Cheetah Portrait

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Camera	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Exposure	(1/800)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	700 mm
ISO Speed	400
Exposure Bias	0 EV

We saw 4 Cheetahs at Paradise plains in the Mara, but they were in the bushes resting after a meal. We waited for them to come out in the open but in vain. So I asked the driver to get a better position to get a good clear view of the face and I went in for a nice head shot! I liked the way the leaves frame the image.

[Morkel Erasmus]

You framed this beautifull, Sanjeev! Love the 3 auburn coloured leaves as well. Nice sharpness (f5.6 worked here ) and good even exposure in the soft (overcast?) light.
I think you could add a hint more tonal contrast to the face, masking the effect to about 30-40%, for some subdued punch...
I would also consider cropping some off the LHS and going "square", placing the cheetah in the middle...

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Sanjeev - this looks very good, nice sharpness, detail and eye contact. Morkel's suggested tweaks will improve an already very nice image. I would consider a crop from the bottom as well to get rid of most of the leaf in lrc. Perhaps even Steve's favorite 16:9 would work.

TFS,
Rachel

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Thanks Morkel and Rachel. The light was soft indeed. I just changed the crop a bit. How does this look?

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Sanjeev, very quickly done before heading off, so...

Overall I do find the image very 'light/bright' but it might be the laptop? If however I'm correct, I'm surprised no one has mentioned about double processing. You create one image for the BKG and one for the Cheetah, then combine. Difficult to know how far to go or not, but how does this grab you as a starter?

cheers
Steve

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Steve, the image looks fine on my iMac, but on my laptop and a windows desktop it looks maybe a tab light. When possible do look at it in your desktop and lemme know. I like your RP and the idea of double processing. Will try it out.
Sanjeev

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Sanjeev,
think there is a lot more IQ on this one than your last post, lots of detail and clarity, easier think because subject is closer and you have no heat haze or other stuff to deal with the lens combo you used.

Like the portrait shot but would go a bit tighter , maybe square is an option here.

Like your RP by tone and color in the subject, but would go and darken the BG in the lighter parts. Double process as Steve said , is a good choice.

Steve`s RP looks a but muddy in the highlights, think he went to far by darkening, he his working from Laptop so not ideal, and quickly done i think, but shows you a direction.

TFS Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Sanjeev, I'm not back until the 18th so doubt if it can wait that long, just a passing thought/observation.

Will drop you a line.

[Steve Kaluski]

Cheers Andreas. Sanjeev you now have a 'recipe' to work to, look forward to see perhaps a RP later?

Andreas, my only worry about going tighter is that you begin to lose the environment and something that is key IMHO of the image.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Steve i feel in this case environment is kind of not adding a lot to the image , my opinion. I feel it kind of disturbing due to be too busy.So i stick with losing it and concentrate on the nice portrait.

Andreas

[Anette Mossbacher]

Very nice pose Sanjeev, I have seen this last night. I as well thought that it is a bit light, which did not bother e much, but the white hair around the mouth did. Played a bit with it and agree with Steve K.
With the crop I came up with a Square with this one, but when I gave it a try at the end to much was lost for me around. You got good suggestions above

Have read all above. Love the idea of double processing Steve K. Will come back to that when I am back. My screen has a sticky for that already

Have a great week

Ciao

Anette

[Steve Kaluski]

Love the idea of double processing Steve K. Will come back to that when I am back. My screen has a sticky for that already

We could have covered that yesterday Anette, or I could have set it as Homework for you. Big change in the weather, so we have headed back early, hence on line, check your email.

[Martin Dunn]

Good portrait of a beautiful cat Sanjeev. For me the big thing with a cheetah portrait is the eyes. They have such a wonderful colour if you catch them right.
I think your original post is a bit bright and could do with some darkening but not as much Steve's post.
RE: composition, For me it is a matter of personal preference. I don't like square pictures so I would either keep your subject where you had it to start with or maybe more it over to the left of the frame, showing a bit more body. Whichever allows you to include the least amount of distracting foliage.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Sanjeev, great eye contact, and just love those honey eyes. I like the framing by the leaves.

[Loi Nguyen]

Sanjeev, great sighting and details on the Cheetah. Your OP is a bit too light/bright on my monitor with PC. Steve's RP is a bit muddy in the BG. You already had good suggestion above. Loi

[hennieloots]

Hi Sanjeev - I love the details and the frame. The 3 orange leaves add as they match the eyes. May I suggest a vertical crop to eliminate the foliage on the LHS; assuming you have some space below to remain in 2/3 comp.
TFS
Hennie