I enjoy nature photography, but sadly I am not really a nature photographer. More of a hobbyist. I don’t really have the right gear for real nature photography and only got my first big zoom (300mm) last year.
I do enjoy capturing birds and animals out in the wild when I come across them in our travels. My biggest problem is I am not super quick, but the animals are and I often miss the mark! So the problem then becomes, how can I fix a blurry bird photo?
Topaz Sharpen AI
As long as the image isn’t too blurry — you still need to be able to tell what it is — I have found that Topaz Sharpen AI has come to my rescue on more than one occasion. Subtle tweaks that really can sharpen those pixels and bring your image back into focus. Check out this before and after below.
Accessing Topaz Sharpen AI
I often access Sharpen under the Filter menu in Adobe Photoshop. I recommend creating a duplicate layer. Try the Auto settings, but also try your own settings. Sometimes I found I had more luck on Motion Blur than Out of Focus, but on other images Out of Focus worked better.
Sometimes sharpening the image also brings in more noise, so don’t forget to adjust the Suppress Noise slider as well.
Getting it right in-camera
Obviously, nothing beats getting it right in-camera. Using a longer lens can help (I currently have a Tamron 70-300mm), which means I sometimes need to crop in a little. I would love a 600mm, but really can’t justify the cost, as I would rarely use it.
Remember to have the shutter speed high enough. You really should have your shutter speed 1.5 times the length of your lens. So a 300mm lens needs a shutter speed of approximately 1/450s or higher. This keeps the image sharp, avoids camera shake and can help capture the motion. Of course, if trying to capture birds (or other animals) moving quickly, you need to go much faster than that.
Eye tracking is also great to have turned on and use. Practicing pan and shoot is a big help as well. I have been practicing and my bird photos have improved dramatically, but still need work. Sadly I am sometimes a spray and pray shooter with really fast birds.
Thankfully I have Topaz Sharpen AI to come to my rescue on the images that otherwise didn’t quite make the cut, and allow me to fix a blurry bird photo or two.
Rescue your blurry photos!
Topaz Sharpen AI is the first sharpening software that can tell difference between real detail and noise. Naturally sharpen your images with no artifacts, and get jaw-dropping results in a variety of situations. Deep learning helps you reduce camera shake, correct focus and remove blur!
While the rule of thumb to have the shutter speed 1.5 times the aperture works for many subjects, birds tend to be constantly moving, fidgeting, scanning the sky for predators, etc., so the faster the shutter speed, the better. In fact, when I shoot on a sunny day with my 500mm lens + 1.7x telecoupler (=850mm), I have the iso set to at least 3200 and the shutter speed to not fall below 1/2000, and the lens wide open at f/9.5. Using those settings, plus Topaz Denoise AI, I can get some pretty sharp pix. So the OP may want… Read more »
Can’t seem to add a photo… :(
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for your feedback. And yes I do believe I mentioned for birds you need a much faster shutter speed. I wish I had a 500mm lens, but sadly I don’t really shoot birds often enough to justify, same goes with a teleconverter. However I find as I rarely even bother to catch birds on the wing, I can usually get some great shots of them resting. But occasionally I still need a little help. But I do appreciate your feedback, Happy shooting
Jeff, maybe you could clear up some confusion for me. I have never heard of the “shutter speed 1.5 times the aperture” rule of thumb. Are you sure you are not referring to the ‘hand holding’ rule of thumb that shutter speed should be 1 over the effective focal length of the lens? Maybe I can learn something new.
Greg, not sure which comment you are actually referring to? Shutter speed should be 1.5 times the focal length (or overall length of the lens) for hand holding.
Are you using back button focus? It looks to me that the most in focus portion of this image is the branch, not the bird. Personally, and it’s just my opinion, out of focus can be improve by AI, but it can never be fixed.
Always use back button focus….I’m not the world’s greatest birder, as I stated at the start of the post. I agree nothing beats get it right in camera, but AI sure does improve things when it doesn’t all come together