Good job exposing both whites and blacks properly here in what seems to be harsh light. It's still a little contrasty though - but not too bad IMO. The blurred BG is nice, however it's a little too stark for my liking. You could maybe try a Gaussian blur on the BG alone and decrease its saturation?
Due to the fact that the bird seems more or less parallel with the sensor I may have opted to open the aperture a bit to increase the level of blurring of the BG. Otherwise it's a lovely, sharp shot.
Hi Joe, good points from Faraaz. I do like the look back pose, and the light has shown up the blue iridescence on the wing nicely. Comp wise, Im finding this a bit squarish, ( just a personal thing ) so moving the magpie to the left and taking off both top and bottom will create more of a traditional landscape format.
I had a bit of time and came up with this version. You can do better with your RAW file and the original space in the image. I decreased the contrast, on both bird and BG, added back some yellow to the BG, added canvas to the RHS, and cropped to suit. I would have liked more space on the right.
Stunning exposure on the glossy blacks Joe and liking the blue sheen on the wing. Background blur is nicely done so the aperture was was well chosen I feel. Agree with getting away from the square crop framing
Magpie
) so moving the magpie to the left and taking off both top and bottom will create more of a traditional landscape format.
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