How to Photograph Bats with the kit you already have!

Bat photography is quite specialized. After all they are small and fast with an erratic flight, oh and they come out in the dark. It is important to note that you cannot photograph bats near a roost using flash. The bats in this video fly through our gardens nightly for a brief amount of time. The roost is located in a different part of the village. To photograph at or near a roost see the guidelines provided on the Natural England website. After discovering I had some pipistrelles flying over my back garden I thought it would be fun to see if I could get an image using my camera, flash, cable release and tripod. This is how I got on.
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[@tonymckeage1028]

who would have guessed! Bat Photography! I well done i really enjoyed it!

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Thanks Tony it seemed like a good idea at the time (must have been the beer talking😂)

[@adrianalfordphotography]

Some great tips in this Scott. We have hordes of flying foxes in the early evening fly over here in my part of Australia. Thanks for sharing the video mate, cheers 🍻 👍🙏

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Thanks Adrian, what I wouldn't have given for something the size of a flying fox flying around the house mate😂 They probably did look that big after I'd had a few beers😂

[@KGsPhotography]

Now that one tough subject but you managed a good few images. Great video Scott.

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Thanks Keith, yes it turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated 😂

[@patricksalt6797]

You certainly like a challenge!🙂 Well done on getting some images!

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Yes, note to self "please keep any bright ideas to yourself when you've had a few beers!!"😂 Thanks for watching Patrick👍

[@RedRodders]

I also have a cheap wildlife trap camera that I may try . If all else fails I will try the video camera on my DSLR

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Would be great to see your results 👍

[@RedRodders]

Thank you I will give it a go, I have a telescopic fibre glass flag pole and I may put some evening flying insect bait on the top, fruit, honey, wine mix, to see if they will oblige by coming into a definite area. Get one or two shots then leave the bats alone to feed .

[@scotttilleyphotography]

That sounds like a great idea, I know that strong lights also tend to encourage insects into an area, so an outside light will attract in the insects and the bats will follow.👍

[@RedRodders]

@@scotttilleyphotography I had just decided to try the light but nearly everthing is l.e.d. and the wrong frequency to attract insects!!

[@neilcole3406]

I was hoping to see someone photo bats fancy having ago myself, thanks

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Thanks Neil, its handy if you have them flying around the house but not as easy as countries that have fruit bats that can be bought to a feed station similar to birds! Great fun and glad you found it useful👍

[@paulstickley4819]

Very interesting and not something I have tried. It reminded me of my efforts at photographing flying insects with flash and getting the correct balance of flash and ambient light. Great to see videos on unusual subjects.👍

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Thanks Paul, it's amazing the bright ideas that come into your mind when you have a beer in your hand!😂 It would have been easier if the bats had stuck around for longer but every night after about five minutes they seemed to disperse. Happy that I managed to capture something in the end!👍

[@andersonboy620]

You give interesting information but sometimes maybe the way you explain it is not that clear as it could be. Anyway it is an interrsting topic and good analysis of different things that you can try with setups and settings to get to picture bats. Thanks for the video!

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Thanks for watching!

[@kontrolla1]

Very interesting Scott and you got some good results. I’ve not tried bats but the technique looks very similar to what I have done with foxes and badgers at night with multiple off camera flash. Not sure if we have any bats locally. If I can find some I will give this a go.

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Thanks Paul, I was hoping that it would be easier than it turned out to be. The bats only seemed to give you between five and ten minutes every night before they dispersed so they didn't give much opportunity. Nice to come away with something in the end!!😀

[@davidbailey1689]

Great stuff, Scott. I have the same camera as yourself. Can you point me towards the page in the manual or a website which describes the issue with flash vs ambient exposure? Thanks

[@scotttilleyphotography]

Hi David, sorry for not responding sooner, I've been away on holiday in Scotland with limited internet etc. This is the website page I talk about.👍www.auswildlife.com/wildlife-high-speed-flash/