If you have a camera and a bird, it seems natural to take pictures of your bird, after all he is part of your family.

Maybe it's natural – but sometimes you have to wonder how to get a picture that really looks good – one that shows the special character that you see every day.

I will give you a couple of hints and a couple of things not to do, that might help you get that perfect shot of your feathered companion.

Many birds really do not like to have a camera shoved in their face – but many people don't either so it is best to work around this. If you have a camera with a zoom lens, you can stand back a bit and zoom in to get a shot where you bird isn't trying to get away from that thing in your face.

If you are just looking at buying a digital camera, please look for optical zoom and not digital zoom. I haven't had much luck with digital zoom.

If you don't have a zoom lens, but have a digital camera, you can still stand back a bit and just be ready to crop the picture so that the bird is the main part of the photo.

Try not to take pictures of your bird through the bars of his cage. The camera always seems to focus on the bars instead of the bird and the result is a picture where the bird is difficult to see. If you bird is one that does not come out of the cage, open the door and take the picture or a few pictures, through the open door.

If your bird has a favourite spot to perch when out of the cage, focus on that spot and wait for him to arrive there. Snap lots of pictures. Some of them may not look so good, but some of them might look wonderful

If your bird will fly to you when called, it is fun to try to get the perfect flight photo. Get comfortable, get your camera all set and focused at a spot between you and your bird and then call him. Snap as many pictures as you can and maybe some of them will look great.

Avoid having clutter in the picture. Using a digital camera allows you to clean up clutter in pictures with the right software, but this is very time consuming and not necessary if you spend the time setting the picture up in a non cluttered area.

Make sure your bird is the focus of the picture. Even if he is not in the center of the photo, focus on him first before recentering.

Zoom in on your bird to focus on his face. The details on a zoomed in picture are often amazing. If the bird's eye is in focus, the rest of the picture will look wonderful.

If you camera has a delay option, it is fun to get into the picture with your bird. Place something on the spot where you will be standing (or sitting) and focus on that. Push the shutter release (after clicking on the time delay button) and head for your spot with the bird. Remove the item you focused on and wait for the click.

Take lots of pictures and above all - - - have fun!

The camera I use is a Canon Power Shot S1IS with 3.2 MP & 10X optical zoom.
Here are a few great Canon cameras you can check out if you are interested.