I have mine, you have yours

[Hilary Hann]

Couldn't think of anything better to call this but as the lioness has taken a position up on a termite mound, and the tiny bird in the background has taken up position on another termite mound, I thought it apt.

Taken minutes before a successful hunt by her sister, early morning, Masai Mara. For me, it feels more like a record shot of a lioness, rather than anything particularly artistic. No cropping or PP on this one (unusually for me!).

7D; 300mm; f8.0; 1/250; ISO400

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Hilary

Before I comment, can you please tell me what the WB is set to please.

Thanks
Steve

[Hilary Hann]

Set to auto

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Hilary

OK if the WB is set to Auto have you set anything else like 'picture style'? The reason I ask is that I feel your image, (like Rachel's was) is running rather too warm in Saturation and this might be due to a setting you might have applied, as you say, you have not done any PS work, so...

With ANY digital image you need to sharpen it, albeit the last thing you do, as the image is never sharp. I would also drop the saturation to about -20, this will possibly give you a better colour balance overall. The hint of dark tree line in the BG is fine, clone it out looks odd IMHO (tried it :D) You could just clone out the bird or light mark near her face.

- Drop the saturation
- Slight increase in curves
- Clone out little white mark
- Duplicate layer, sharpen in USM, create mask, paint lioness back in, flatten, re save for web, post :)

I think you might surprise yourself with your 'Record shot' LOL. :)

Hope it works
Steve

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Steve, my project for today. Will repost later on.

[Hilary Hann]

Any better?

[Tom Graham]

Yes, like this re-work better without stuff under chin. Good cloning work. And like lion color but original color was also ok for me. I like the green grass better in original. Maybe? Consider flipping horizontal?
Oh, and lighten eye if you can, if it works, and put a highlight in eye.
Think that might get it!!!! :)
Tom

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Tom.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Hilary

Excellent re post Advice from Steve was right on !!

Could suggest one more thing you could do to enhance your image. Select the brighter area around with face with selective color, just place the eye dropper on the area, then play with the slider to select more or less ... it will include a small area on the legs also... then feather by a couple of pixels, then make a new layer and choose multiply .. can do more than one time. Did exact procedure and got some of the white areas with more detail, nothing else.

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Al, that works really well and is not a technique I've used before.

[Tom Graham]

Alfred/Hilary, I keep re-reading about Alfred's selection of bright head area but not getting what it would look like. If you have time, could you do it and re-post? Did you try it Hilary, could you re-post?
Thanks - Tom

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Tom I'm trying to work on the bright areas and darken !!! Just go to Select >color range .... make sure at the top of the box is sampled colors... just move the fuzziness slider to taste .... will select a larger smaller area. Make sure to feather by a couple for little areas and more for large ones. After the selection just make a new layer by using Command-J and that will place selection on its own layer/marching ants disappear then at the layer's blending modes go from normal to multiply. You need to have something to work with like in this image, if all pixels are blown will not work ... this filled in very nice !! ... and can do a couple of times.

btw can try different blending modes but multiply seems to work the best !!

[Hilary Hann]

Tom, I haven't had a chance to try it yet as I've been out working. Will give it a try tonight.

[Hilary Hann]

OK, this is the re-worked file.

[Steve Kaluski]

Looks good to me now Hilary.

Question for (you ONLY) Hilary, Photographer or 'Harry Potter' PS wizard? ;) Leading question that I may raise later Hilary (in general not you :)), however with the changes, not to the Lioness, but to the rest how do you feel?

Steve

[Hilary Hann]

Steve, this is a good question and one that I will struggle to answer but will give it my best shot.
1 Should wildlife photograph be 'real' … as you saw the subject in its' environment, or can it be interpretive?
2 If it has to be an authentic depiction of the scene as you saw it, can you then clone out elements to make it more artistic or closer to 'perfect'.
3 Does authentic have to be boring … I'm afraid I find many of the images in the wildlife section very boring in the sense that they are good record shots but more suitable to put in a text book on wildlife or biology. But they often get many good comments, so is that what is expected.
4 A more interpretive image of an animal, for instance Morkel's lovely rhino, doesn't necessarily have any cloning or changing of the environment but to my eye was interesting and evocative and had a spirit to it. But generally it wasn't liked because it was too dark and moody.
5 I find this image of mine a pleasant photograph of a lioness, nothing more or less. I wouldn't enter it into any competition … competent but not exhilarating.
6 I visited the BBC wildlife photographer of the year (in our town at the moment) on the weekend and was underwhelmed by the awarded photos. Some were soft, some just weren't interesting so perhaps I expect too much from myself and others.
7 How much PS is too much? Depends on what I want to produce from my images and that depends on the spirit and beauty I felt when surrounded by the land and the animals. Thus, this lion was photographed the morning after a big storm, the atmosphere crackled with energy and she glowed in the sunlight. Subconsciously I've reproduced a highly saturated animal and in fact that is how I remember her.
8 Likewise with my hippos fighting, it was dark and it was violent and so that is how I wanted the image to appear. As a record shot it failed because I couldn't tick all the boxes required, but for me, when I look at it, I'm transported straight back to that night.
9 I think what I'm doing, whether I realise it or not, is trying to produce my images to match my memories and that is my failing perhaps because no one else will get the same emotion from them.

But I'm learning a lot about what other people expect and enjoy and that is invaluable. I'm also learning some tricky new tools to help me reach my goals, but the most important thing of all is that I'm clarifying what I need to change in my initial capture which is little things that I've missed at the time. Worth twice the price of membership! :)

Not sure I've answered your question "what do I think of it", by which I presume you mean the whole image or the process ... pleasant photo which reached that point by some extensive artwork and post production which would immediately eliminate it from any reputable wildlife photographic award (apart from the fact that it didn't have any zing!).

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Hilary

Interesting and it has bolster my thoughts of posting this question, purely from an interest POV rather than a 'dictator' view. I just felt that this was a posting where such a question would be good to raise for feedback and not to hi jack the tread.

Thanks
Steve

[Morkel Erasmus]

your last repost has got the colours spot on Hilary and I like the pose. I wouldn't have cloned out anything, but then again at this stage of my photography I prefer not to clone (but will on occasion to see the effect or to get rid of something that REALLY niggles me).

interesting discussion too...a lot as been said of late by many respected South African photographers on "why we take pictures"...you can have a look on my latest blog post and that will link back to the other posts I am referring to...
:D

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks for the links Morkel, I found the discussions very interesting. I may post a comment but not today as it is frantic at the moment. A lot of what was said resonates with me.

[Harshad Barve]

Excellent pose by Lioness here , VWD, excellent image
TFS