Really, it is…

When you’re on the job, you need to know how to use your tools. This requires some level of education, and practicing on your own time is a part of that education. The last thing any photographer should engage in, is on-the-job-training. Yes, I know experience is valuable. There is a difference between experience and training. Experience helps you apply what you have been taught, to be more efficient in producing the images you had envisioned. I have met a number of “pro” photographers that will only pick up the camera if somebody pays them to do so.

Most proficient photographers know that setting up a practice regiment, keeps you sharp and ready for any situation. This is what I believe separates the pros from the amateurs, not how many wedding gigs you booked this summer.

Photographing birds is fantastic practice. Most of the same rules applies to birds as it does people. You can practice high-speed focusing, tricky exposures, framing and composition, and dealing with the general public. When you pick up your camera, every function should be second nature. The laws of depth of field should be ingrained in your head. You need to know the math of photography backwards and forward. Birds move fast, you need to react accordingly. Learning how to anticipate movement based on the surroundings is a skill that only comes with practice. Most of us rely on auto focus, but that takes practice, just like anything else. Composition is also very important. Seeing that it is unlikely that you are going to get a warbler in your studio, you learn to use the environment to frame your subject. Use the background provided by the world around you to frame your subject .

The best part of photographing birds, they are everywhere. In cities, in the desert, at the beach, on the river. I mean, you can see birds everywhere.  Pay attention to everything you do and apply you learned from those days of shooting birds to your day job.

A great book to check out..
National Geographic Photographing Birds