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Sidharth Kodikal
10-23-2010, 11:18 AM
Canon rebel xt + 300 2.8 + 2x
1/200, f9.0, iso 200
Flash. E-TTL -1 2/3

Not sure if this is considered a true backlit image, but here it is.
I somehow like the highlights/flares to go along with the backlit look although I have attempted to tone the brightest ones on the left down a bit.

C & C appreciated.
Arthur Morris
10-23-2010, 07:21 PM
It certainly looks backlit to me. I love the bird; The eyes, especially the irises, could go a bit lighter. I am not a big fan of the large specular highlights or the branches in the lrc. All of them could go... That would leave you with a quite loverly image.
Sidharth Kodikal
10-24-2010, 01:02 PM
Thanks for the feedback, Artie. My limited PS skills notwithstanding, I will try your suggestions today and will repost.
Best,
Sidharth
Sidharth Kodikal
10-24-2010, 02:39 PM
Hey Artie, here's a repost with your suggested changes.
This strectched my PS usage into uncharted waters :)
I cloned the highlights and then to remove the blotchiness, used a brush with about 25% opacity to make it smooth. I then selected those areas an introduced about 0.7% uniform noise to match the noise in the original bg. Also quick masked the perch to clean the other unwanted stubs around it.
Any good at all?
Thanks again for you suggestions.
Arthur Morris
10-25-2010, 07:04 PM
The repost is a huge improvement and you did very, very well getting rid of the specular highlights without making it obvious. Another problem has arisen: the eyes in the repost look glassy, as if the bird had too many drinks :) You need to work on them a bit. The problem was there in the original post but not as bad.
Sidharth Kodikal
10-25-2010, 07:53 PM
Thank you, Artie! I'm encouraged by your feedback.
There are some great gems in the educational resources forum that I've found very useful. Eye doctor work will be next. The original had a bit of a glass eye from the flash (or too many drinks which is entirely possible given that this image was made at South Padre, TX)
Arthur Morris
10-25-2010, 08:01 PM
The bird must have been drinking tequila. And yes, there is tons of great stuff in the ER.