recurring behaviours – where and when does something happen, when is the peak of a certain activity pattern, and so on.

The second key thing is to get to know the features of your camera that will help you capture it. "The best images are not always just a matter of chance," Marc jokes. "The better you know what you can do with your camera and what it can deliver, the better your results will be."

Christine adds a final tip: "Keep practising! It's like when you're new to driving a car, it's not all instinctive to you. With practice, your camera becomes like an extension of you. It should become your tool to put into action your creative ideas."


Written by Mabinty Taylor-Kamara and Alex Summersby