Willet at Port Aransas

[Trey Barron]

I captured this one at Port Aransas a couple of weeks ago. It was my first outing with the new camera and still learning how to use it. Taken with 40D and 100-400 5.6 @ 1/400th handheld (not cropped). I would love some critiques on how to improve.

[George DeCamp]

Hi Trey!

I like this one Trey! Nice bird, good comp, nice BG, sharp!
I might add some canvas up top to give it a little more room.
Next time I might add a little Fill Flash to eliminate the shadows in front, looks like the light is coming from the left side and that hurts the chest area a little. Lastly maybe even out the water color a little with the Healing Brush or some other technique.

I think you did very well here though!!

[Judd Patterson]

Welcome Trey! Great looking Willet and I'm sure there are plenty of other shorebirds around Port Aransas as well. To me the biggest downside to this image is the strong shadows from the rather harsh light. Learning to use fill flash can help and so can improving your shooting angle so that you place the sun to your back and allow the harshest shadows to be cast behind the bird (and out of sight). Beating both of those methods is to concentrate on early morning or late evening photography when the light is oh so nice!

I'm a minimalist when it comes to Photoshop edits, so I'd suggest you leave the water as is. Great start and good luck on your next outing!