Parrot Photography

Photography Tips

Never work with children or animals—or so goes the old actors’ adage. No such fears for Zoo Studios though, who spend their days photographing animals of all shapes and sizes. In this video we see them at work with a number of cockatoos from Cockatoo Chaos in Australia:

The first challenge is to set up the studio, not only to get the required look but also to create an environment where the birds are comfortable. The birds have a perch to stand on and are given full attention and of course food by their handlers.

As their handlers know them so well, they are able to coax the birds into posing in various positions, whilst the photographer can concentrate solely on getting the shot. The backgrounds used are pure white or black to punch out the colors in the birds, rather than clash with them.

As well as static shots, the team use wireless sensors to create a series of very striking images of the birds in flight. The final results really bring out the character in these beautiful birds