Muntjac buck (baited from a hide)

[Stuart Philpott]

Another image from the hide we visit occassionally to practice really. The deer are wild but habituated to people ,so a different ball park altogether to my recent fallow bucks. Cheers for all the help there!! One of my first outings with the mark iv taken back in sept.

Canon 1Div 300 2.8 ext iii Probably I should have removed the ext but one never knows what one will see here and what distance. Cropped from landscape to portrait as he was basically so close I couldn't frame him so went for this study. Processed in dpp4

iso 2000
f/4
TV 1/200

thanks for all the previous help

take care

Stu

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Stu, the image looks very soft, have you applied any sharpening? If you have, then I feel you may have some camera shake. Your SS wasn't in your favour either at 1/200, hence DoF at f/4 too I guess. If this was attracted by food then I would try to get the deer more out in the open, but close to the edge of the forest so he/she can dart back into cover if they feel threatened.

TFS
Steve

[Stuart Philpott]

Cheers Steve,it's a public hide really not my thing ,but good practice,so I have no control over the food given. I'd rather chase the wild ones to be honest,but at this stage I need to take pictures,so this spot has it's merits for me.
I'm surprised on the softness Steve,but i'm sure you are right,sadly. Yes the shutter is low it's a tricky place to shoot but good to learn from. I was fighting for light !!

thanks buddy

take care

Stu

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Stu - Unfortunately first thing I noticed is the softness. It really kills the image for me. I think it comes down to your slow ss and probably some camera shake considering lens and t/c. You might want to consider a monopod in tight situations with that combo.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Stu, I agree 100% get the practice in, that can only benefit your skill set, but photographing them in the wild you cannot beat.

Open the image up in DPP and look where the Focus point was. As you can see the RH side is soft, likewise the nose, but that could well be DoF, the actual coat doesn't look too bad. I would run some NR on the BKF, but adding some more sharpening doesn't really help, I would also crop a bit tighter.

[Stuart Philpott]

Steve focus point is just center and slightly low (actually touching)right eye as viewed. could this be motion blur by the subject possibly from him eating/chewing rather than TV Steve? Mate i'm not on any level saying i'm not at fault,but i've got a pretty steady rest to work off at this hide,so in theory at least the camera should be reasonably stable,this might also explain the coat being sharper?? Steve in your repost WB is different yours being more muted,did you use the eye dropper for this if so where did you place it to take the reading please?

Rachel sadly, your post confirms what Steve has said,thanks for the help mate. I can't really use any form of support here Rachel other than a bean bag type senario,the seat underlies the rest at the bottom of the hide "window". But although I will always look at myself for errors first as with my question to Steve I do wonder if this is motion blur of the subject rather than camera shake persay??? i'm unsure Rachel it could well be me,shutter control is something i've been trying to improve upon, and although this wasn't that long ago for me it's an age as i'm getting more familiar with my camera all the time .

many thanks both

Stu

PS Steve no sharpening applied just the fine detail selection in DPP(picture style) which does effect USM I've noted.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Stu -- I agree with the above comments , and i think you will certainly improve more after these suggestions , soft images just takes out the life from portraits in most most cases , Steve's RP makes this look much better . TFS !

[keith mitchell]

Hi Stu,softness issue well dealt with ans agree Steve's repost lifts it a lot ,did wonder if maybe a little drop in contrast just on the bg might lift it a bit more,just my personal thought of course.It's a smashing looking Deer for you to work on and well done getting the shot.

Keith.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Well caught Stu,my first reaction was that is was soft.
(Steve has done a little magic on it and the sharpness doesn't look far off at all, I think he has also tweaked the background - it looks pretty good suggest have a word with him:w3)

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Stu i like the portrait of this small deer species , so well done in getting this .
Lovely warm colors if they have been that warm ? Wonder what WB you have chosen in DPP . This image is again a good example that one needs PS for further fine tuning the image and the shortcomings of DPP !!!!!
You need to make localized adjustments many times , so PS i the way to go , or you could try to use GIMP ..... better than nothing in the end .

But get out and practice .... Steve has summed it up nicely .

BTW Steve´s RP does look good to me

TFS Andreas

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Stu,

I am so sorry to rub it in, but I have to repeat what has already been said: despite the good framing and lovely warmth, the subject appears too soft for my liking. Did you have any support when you were capturing this?

1/200s is just not enough, try obtain a SS that is at least equal to the size of your lens. If the subject is moving - or likely to move - then you must play it safe and aim for say, 1/1000s. Steve's RP a great improvement indeed, but there's only so much one can do if the subject isn't sharp enough.

I am trying to imagine the hide you were shooting from, Stu. Not sure I understand your circumstances, but how about using a monopod? Or a home-made beanbag that you can mould and shape?

Keep practicing, I am sure you'll get it right:w3 I am hoping for more images after the week-end:)

Kind regards,

[Stuart Philpott]

Folks please can I thank you all as a collective rather than individually,i'm very tired and have little time,Andreas,i'm set on getting ps in some form for sure.It's just so little time i'll barely touch it at the moment.
Gabriela don't worry your not rubbing it in,it is incredibly important that I learn how to judge sharpness... it's not harsh for me at all:S3: Ahh kiddo I value your honesty,you are trying to help me


Guys I would say i'm concerned by this ,as I'm worried I didn't see this,not whether an image in particular isn't sharp I'm very concerned that I thought it was ok. Sharpness I guess is subjective but this image means I need to look harder at how I judge this.

cheers for the honest replies folks,I'd rather know than not!!!!

take care

Stu

[Steve Kaluski]

Stu, you just simply needed more SS and DoF.

Shooting in more 'open' light as I said will help you. Sadly shooting in the UK, light is of a premium and so there are some concessions we have to make in getting shots, but as the Equinox has just passed, days will be longer, brighter and more opportunities.

[Stuart Philpott]

Stu, you just simply needed more SS and DoF.

Shooting in more 'open' light as I said will help you. Sadly shooting in the UK, light is of a premium and so there are some concessions we have to make in getting shots, but as the Equinox has just passed, days will be longer, brighter and more opportunities.

Steve I understand I need more SS and DOF, as I opened with this was taken back in sept,I've had a LOT of help since then,:w3

What is bothering me is I thought it was sharp on my viewing the image and obviously it's not. Buddy I don't want to stray from topic,trying really hard , but I need to re evaluate my conception of sharpness. That is what I'm trying to say.


Ahh mate I've had my camera in my grubby mits more in the last two weeks than for months tis all good mate,I'm loving it.It's been a hard dull winter here for togs especially those grafting like moi. But I'm full of optimism mate for the months ahead,please worry not on that score. I get what you are saying with "open light",but deer in woodland have a special appeal. Much to learn buddy

I won't go further,but will say cheers for the help:5

take care mate

Stu

[Steve Kaluski]

Stu, there is Input sharpening, then there is Output sharpening.

Your issue is the 'Output sharpening' which is Perceptual sharpening i.e. sharpening something to look sharp. Normally I would say send me the RAW, I can then provide a better reply, but I think if you were to try and forward the file via Dropbox then you may get into a right 2 & 8. Email could be an issue, but you could try, but it must be the RAW, NOT the Tiff. Let me know.

[Stuart Philpott]

Stu, there is Input sharpening, then there is Output sharpening.

Your issue is the 'Output sharpening' which is Perceptual sharpening i.e. sharpening something to look sharp. Normally I would say send me the RAW, I can then provide a better reply, but I think if you were to try and forward the file via Dropbox then you may get into a right 2 & 8. Email could be an issue, but you could try, but it must be the RAW, NOT the Tiff. Let me know.

Steve I'll shoot you a pm

many thanks for all this,never taken for granted Steve !!!!!!!!

best

Stu

[Andreas Liedmann]

Steve & Stuart as long as Stu is limited to DPP there is no such In or output sharpening , as DPPis limited to one time sharpening due to its structure .... sadly .
Basically you can apply input sharpening and that´s it , well for me . The other issue is that you cannot apply the sharpening selectively within DPP , only workaround is to make two versions and blend them together in PS , again a bit clunky .But works for me though , just takes a tiny bit more time .

Hope this helps folks

[Stuart Philpott]

Steve & Stuart as long as Stu is limited to DPP there is no such In or output sharpening , as DPPis limited to one time sharpening due to its structure .... sadly .
Basically you can apply input sharpening and that´s it , well for me . The other issue is that you cannot apply the sharpening selectively within DPP , only workaround is to make two versions and blend them together in PS , again a bit clunky .But works for me though , just takes a tiny bit more time .

Hope this helps folks

Cheers Andreas,everything helps my friend. Andreas,although I'm not quite there yet,when PS comes these little things like Steve's post are all helping me assimilate some basic steps to use later on.Sure I can't use them yet,but soon hopefully.

Huge thanks as always Andreas

best

Stu