La Jolla Pelican

[Maruthy Vedam]

Hello everyone,

I am an amateur photographer and have been getting serious about photography since I bought my first DSLR about 2 years ago.

This is my first post and would like to share this photo which is probably one of my better ones. I am always looking to improve, so any and all critique about technique or post processing is appreciated.

Thanks,
mvphoto

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3281/2894199354_7354fe6909_o.jpg

[Juan Aragonés]

Hi and wellcome on board. i am sure that you will enjoy your time in BPN, this is a great place to share learning and information Your image is very sharp and I like the soft light and pose of the subject with a neat eye contact. Nice BG and well processed. I think that the composition could be better if the main point of interest (the eye of the pelican) were placed in a less centered position. I also think that it could work as a vertical crop.
Do not forget to post the basic technical details of the image (ISO, shutter speed, f-stop, etc)
Keep them coming:)

By the way, it would be much better if you, like other memebers of BPN; use a real name;)

[Tony Whitehead]

Big welcome to BPN. I like the diagonal comp and feather details but would crop a little looser to avoid the feathers touching the edge on the right- nice eye contact and feather detail. Nice sharp eye with good DOF to cover the bird while rendering the BG nice and OOF. A little fill flash may have been an option to add a catchlight to the eye and bring some more detail into the dark area surrounding the eye. Posting technical details re camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed, ISO , metering etc are helpful in maximising feedback and suggestions. Great first post - looking forward to more.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Welcome to BPN!! Looks like you were nice and close to this fella. I like the resting pose you have here, but like Juan and Tony have already suggested the comp needs some tweaking. I'd prefer a tighter crop personally as I'm finding the belly and open space in LRC not needed here. I also find the whole eye/face area on the dark side of things - Fill-flash would definitely have been a good option to use in the field but things can be improved in PS. Here I've simply used a quick and dirty dodge tool method. I've taken the liberty to manipulate your image to show what I mean, hope you like the repost...

Looking forward to more from you :-)

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w98/dancad/pelf.jpg

[Art Kornienko]

I prefer the original crop better and find the curve of the belly up to the neck more attractive.

[Stu Bowie]

Welcome to BPN. Lovely feather detail, and this is nice and sharp. I agree this is fairly tight on the RHS. Its always advisable to laeve some space in your comp, especially to look into as you have here. Looling forward to more.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Welcome to BPN! Very nice first post, I like the mood and eye contact. I would go either for a slightly wider crop that is not clipping anything at the right or something similar to Daniel's repost. What I really like in the repost is the lightened eye, makes quite a difference. Keep them coming!

[Maruthy Vedam]

Thanks to you all for the valuable feedback. I will include the technical details of the shot in future.