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A tilted camera is very noticeable when photographing waterfowl. Certain types of tripod heads such as ballheads are prone to this problem as their movements are completely independent of the tripod. |
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Bird Photography Tips #34 by Scott Fairbairn and John Reaume |
Bird and other wildlife photography are often very demanding due to the movement and unpredictable behavior of your subjects. As a consequence, we are often guilty of background distractions such as bright highlights, sticks and tilted horizons. Most of the time we are so caught up in the moment that we forget about the background. A tilted horizon is a common error that can ruin an otherwise well-composed image. It does not take large deviations to spoil a photograph, as even small discrepancies can be quite distracting.
Using tripods on uneven terrain, legs unevenly extended, and hasty setups can all contribute to your camera not being level. Even when we have sufficient time to setup, we can still have alignment miscues. Ballheads, while being very handy for nature work, are easily locked down with a tilt unless you are careful.
Some tripod manufacturers have even put levels on the tripod bases to allow you to level the tripod. This works well, but your tripod head may still cause your horizontal to be tilted.
Certain photographic situations tend to make leveling problems more noticeable than others. When photographing waterfowl for example, it is readily apparent when the camera is not level, as calm water rarely exists on a hill! Additionally, distant horizons are also dead giveaways for a tilted camera. There are however, some situations where elevation changes, cloud bands and/or shoreline effects can give the impression of a tilt where none exists. In cases such as these, it may be advantageous to intentionally tilt your camera to "level" the horizon. You must use judgment in those situations to find the best compromise.
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A tilted camera is very noticeable when photographing waterfowl. Certain types of tripod heads such as ballheads are prone to this problem as their movements are completely independent of the tripod. |
A simple solution to leveling your camera is to use a "bubble level" mounted on your flash shoe. There are several companies that produce these simple devices (Linhof, Hama). The one pictured below is by Linhof. To use, simply slide it into your flash shoe and either rotate your camera by loosening the tripod collar or tip the tripod head until the "bubble" is centered between the lines.
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| Leveling is a simple as centering the bubble between the lines. |
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| This particular make of bubble level can be mounted on the camera in two different ways. By rotating the level 90 degrees, the front to back and side to side can be leveled. For the most part, we will only be interested in side-to-side (horizontal) leveling. Note that the top part of the level is used when shooting in vertical format. |
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| When the camera is not quite level, the bubble will be off to one side or the other. In this case, the camera needs to be tilted clockwise to center the bubble between the lines. These levels are quite accurate and the same principle is used for carpentry levels. |
Using a bubble level can take the frustration out of having a good image ruined by your camera not being level. Internet sources for these products are LLRue (http://www.rue.com) and Birds as Art (http://www.birdsasart.com).
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Designed Tuesday, October 13, 1998 and maintained by Gord Gallant
Last Updated: June 1, 2002