Best Shutter Speed for Photographing Tigers and Birds

Sundarban wildlife photography is not a predictable activity. A Royal Bengal Tiger can suddenly appear by a river bank, or a bird can take flight without warning. If you are planning on attending a Sundarban Wildlife Photography Tour, selecting the right shutter speed is crucial to achieving clear, detailed photos.

Which Shutter Speed Is Better For Taking Photos Of A Tiger?

For close up or close in shots of a stationary or slowly moving tiger, 1/1000 second should be a good starting point. It offers sufficient speed to minimize camera shake and still capture the movement of the person's eyes, head, and body movements.

For walking tiger, try to increase the shutter speed to approximately 1/1250–1/1600 second. Moving at high speeds like running or jumping can be frozen by using 1/2000 second or slower.

Most birds need faster shutter speeds than still animals. For a bird on a perch, 1/1000 second is often a good place to start.

Time for birds getting off the ground or flying is 1/1600–1/2500 second. Long shutter speeds, such as 1/3200 second or faster, might be helpful for capturing fast moving birds.

If you are looking to create a little wing action to help give motion and atmosphere, then you may want to deliberately slow your shutter speed down a little bit. This is more advanced and will need good technique.

Shutter Speed for Birds in Flight

The most difficult subjects in the Sundarbans are birds in flight. The movement is often fast and erratic and a fast shutter speed is generally preferred.

Begin at about 1/2000 second and pick up the speed if the bird is moving fast. Add continuous autofocus and burst shooting to the mix and you'll increase your odds of getting a good shot that's in focus.

The Effects Of Light On Shutter Speed

The Sundarbans can change their light intensity all day long. The bright sunlight allows for faster shutter speeds, the cloudier the weather, shaded mangroves, and early mornings may necessitate a higher ISO setting.

Install Auto ISO for Wildlife Photography.

A lot of wildlife photographers employ Auto ISO with the lowest shutter speed. This will give the camera the ability to automatically change the ISO when lighting changes, but ensure the shutter speed is correct to freeze any motion.

This can be especially helpful on a boat safari where it will be easy to change from an open water area to the dark mangroves.

Don't Forget To Use Image Stabilisation

Image stabilisation can decrease camera shake, especially with long telephoto lenses. But a moving animal is not entirely "frozen" when it is stabilized. Even when the subject is in fast motion, a fast enough shutter speed is required.

Fast Shutter Speed Guide

This is a stationary tiger about 1/1000 sec.

Walking tiger: 1/1250–1/1600 sec

Running tiger: 1/2000 sec or quicker

Perched bird: Around 1/1000 sec

Bird taking off: 1/1600–1/2500 sec

Fast bird in flight: 1/2500–1/3200 sec or faster

Last tips to Sundarban Photographers

When taking Wildlife photographs on your Sundarban Wildlife tour, begin with a quick shutter, Continuous Autofocus and take Burst pictures. Above all, prepare yourself. Animals can show up and go down in a matter of seconds and it's important to be ready for the shot or it's just another photo.