Do you have the 70-300mm lens? That's what I use on one of my cameras. When I'm planning on taking a lot of pictures of my chickens, I use two cameras at once. One camera has the 18-55mm lens and the other has the 70-300mm. That way, if I have chickens close to me, I can take pictures of them- full body, or if some are far away, I still can get pictures of them. (This is also nice when I'm using treats. I can be taking pictures of those that I already have, and start taking pictures of the ones that are coming without worrying of switching lens and possibly getting dust in the camera during the change.)What would you recommend for a Nikon D 3300?
On the top of your camera, you should have this thing that has different settings that you can turn to whatever setting you want. On my camera, for Sports, it shows a tiny picture of a person running. On the shutter speed (at least this is what I do), you put your camera in Manual, and there should be a black thing that you can turn. Looking at the screen, turn it up to at least 200. (I typically have mine at 200.) Depending on your lighting, you may want it higher.
Something else that I prefer to use. That is, the sun. I've heard photographers strongly suggest taking pictures while it's cloudy out. It keeps skin tone more natural without the blinging brightness. For chickens, I prefer using the sun. It works as a natural flash, thus making my pictures a lot clearer. Things to keep in mind, if you're not using Sports, the lighting will be naturally brighter, and with big combs, it can look terrible. If you're taking pictures directly in the sunlight, you'll want that shutter speed at 2,000 to 4,000, depending on how bright everything is, and the color of your bird. (Birds' colors can affect the lighting a lot!) (In one of those links in the contests, the poster suggests taking pictures during golden hour. )
Using the sun comparison:
This picture was taken on a cloudy day:
Stray cat, 70-300mm lens, and not as clear, though the camera said it was.
Picture taken on a sunny day:
Hen dustbathing- lot of motion, 70-300mm lens, much clearer with the sun as a natural flash. (In this picture here, the hen is in the shade, but the sun is still working in the background to keep the picture clear.)
Ok. Try cooping up the chickens you don't want coming around. Or, train only a few that know that treat call. (Some of my hens know their own name. In other cases, I've had different flocks know different treat calls.)
Another thing to try is the "getting them lost" trick. This is where you block their view and take them somewhere they're not familiar with (a safe place away from your farm is fine too). They won't know where they are, so they'll stay there confused (or check out their new surroundings). With that trick, I do strongly suggest only using birds that will be easy to catch. Even in unfamiliar places, my more skittish birds are still easy to catch, but should they panic because they don't know where they are and are seeing you as a predator, it can be disastrous. This trick works a lot, though I've had a few who will try to get back home. (Hens who need to lay an egg are notorious for that. Crowing roosters sorta help them find their way, too.)
Ok. I often miss the shot too. What I try to do is have the camera in focus and ready to snap the picture, then do the sound. If you have your camera on a continuous speed, then you can be snapping all the while and delete the unwanted pictures afterward. (Slight warning about memory cards if you're worried about space: Even though you delete the pictures, after doing it a lot, the deleted pictures will still take away space on your memory card, though not as much as if you kept the pictures.)
Ok, that's good. I've gotten a few where my hens looked miserable. (Thankfully, that hasn't happened in a long time.)
You're welcome!
