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Thread: Lion Portrait

  1. #1
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Default Lion Portrait

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    It has been a while since I posted an Africa image so I thought I should post one for the theme. This is another from our sighting of the multiple male lions on the buffalo carcass on the steep riverbank. This guy paused as he climbed out of the dry riverbed. The bg on the left is the riverbed and on the right is the riverbank. As you know from Steve and my prior posts, the light was never particularly good at this sighting due to the steep riverbank.

    Canon 7D
    300 II
    1/320
    f5.6
    ISO 800
    HH from safari vehicle, luminosity mask, levels, curves, selective color adjustments, selective dodging and burning, sharpened in CCPS.

    C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

    Rachel

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    Hi Rachel. Never mind the light but the detail and sharpness is excellent, nice muted colors and the eye contact is really nice.
    TFS.
    Sanjeev

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel , the light does not bother me at all , it gives you very easy control in the tones and more room to play with them .
    Like the pose of the lion and its inquisitive look , well offset BG gives a nice separation .
    I might think about giving the subject a bit more mid tone via mask/channel .
    The lion does look a bit mossy from color POV , so i would change the overall colors a tiny bit for more warmth and definitely reduce the greenish mossy tinge in parts of the fur and eyes .

    TFS Andreas

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    Hi Rachel -- Lovely Portrait ! nice details as usual and colors too have come out well . I dont know the actual colors of the African lions have never seen them on the field but that mouth portion appears a bit too white for me.
    TFS !

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel, agree on the above comment about framing nice one, but I also would take onboard Andreas's comments about adding some mid tone to get some depth/tone back in and perhaps not so cold. Obviously we both shoot differently in our RAW settings, I prefer neutral, you a more 'saturated' look, but I do think the WB here is a little cool from recollection, but again, like Sanjeev's image, we all see things differently . I like the contrast of the dried river bed behind, with the dried grass to the RHS adds interest

    With your new 7D would you have kept the settings or pushed the ISO?

    TFS
    Steve

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  10. #6
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone, will look at the midtones and greens though I had already reduced the greens substantially. Steve in conversion I always use faithful WB. Since I always shoot in manual I'm not sure why I didn't up the ISO to 1600 on the 7D at the time to get a little more ss. My guess is that the other 2 lions who were already eating may have been in better light (to the extent there was any) and that I turned and shot this. I don't have a problem with the 7D at 1600 so long as the image is properly exposed. The same is true with the 7DII. I might push the 7DII a bit further than I did the 7D.

    Thanks again,
    Rachel

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Hello Rachel,

    Love this young lion and especially the expression on his face, so full of attitude:)

    Unusual framing, at first I thought I would have cropped otherwise (with less space on the LHS), on second thought I like it as is, although I would try flip it horizontally to see if it works :)

    Wonderful sharpness and detail, love that soft BG, I just wonder what this would look like in a warmer version but I know you like to retain the original look and feel. Great IQ for 1/320s, such steady hand and I am amazed at the clarity of this image, did you have VR on?

    Great work Rachel, I am too scared to shoot anything at such low SS, will try experiment a bit more in Kruger, you inspire me:)

    Warmest regards, have a great evening,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    I might push the 7DII a bit further than I did the 7D.
    If there isn't a substantial difference I might have held fire. Nailing the shot with a higher ISO to gain more SS is key and worrying about going beyond 1600 I think will limit the captures. I would test it around 3200 at least, so you are comfortable, or at least know the limitations of the body for the future.

    Regarding the image, increasing the WB to a more warmer setting, reducing the Highlights for chin and muzzle, and dropping the Exp less than a third of a stop I think makes a big difference.

  14. #9
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Gabriela. As you know, I don't flip my images. They just look wrong to me when flipped since I remember the scene as seen. Steve, I have no problem with shooting the 7D2 at 3200. I just prefer not to use high ISOs if I not necessary. Judging by the sharpness here, in this instance it wasn't necessary to go higher.

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    Lifetime Member Ákos Lumnitzer's Avatar
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    I agree with Steve about ISO! Don't be afraid to experiment with higher ISOs.
    I do like the image as presented. I cannot really tell how it should/would look.
    If that's how you can see it being faithful to the experience you had, then that's fantastic.
    Thanks for sharing.

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    nice capture,great sharpness and detail,and I like the sad expression on his face.TFS.

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    Lovely image, Rachel. Thank you for sharing.
    Joe Przybyla

    "Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams

    www.amazinglight.smugmug.com

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel, I like you comp here, and you have captured such a nice inquisitive stare/pose. Nicely separated from the BG, and I agree playing a bit with a slight warming up.

    Have you finished going through all your images from your last trip yet?

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  24. #14
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Akos, Chris, Joe and Stu, much appreciated. Stu- For the most part though there are still plenty I have not processed. Somehow I always seem to go back to them until the next Africa trip.

    Thanks again,
    Rachel

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    No problem with the soft diffused light for me either, Rachel.
    Nice portrait here, I'd darken the BG selectively some more without making it too obvious, and perhaps add some more midtone punch on the subject?
    Morkel Erasmus

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