Leopard portrait

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

This is the same leopard that we saw at Okavango. The light was a bit low. This is hand held with 5D III at 700mm. I wanted to get a tight headshot and was happy to get it. The image stabilisation of the 500 II is just awesome. I could have upped the ISO to get more DOF or SS since it was a 5D III body but was quiet pleased with the DOF highlighting those eyes in this portrait.
1/160
f/5.6
ISO 800

[haseeb badar]

Another excellent Portrait Sanjeev !! You have managed some excellent sharpness inspite of hand holding the big tele . I think a more centered frame by eliminating some space from LHS might look even better . TFS !

[Nancy Bell]

Magnificent with the leopard staring straight at you! Totally mesmerizing! DOF includes both eyes and nose so all is good. I like the tight framing and the inclusion of the leaves around the head. If it is something you do, I would consider minimizing the thick gray branch on the side, or cropping it away. Awesome capture!

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Sanjeev - Another nice portrait but I think I prefer the last one with him peering out of the foliage. I do find the thick branch slightly distracting. Great eye contact and you are the master at steady hands and slow ss. If he posed long enough it would have been interesting to see a comparison of one with higher ISO and more dof. Personally I would not center the portrait unless shooting vertical or really filling the frame.

TFS,
Rachel

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Sanjeev,

What a lovely, clean portrait of this little beauty!

For me the framing works well, provided you tackle those branches - I would not clone, there are other, less invasive ways to soften their appearance. I have not tried, but if you attempt some cosmetic surgery on them and not happy with the outcome, drop me a line.

Beautiful eyes, that nose with a tad of pink is adorable, nice detail too. If I were to nit-pick I would say the face might need a bit more selective sharpening in places, like the bridge of the nose. Well exposed and the colours spot-on. Although I am quite happy with the DOF, I would like to see another image with more if you have, just to compare.

Love your experimenting here with the camera settings and amazed at the results at 1/160s. In all honesty, if I were there I would have pushed that ISO big time:)

All in all a very candid, sweet portrait of this leopard - its pose translates into "innocence" and "wonderment" to me, I find it quite delightful, thank you so much Sanjeev - great work my friend!

Kind regards,

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hi Sanjeev.
I too like the composition/framing of the previous one more, but prefer the contrast and exposure on this one.
I'm fine with DOF as presented...

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Sanjeev another fine frame of yours . Again nice overall work regarding tone /detail and color .
Not much you can do about the somehow distracting tree trunk , just trying to make it more even with the greenery could work and go for a 5x4 crop could work ?
I would drop the blues a fraction in the SH and 3/4 tones if this was mine .
TFS Andreas