Critique required please

[Simon Whitehouse]

Hi folks

This is my first upload on this site and I would like some good honest critique on the shot. The image was captured on a photography day at a Raptor centre in Wales, UK.

Shooting tech details are;
Canon 20D with tripod mounted Sigma 50-500.
WB = Cloudy (as were the conditions).
Focal length = 363mm.
ISO = 400
Exsposure = 1/250 @ f6.3.

How to you guys make this kind of image "pop" in poor light conditions?

Any advice and critique warmly accepted.

Many thanks in advance.

Si :)

[Dave Phillips]

Hi Simon and welcome to BPN......great learning experience here.

IMO, the color is a wee bit off.......yellow/green.
One easy way to pop an image is to use what is called local contrast enhancement......generally as a final step with sharpening.
LCE can be done in varied amounts of Unsharp Mask, (heavy, 20/50/0....med, 12/50/0 and light, 6/50/0) these are the combos that I use, but many variations are possible. I applied 12/50/0 to your owl.

Another way to pop is with curves.....what is called standard "s" curve....boost upper mids/highlight and subdue lower mids/shadow.

And yet another factor is final sharpening(beside LCE above) after all processing and reduced size

[Jim Poor]

Hi Simon.
Great advice above. Additionally, I would eliminate the light area in the upper right or at the least limit it to the extreme corner. A bit of burning, curves and selective color would probably be how I would attack it. I'm pressed for time at the moment, but I may have a go at it later on.

[Simon Whitehouse]

Dave

Thank you for your reply, is it possible you could post the image so I can see the effect of LCE? Also could you explain further with regards to sharpening? Sorry I'm just not upto speed with PS at all.

Jim

Any further advice you could offer on burning and selective color would be gratefully accepted.

Thank you both for your input so far, it's very much appreciated.

Regards

Si

[Simon Whitehouse]

Dave

Sorry I never even saw the image embedded within your post. I've gotta say that this brighten's it up a treat, the moss on the post also looks more natural.

Si

[Dave Phillips]

Dave

Thank you for your reply, is it possible you could post the image so I can see the effect of LCE? Also could you explain further with regards to sharpening? Sorry I'm just not upto speed with PS at all.
Regards
Si

Here is a set showing all three settings, but this is absolutely not the only way to pop an image, just a good start and a technique worth learning. In regards to final sharpening, start learning straight USM(unsharp mask) first at anywhere from 100 to 300 / .2 to .3 / 0-1 after you have resized your image.

[Simon Whitehouse]

Dave

Thank you so much for posting that. It is really benifical to me to be able to see a range of images with the effect applied. Gotta say that the medium setting looks spot on! Something I will work on in the coming weeks.

Once again thank you for responding to this on a Sunday, I very much appreciate it.

Si

[Sid Overbey]

Simon, that is a great capture by the way. I really like the fence post and rusted barbed wire that the owl is perched on. The moodiness of the greens does remind me of the English countryside. I hope you post more pictures.

Sid

[Simon Whitehouse]

Hi Sid

I capture all my images in raw, but can't seem to bring the best out of em in the processing! Also bear in mind that this was a "captive" Little Owl (It's tied down to the back of the gate post) so couldn't fly off if it wanted too (which it did).

Si

[Lana Hays]

Welcome Simon
You have gotten some wonderful advice....complete with reposts. You can post a larger image which also might make a difference in the details. Sometimes I find that images may look darker....or lighter in a smaller size. A larger size may give the viewer a better perspective that isn't present on the smaller size. I like the image.....especially when it was lightened. Good composition and a wonderful setting.

[Simon Whitehouse]

Thanks Lana, the advice so far has been wonderful :)

Si

[Lance Peters]

Nice capture - with a little tweaking - great job.