Theme: european starling

[annmpacheco]

Another yard bird from last winter in a snowstorm, perched on mullien. There were two starlings that ate suet and oranges i put out for them. still trying to improve my sharpening and NR, what do you think? thanks...

1D-X
500mm

1/800
f 8.0
iso 1250

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the pose with a perfect head turn, perch, snowflakes. Good exposure. The large white area at left does pull the eye, perhaps you can tone it down to about the same luminosity as the other paler areas. Ideally, since this is a backyard setup, these types of BG elements can be avoided by repostioning yourself or your perch.

As for your question: The sharpening is tastefully done and looks natural. NR looks like it may have been also run on parts of the starling? The wing and tail feathers seem smooth as if that was done. If so, then I would suggest that NR should normally only been done to the background, and only very rarely (and even more judiciously) on the subject and perch.

[annmpacheco]

I like the pose with a perfect head turn, perch, snowflakes. Good exposure. The large white area at left does pull the eye, perhaps you can tone it down to about the same luminosity as the other paler areas. Ideally, since this is a backyard setup, these types of BG elements can be avoided by repostioning yourself or your perch.

As for your question: The sharpening is tastefully done and looks natural. NR looks like it may have been also run on parts of the starling? The wing and tail feathers seem smooth as if that was done. If so, then I would suggest that NR should normally only been done to the background, and only very rarely (and even more judiciously) on the subject and perch.
Thanks Dan: I did NR on everything but the bird... Also, i've seen mention of luminosity toned down but i don't know what that trick is and what it does, would you explain and i'll give it a try? thanks

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the pose and the lighting with snow flakes. The details are lacking but most likely from shooting in "sRAW" mode.

TFS

[annmpacheco]

I like the pose and the lighting with snow flakes. The details are lacking but most likely from shooting in "sRAW" mode.

TFS Arash, where do i find it listed as sRAW? In DPP it only says RAW? thanks, Ann

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks Dan: I did NR on everything but the bird... Also, i've seen mention of luminosity toned down but i don't know what that trick is and what it does, would you explain and i'll give it a try? thanks

You're welcome!

There are a number of ways you can tone down bright spots. You can use: the burn tool, or a low-opacity clone tool (tricky here because of the snowflakes, or shadows/highlights (which looks really bad if over done). For this image I may try the burn tool set to darken the midtones to about 8-10% (and repeat if needed). Use a large brush about the same width of the area. The danger is that you may end up with an obvious greyish "burned" area so it is best to be careful with any type of such modifications done.

[arash_hazeghi]

Arash, where do i find it listed as sRAW? In DPP it only says RAW? thanks, Ann

what's the file dimension (in pixels) ?

[Karl Egressy]

Nice looking back pose and the falling snow adds interest, Ann. The bright spots on the left are too bright.

[annmpacheco]

what's the file dimension (in pixels) ?
23.9 MB, shot in RAW... not a "big crop" would you take a look and then share why you think details are lacking, and why...? I'm trying to learn if its the image, or my PP, or both!... thanks again here's a link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hlzug8ejwg9kdyv/_PDX9399.CR2?dl=0

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Ann,
You are right this one was indeed RAW and not sRAW like the ones before. My bad!

Do you have the DPP4 guide? I used the settings recommended to convert the RAW file. I then transferred the TIFF file to PS CC then selected the bird and put it on a separate layer. then downsized to 1200 pixels and applied smart sharpen with radius 0.5 amount 100. I didn't do any other adjustments You can see the result below

158694

My guess is that you did something else along the way, some adjustment, NR or something the softened the feather texture. yours also looks a bit too contrasty, perhaps you did highlight/shadow adjustment or something like that that reduced the quality a bit(?)

The important thing to realize is that if you have a sharp well exposed RAW file like yours, there is very little you need to do in order to have a great looking output. Just a straight RAW conversion plus some output sharpening (after you resize) in photoshop will do

Best

[Diane Miller]

A good alternative to the Burn tool is a quick mask selection of an area and then a Curves adjustment layer, which will be masked by the selection. The advantage of that is that after you make the adjustment you can tweak the mask as needed. And after you do any other adjustments (or just have another look on another day) you can tweak both.

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/117406-Making-Local-Adjustments-in-Adobe-Photoshop-using-Quick-Mask-Mode

[annmpacheco]

Hi Ann,
You are right this one was indeed RAW and not sRAW like the ones before. My bad!

Do you have the DPP4 guide? I used the settings recommended to convert the RAW file. I then transferred the TIFF file to PS CC then selected the bird and put it on a separate layer. then downsized to 1200 pixels and applied smart sharpen with radius 0.5 amount 100. I didn't do any other adjustments You can see the result below

158694

My guess is that you did something else along the way, some adjustment, NR or something the softened the feather texture. yours also looks a bit too contrasty, perhaps you did highlight/shadow adjustment or something like that that reduced the quality a bit(?)

The important thing to realize is that if you have a sharp well exposed RAW file like yours, there is very little you need to do in order to have a great looking output. Just a straight RAW conversion plus some output sharpening (after you resize) in photoshop will do

Best
Thanks Arash, yes I do have your DPP guide and use it but for me i am "lost" when i transfer to PS CC bc I have not established a simple workflow yet. However your effort has shown me how a simple workflow works when you have a good sharp image. Thanks for your time again!
Ann

[annmpacheco]

Thanks everyone for your input, I appreciate your suggestions as I try to improve my DPP and PS skills...

[arash_hazeghi]

Thanks Arash, yes I do have your DPP guide and use it but for me i am "lost" when i transfer to PS CC bc I have not established a simple workflow yet. However your effort has shown me how a simple workflow works when you have a good sharp image. Thanks for your time again!
Ann

DPP is straight forward just use the same exact settings as recommended in the guide. I have some good news for you. Artie and I are working on PS guide that will be out soon. It's really simple when you have a clean sharp RAW to begin with.
best

[Daniel Cadieux]

Ann, I just want to point out that you did a great job eliminating that strand touching the tail feathers...your PS skills are better than you think so you will likely be able to learn some other PS skills easily:S3:.

[annmpacheco]

Ann, I just want to point out that you did a great job eliminating that strand touching the tail feathers...your PS skills are better than you think so you will likely be able to learn some other PS skills easily:S3:.
Thank you kind sir for such a generous endorsement!