Taking the Perfect Poultry Picture

Got some extra time on your hands?  Love hanging out with your feathered friends?  Or maybe you’re looking at selling some birds soon?  Here’s your guide to taking the ultimate poultry picture so you can impress your friends and showcase your fowl!

What’s in a picture?

An image of your prized poultry can speak a thousand words.  That’s why it’s imperative to take and use good pictures on social media platforms when advertising birds or sharing images with your friends.  Everyone’s got a good side, even your favourite bird!

Firstly, you need to think about the purpose of the image, is it to capture your chicken’s quirky nature or to highlight its exceptional show form?  This can influence how you set up to take a picture.

Patience

You’ve got to wait for the right moment, whether in the show pen or free ranging, its important to allocate a bit of time to getting the birds used to your presence, encouraging them to come close with food, and overall allow them to settle down.  It’s also a great opportunity to spend some time outside and enjoy watching your beautiful birds.  Remember, if you rush straight in and demand the perfect picture immediately your birds will seldom cooperate! I find that by offering meal worms, scratch mix or a small amount of minced beef you’ll soon have your poultry rushing to meet you!

Timing

Getting the picture when the bird is in the right position can be tricky yet truly satisfying.  Take multiple images and try to time them for when the bird is standing in the right position.  Thank goodness we can take a multitude of photos these days!

The backdrop

This is one of the most common mistakes.  People have a beautiful image of a fowl, but the backdrop does not do the bird justice.  Maybe the pens are due for a clean out, your chickens are moulting feathers everywhere, or the backyard needs a tidy up!  We’re all human, and yes, the pen tidying may have been overlooked this week, but it can be a real turnoff to people admiring your poultry or looking at purchasing birds.  Having a nice clean backdrop makes the fowl demand the focus of the viewer.  Many people will even use the background as an indication of your husbandry and welfare levels, so let’s all have a tidy up!

Camera settings

It doesn’t matter whether you use your phone or a fancy camera, you can get good results either way.  If you’re selling poultry, be careful using filters that distort colour as this misleads buyers.  However, if you’re looking to create a groovy image go wild and try a range of filters and settings!

Your fowl’s good side

Do you always take pictures looking down on your birds?  Mix it up and try taking them at ground level or below the bird.  This gives an amazing poultry perspective and all the commando crawling is definitely worth it!  Taking images at the bird’s ground level is also fantastic for giving a true representation of a fowl’s show type, so if you’re seeking comments on a bird, do it justice and make it easier for people to give you accurate feedback.  There’s nothing more confusing and difficult than trying to assess poultry in an on-the-run blurry aerial shot!

Scenario Tips

 Images of show poultry/birds for sale

• Take photos at the same level as the bird
• Confine birds to a small run or show pen to make it easier to take good photos
• Try to get birds used to hand feeding to reduce stress and allow the bird to showcase itself. A stressed bird will seldom show itself to its full potential

Images that capture character/photogenic poultry

• Take photos at wacky angles, below the fowl, close ups etc.
• Feed treats to get your bird in nice and close for the best photos
• Use some basic photo editing on your phone, camera or computer to enhance your poultry’s character

Getting opinions on the sex of young chickens

One of the most common posts for advice these days is the age-old poultry question: boy or girl?  In order to get a good second opinion, it is vital to take good quality photos of key areas to show feather shape and comb size.  The age at which you can sex your poultry varies depending on breed.

Key photo areas:

• Head shot – side on showing size of comb and wattles
• Hackle feather shape – these are the feathers around the chicken’s neck, lift them up to show if they are pointed or rounded
• Saddle feather shape – these are the feathers covering the chickens lower back and tail base, also lift these to assess for pointed/round feathers
• Complete photo – to show chickens overall shape and build (some slow maturing breeds have very ‘leggy’ cockerels that feather up slower than pullets)

-Breanna Carr, 5th Year Veterinary Science Student