Set the table for great garden photography with backyard wildlife studio

Create your own DIY backyard bird studio

How do you get great garden photography of backyard birds and other wildlife?

Capturing great images of birds and other wildlife begins with welcoming them into your yard by planting a natural landscape using native plants, shrubs and trees whenever possible.

Nothing, however, beats your own backyard wildlife photo studio designed to not only attract your favourite birds and wildlife species, but to put them into an environment conducive to great photography. Simple answer, provide a backyard dinner table where lunch is always being served. And, don’t forget to give your feathered friends and wildlife something to drink to go along with dinner. This need for birds and wildlife to obtain food and drink resulted in my latest backyard project – a combined food table and reflection pond.

My latest project combines a dinner table on one side with a small reflection pond on the other side to bring in the greatest variety of birds and wildlife. This combination makes action at the backyard photo studio hectic with activity at times, especially when you have fiesty red squirrels claiming the entire dinner table to themselves.

The combination allows me to photograph a woodpecker working a tree stump one minute, while a chipmunk gets a drink of water in a reflection pool less than a foot away.

What more can a backyard wildlife photographer ask for in life?

A blue jay visits the photo studio. Shot with a 300mm F4.5

Simple steps to building a compact, portable studio

Neither the wildlife table, nor the reflection pond take up much room. Both are designed to be portable and easily broken down.

The feeding table is nothing more than an old, black Ikea end table that was headed to the thrift store. The reflection pond (see my earlier story on how to build it a DIY reflection pond) is made from a simple rubber boot tray placed on an outdoor end table. Both, of course, are embellished with natural materials.

A red squirrel stops for a drink at the reflection pond.

Even with the two tables set up side-by-side, the whole studio takes up no more than 3-ft by 4-ft and is hidden away in the back of the yard near my bird feeding pole.

By placing the studio near the traditional bird feeding station (See my earlier story here), the wildlife is already familiar and comfortable feeding in the area.

(If you are interested in exploring garden photography at a higher level, be sure to check out my comprehensive post on the Best camera and lens for Garden Photography.)

If I could have only one lens for wildlife and birds in the garden, it would be my F* 300mm F4.5. Check out my full story on the lens by clicking the link.

I situated the wildlife studio so that it receives side lighting during the morning followed by front lighting into the afternoon and evening. I’m lucky to have a large, light grey shed (see my earlier story on the Keter Artisan shed) just a few feet from the studio that acts like a huge light reflector, especially in the morning light. The reflected light from the shed helps to soften the overall light that falls on the backyard studio.

Behind the studio, a small hill provides a natural backdrop of wildflowers and fall colours, but because the tables are only about 18 inches high, adding different background plants in pots is simple. In the past, I have used Northern Sea Oats from another area of the garden as a natural backdrop.

By experimenting with different natural elements either on the table tops or as a backdrop, the photographic combinations and possibilities are endless.

A combination of a feeding station on the left made out of an old Ikea end table is combined with a reflection pond made from a rubber boot tray on the right adds a lot of fun to backyard bird and wildlife photography. The natural materials were all found around the yard and can be replaced regularly to create different photographic possibilities.

Building a backyard studio

Building a backyard wildlife studio can be as simple as putting up a couple of bird feeders near a branch where the birds land on their way to the bird feeders, or as elaborate as designing the tabletop of natural props that allow you to photograph a variety of wildlife in different settings.

A moss-covered tree stump is perfect for hiding a handful of seeds. Add a mossy rock or two and provide a natural perch just above the tabletop to give birds a place to survey the dinner table before dropping down to feed. The natural elements can change regularly to keep the photography exciting and to ensure that not all the images have the same look.

Add seasonal elements as you find them. Acorns, pinecones, pine needles and colourful fall leaves are just a start. Cut some branches from your best berry-producing shrubs to add colour and a natural food source. I use a clamp that can be hidden to hold the branches in place. It helps to put the stems in a vase or water source to keep them from wilting too quickly.

The reflection pond uses many of the same natural elements and by using a black boot tray, the pond is literally made for you. An inch of water is all that is necessary to create the reflection, but the angle you photograph at plays an important part on how well the reflection works. The camera angle needs to be just above the level of the pond to get the best reflection.

I am experimenting with a small mirror under the water to give maximum reflective properties.

One of our resident red squirrels enjoys seeds set out in the crevices of the old logs that make up the feeding station half of the photo studio.

Tragopan photo blind brings it all together

Adding a Tragopan V6 photographic blind is really the final ingredient to successful bird and wildlife images. It allows a very close approach to both birds and wildlife in the garden, where wildlife is already familiar with human activity.

The photo blind is set up about 10 feet from the photo studio. This close approach lets me use a 300mm lens (420mm equivalent for cropped sensor) for a frame-filling image of birds and small wildlife. A simple 70-200mm lens works nicely as well.

The blind not only provides a certain comfort level for the birds and animals, it also keeps the photographer out of the elements – be it hot sun in summer, or the rain, snow and chilling winds of fall and winter.

By using a photographic blind, the need for expensive photographic lenses to get backyard images is reduced significantly. A consumer brand 70-200mm lens on a DSLR will get you high quality images. Even high quality travel camera (Lumix DSC50) or bridge camera (Pentax K5) which I am using will give you memorable images or video.

No photo blind, no problem

If you don’t have a photo blind you can still get great images, but you are going to have to work a little harder fot them.

Place a chair and a tripod where you want to sit to take your photographs and make it a habit to go out and sit there even if you are not taking pictures. The birds and wildlife will eventually get used to you being around and accept your presence. Even if they accept your presence, you need to move slowly at all times. That’s not always easy when a new bird lands just a few feet in front of you on your favourite perch.

What birds allow a close approach

There is no question that some birds allow a more close approach than others.

These are the birds you can often, with a little patience, encourage to eat right out of your hand.

These are also the birds that you are most likely photograph without the need of a photo blind.

I find chickadees, woodpeckers, nuthatches, blue jays and even Juncos to be quite approachable and accepting of photographers.

Cardinals are more elusive as are other backyard birds like Indigo buntings and, of course, raptors.

To capture images of these birds, a blind is more critical. Even with a blind, these birds can be skittish and fly off with even the slightest motion inside the blind.

In conclusion

A dedicated backyard bird and wildlife photo studio with a photographic blind may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I guarantee that if you take a few moments to create this feeding station/reflection pond setup, you will be blessed with memorable images in no time.

It’s a great way to spend some time in the garden and put your camera to use on a weekend afternoon.

A word of caution. Don’t leave food on the table over night. Because it is low to the ground and there are no baffles or other deterrents to keep animals from feeding, it could be a magnet for unwanted visitors. I try to only put out enough food for the day. A handful or two of strategically placed food will go a long way and you can always replace it easily if the action at the studio is particularly busy.

My studio is set up right beside the shed and allows me to quickly refill the dinner table as necessary.

Happy shooting and please let me know if you build your own backyard studio. I would love to see some pictures.