I love the colors of this bird. I think a little flash fill would highlight the richness of the plumage far more nicely. Also for my taste there is too much negative space.
This tricolor has Wonderful mating colors around the eye and beak and I like the intense pose. I do feel cropping a bit of the top and the right side would strengthen this image. The focus seems to be right on the eye so it is sharp where it should be. Thanks for sharing Lain.
Thanks for the useful advice on cropping. I especially like the idea of cropping the right side as this would place the bird more as if it is looking into the frame.
The overcast sky allowed for some nice color saturation. You definitely captured this tri-color in "stud mode". I'd like to feel a little more involved in the image, perhaps if your subject was angled facing the image plane (It feels like he's facing away from the image plane just a bit). A lower shooting angle might also help to improve the sense of connection with your subject. Also, the composition, I think this image would have much more impact if you aligned your subject's neck on the "rear-third" line, and his eye intersecting the "top-third" line. Keep em' coming!
On the positive side, the composition can be improved by a simple crop.
With the crop, the Tri's head will be higher in the frame and a better connection between viewer and subject will be made.
When you bring the levels up, check for noise. You may need to apply a little noise reduction.
The image is nice and sharp.
The head direction will work, but a slight turn would put this over the top.
So bottom line most issue can be corrected post shutter. Alright!
I have found that the over all image quality is better, the less I must do at the computer.
With the beautiful saturation of the colors, application of levels or curves will offer a little pop!
You guys covered everything quite well. To sum up: needs head turned towards us, more light, and a good crop.
later and love, artie
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I agree with Ákos. I cropped it closer, used a Quick Mask to select inside the bird. I then used the Selection in a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment Layer. Boosted Brightness by 20 and Contrast by 7 in CS3. Sharpened with Focus Magic.