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Thread: Shallow squirrel

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    Default Shallow squirrel

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    Not so much a title to comment on the squirrels personality - more a recognition on the depth of field!

    This was taken in similar conditions to my last post, albeit in the shade this time and gives some explanation to how I ended up with such a high shutter speed last time out.

    This one was at 1/250th, f4, ISO 200, again with the canon 5d3 and 500mm f4is, handheld as they weren't up for staying still for tripod style shots

    All comments welcome as always - I honestly do learn from your input

    Mike

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Mike - In this case the shallow dof works for me because it gives it a 3D effect with the head popping out of the frame. Sharpness looks good despite the somewhat slow ss. I like the way the tail is curled back over the body a bit. There's a fairly heavy cyan cast to the whites on the stomach. I would also try to blend in the oof blade of grass to the left of the squirrel a bit.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Awesome shallow DOF highlighting the eye with the reflection in it. Nicely composed too. Agree with Rachel reg the cast. TFS.

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rachel Hollander View Post
    Hi Mike - In this case the shallow dof works for me because it gives it a 3D effect with the head popping out of the frame. Sharpness looks good despite the somewhat slow ss. I like the way the tail is curled back over the body a bit. There's a fairly heavy cyan cast to the whites on the stomach. I would also try to blend in the oof blade of grass to the left of the squirrel a bit.

    TFS,
    Rachel
    Name:  _K9A1118-Edit-2.jpg
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    thanks for that Rachel. I've reduced the cyan cast in the whites in LR, but as I'm new to PS (I've just got the cloud version) I'm a bit unsure about how to get rid of the stalk. Do you have any suggestions, or pointers towards a good tutorial at all?

    Mike

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Mike, it's a little BIF (big in frame) for my tastes, so if you had a fraction more to the right & below, then I think it would help, but jut my take. I do like the posture, raised paw, but in this instance having the head to camera would have been the 'icing' I feel, but great just to get out there, test, learn & shoot and get to know the kit, but even better, it's a 'red'!!!! The RP still carries Blue, look at the eye, so get rid of that and you should be all set.

    Is it PSCC 2014 you have? If so go to Adobe there are lots of tutorials that will help you. In all honesty Mike I could say, do this, this and this, but I feel that often people don't learn as they use 'recipes' verbatim and do not understand why, therefore IMHO it's easier to point people in the direction and for them to search, browse and understand, plus you will find other useful help along the 'journey'. If you get really stuck then shout.

    It's not perfect and often can be very tricky to address, especially around the ear tuffs, but in doing so, just remember the image then has been 'manipulated'. Blades of grass are a real pain, but sometimes just leave them in, I think in this instance it's not that distracting.

    Cheers
    Steve

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    BPN Member Douglas Bolt's Avatar
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    I like how you used DOF to focus the viewer's eye. Nicely done and it is better after removing the cyan cast.
    Douglas Bolt
    DougBoltPhotography.com

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Mike - Steve has done a good job removing it but I wasn't actually suggesting removing it just toning it down and blending it in. You can do so by burning it a bit and then using either the smudge or burn tool, adjusting the brush and opacity to taste. A lot of learning PS is playing with the tools and sliders to see what effect they have. The nice thing is you can always step back and undo something. Steve is also correct that there are a lot of tutorials out there and they are worth exploring a bit.

    Rachel

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Yes a tad tight in the frame but it is really sharp on the eye. The colours look good in the repost.
    Probably one of the easiest ways to get rid or blend non matching colours is to take the colour dropper tool, select the colour you want then select the brush tool , set the opacity to 25-30% and ensure the brush is soft, then carefully brush around the offending area.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Probably one of the easiest ways to get rid or blend non matching colours is to take the colour dropper tool, select the colour you want then select the brush tool , set the opacity to 25-30% and ensure the brush is soft, then carefully brush around the offending area.
    Hi Jon, quick question if I may, how do you then deal with 'structure' in colour, as you are then painting with, in theory, a solid colour albeit at a %? Now it might be fine at a low ISO like 200, but if you go higher i.e. 1600, 500, 3200+?

    Cheers
    Steve

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Kaluski View Post
    Hi Jon, quick question if I may, how do you then deal with 'structure' in colour, as you are then painting with, in theory, a solid colour albeit at a %? Now it might be fine at a low ISO like 200, but if you go higher i.e. 1600, 500, 3200+?

    Cheers
    Steve
    The simple answer Steve is I don't! I just brush and if necessary clone and patch and try to blend that way, if it doesn't look right then I don't bother.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Fair comment Jonathan, just thought I had missed something in the previous PS.

    I just flagged it up only as a reminder for people to think about, and to bear in mind if they take this route, especially if using an older version of PS.

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    Hi Mike
    Have to say the op looks good enough for me- but then I am no expert in colour matters.
    I downloaded the image(naughty me !!) and my colour picker didn't find any excess blue in the whites at all to shout about . But then maybe that's me and my gear being older than god and his dog.!!
    All I would do is darken it down a bit.( or as the modern speak says " lower the luminance" OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
    Cheers
    John

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    I downloaded the image(naughty me !!) and my colour picker didn't find any excess blue in the whites at all to shout about .
    Indeed it doesn't John, Mike addressed that in his RP, it's the eye that carries the Blue.

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Oh Mike, I love thy squirrel but not the title ... Just kidding, I know it's tongue in cheek and I do appreciate your sense of humour

    Problems addressed and sorted and I enjoyed reading some of the comments above, I do like your RP and Steve's adds that final touch it needed. I am curious why ISO 200 although so pleased to notice that the IQ is not bad for 1/250s.

    Since you shot this with a 500mm lens... IMO you should have aimed for a shutter speed of at least 1/500, to ensure your image was crisp...Especially when handheld. If I were you I would have pushed the ISO to about 500 (at least). I really think you have the "feel" for capturing interesting images and wish you would experiment more with camera settings. Love the pose here, really wishing for more DOF, this squirrel is so cute and so pretty, hope you go get more images this week-end because I'll be watching for your future posts

    Kind regards, hope you have a happy week-end Mike!
    Gabriela Plesea

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Mike , i like the shallow DOF on this one , no issue for me .
    Color is already sorted out by various suggestions and RPīs from others in which i agree .
    I feel Steve īs eye is just too colorless , looks somehow a bit artificial for me.
    Crop works for me and i love the BG , no wonder with this wide open aperture .

    Keep working with your new stuff and keep experimenting , sometimes you and with surprises ....... both ways . Good or bad .

    TFS Andreas

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gabriela Plesea View Post
    Oh Mike, I love thy squirrel but not the title ... Just kidding, I know it's tongue in cheek and I do appreciate your sense of humour

    Problems addressed and sorted and I enjoyed reading some of the comments above, I do like your RP and Steve's adds that final touch it needed. I am curious why ISO 200 although so pleased to notice that the IQ is not bad for 1/250s.

    Since you shot this with a 500mm lens... IMO you should have aimed for a shutter speed of at least 1/500, to ensure your image was crisp...Especially when handheld. If I were you I would have pushed the ISO to about 500 (at least). I really think you have the "feel" for capturing interesting images and wish you would experiment more with camera settings. Love the pose here, really wishing for more DOF, this squirrel is so cute and so pretty, hope you go get more images this week-end because I'll be watching for your future posts

    Kind regards, hope you have a happy week-end Mike!
    Thanks Gabriela, just noticed my typo, it was ISO 2000 not 200

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Oh I see Thanks Mike for correction, hope you get another cutie-pie tomorrow in great light
    Gabriela Plesea

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    The uber shallow DOF just rocks here, Mike! The cut off tail etc doesn't even become an issue because of your DOF and the way the face pops off the page.
    Colour issues sorted in your RP and the stalk didn't bother me.
    Well done
    Morkel Erasmus

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    I do not mind in your face, sometimes it works. Love the re-post whith better colours!

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