Very Fresh Juv. Common Tern - Too Little Contrast?

[Paul Guris]

I took this photo of a very recently fledged Common Tern under an overcast sky. I love the feather details, especially since a lot of the more subtle markings wear off pretty quickly making this a short lived plumage. I'm just not sure that the photo works because the bird blends so well with its background. I'd like to see what people think about whether or not this is an effective this image. Thanks in advance for any comments and critiques.


Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED w/ TC-14E II
ISO 800, f/7.1, 1/2500, 420mm (630mm FX equivalent)

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Contrast needs to be increased in the RAW converter (assuming this was shot in RAW). In ACR this would be with both the conrtrast and clarity sliders. One thing to note is that contrast is easily increased in post, but the opposite, decreasing contrast, is rarely successful,
I think a lower viewpoint would have helped this image, and a tighter crop, especially above the tern.
regards~Bill

[Paul Guris]

Contrast needs to be increased in the RAW converter (assuming this was shot in RAW). In ACR this would be with both the conrtrast and clarity sliders. One thing to note is that contrast is easily increased in post, but the opposite, decreasing contrast, is rarely successful,
I think a lower viewpoint would have helped this image, and a tighter crop, especially above the tern.
regards~Bill

Thanks for the tips. I'll give this a shot, though I have to affect the changes in Aperture.

I agree that toning down contrast doesn't seem to work well. The only times it's been effective for me was when the amount of adjustment was small.

[Bob Miller]

Hi Paul .....closer and much lower would be what I suggest