You know what I’m talking about, we’ve all had to deal with them. The unsightly stick in our critter photos, argh! The mind’s eye loves vertical lines especially when they have any kind of texture taking the eye away from our cute and fuzzy subject, argh! So we tend to go to great lengths to either make them disappear or simply not take the photo in the first place. This photo of an American Robin demonstrates a technique I try to use whenever possible.
First, keep in mind I’m shooting with a very narrow angle of view. In this case, the D500 / 800mm permit me to move just a small distance, 6 inches to the side to incorporate out of focus leaves to help hide the annoying branch. Now in order to move over to grab that leaf, I also had to move backward. Subject size is not a priority when the subject stands out visually so with that branch now hidden even through the Robin is smaller in the frame it stands out more. Now if you’re not shooting with a long lens, this technique is harder as you’re taking in more of the world. It’s just another example though why I like the long glass.