Taking and Using Reference Photos of Birds

When drawing or painting birds realistically, it is almost always necessary to work from a reference photo. Birds do not sit still; nor do they typically come close enough to observe their details. But with a camera, you can zoom in, freeze time, and save the results.

There are plenty of reference images of birds on the internet, some free, but there is still a good reason to take your own: your artwork will be more personal (you saw the exact bird with your eyes before photographing it) and you will have more options available (you can choose which picture in a burst of 100 to use for your artwork). That said, if you prefer to not take your own reference photos, or do not have an adequate camera, skip to the second half of this article for the section on using one.

Tips for Taking Reference Photos

Take many pictures of the same subject

With digital cameras, we do not need to worry much about taking too many pictures. Having a large collection of bird photos – even of the same subject – will provide you will options of lighting and positioning and will reveal more detail than one picture alone can capture.

I usually leave my camera set to continuous shutter, so that it keeps taking pictures (5/10 fps) while I press the shutter. This way, as the bird is moving around on a branch, I can capture each of its positions, and hopefully one of them is perfect for drawing. It is typically best in an artwork to have the bird looking at the viewer; you can choose such a reference photo when you have many options.

Always be taking more bird pictures. Taking a bad one does not hurt, but a good one could help a lot.

Don’t worry too much about composition

Composition is very important in photography, but it is not crucial for reference photos. This is because a reference photo is simply a step, helping you create a piece of artwork, in which you can decide on the entire composition yourself. It is nice to have good composition as well, so that the picture makes a great photograph, but it is better to get a picture with the bird in it than to be so concerned with composition that the bird flies away before you press the shutter.

Focus on capturing the details of the bird as well as its surroundings, and decide on composition later, when you have the time.

Tips for Drawing from Reference Photos

Draw and Paint as the Eye sees it, not as the Camera sees it

Cameras do not always take in colors or shadows the same way that the human eye see them. For example, it is estimated that the eye can see 24 stops of dynamic range, while even professional cameras are limited to about 15 (source). Cameras also might mess up on the white balance, or introduce more noise in the image than is seen by the eye.

Therefore, it is a good idea, when choosing colors and deciding on the darkness of shadows or brightness of highlights, to consider how the subject looks apart from the reference photo. I typically use a higher dynamic range in my drawings – by slightly brightening and adding details to the shadows – than that which is shown in the reference images that I use.

Be Free to Change Something

The reference photo is meant to help you see the characteristics of the bird, but your artwork does not need to look just like it (in fact, it is better if it does not). Do you need to change the branch width to better see the tail? What about changing the head’s position slightly so that it appears more natural? Would it be better to have the left wing overlap the right or vice versa? Consider how you can make a better drawing or painting and do it.

If you are drawing a specific bird that you know, it may be best to draw it exactly as shown – with its possibly ruffled feathers and characteristic position – but if you are using the reference photo to draw that species in general, feel free to make changes as necessary.

Look to multiple images for details

Just as it is important to take many pictures of the same subject, it is useful to observe from multiple reference photos when creating an artwork. This is because some details that show up in one image might be hidden in another. For example, one picture might show the texture on the upper wing feathers better than another that best reveals the tail. You can gain insights from both to draw a highly detailed upper wing and tail.

You may also choose to use the branch from one photograph and the bird from another, or some other combination. Just remember, keep the lighting consistent in your artwork; it will not look natural if the bird is lit from the left when the branch is brightest on the right.