Den, I breed exhibition Mallards, so this is a treat. I like the over shoulder glance she is giving you and her colour looks good. Small nits - I would look for an image that showed her feet. The BG is busy, but I don't mind it at all. It compliments the bird nicely. I would however, try to tone down some of the "greens", particularly the brighter stuff on the RHS. The brighter OOF reed just in front of her bill is not ideal, but we get what we are given.
Good points from Glennie. I think this is one where a raw converter won't get you far enough. I'd remove or shorten the reed closest to her bill and remove the diagonal one in the upper left corner. Triangles in corners are generally a Bad Thing. I'd darken the rock, increase contrast on her and reduce it on the BG.
Here's a very quick and dirty try. Moving to your left, if possible, looks like it might have given a slightly less contrasty BG.
Glennie, I didn't know people showed mallards! I'm picturing something like a dog show where they are paraded around a ring on a leash by people in outlandish dress! Sorry -- no offense -- but what made me think of that is that I fancy seeing an attitude in so many ducks that looks like they take pride in their appearance! And they do have a sort of comical waddle...
But I'll can such outlandish thoughts and assume it's much more serious and civil than that.
Now I see I might have desaturated greens and maybe helped the BG a little more. If you have to resort to desaturating yellows (which greens often contain) you'd have to mask out the bird.
Diane - The repost is great. Just removing the reed in front has helped heaps.
Ha. No, birds aren't generally dressed outlandishly! They are mostly penned in smallish cages and are judged on quality. The Indian Runners used to be judged on the open ground to gauge how well they stood up, walked etc. (Runners don't waddle) I breed the birds, but don't show them; I'll leave that to someone else. I do know it is a serious business. And like dogs, horses, cows, etc domestic ducks are bred to a "standard". Right size, shape, colour and weight. It's quite a challenge to get all the boxes ticked. And, yes. I believe ducks to be the best preened birds around. I have a very outdated website http://www.quackpots.net/
if you're at all interested. No pure bred mallards though. And the photos are pretty hideous.
Last edited by Glennie Passier; 03-24-2016 at 08:23 PM.
A cool web site! -- just had a quick glance and will get back to it right now, as hubby will be a little late for dinner.
Yeah, I can relate. Our older daughter has some sort of fancy show parakeet that didn't quite make the grade for showing. Her husband is a sucker for pet stores and brought it home one day. It rules the roost, which is now down to one remaining cockatiel from the pair she's had since she was eight, and their offspring. It hasn't met the new chickens yet, though. They live in Tiburon, a very upscale town just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco and the snooty neighbors are appalled by the chickens. There are only four of them -- a friend of Scott's bought a new house and couldn't keep them any longer so Annie and Scott adopted them. Scott's first question was how long do they live... They have a custom-built house with a timer to open and close the gate to their run to let them in the yard and her garden, and a security camera. (Not sure if it for foxes or the neighbors.)
Thank you for the feedback. I've only begun to scratch the surface in Ps, however, I will start experimenting based on your suggestions. I can appreciate that you're looking at the "big picture" and pointing out flaws in the BG...I admit that I have a tendency to focus on the subject and overlook the rest of the image.
Positioning yourself to get a pleasing BG is one of the most important things you can do to get a good image. A messy BG is not really something you can fix in PS, beyond maybe a few stray branches or highlights that you couldn't avoid.
Hen Mallard - Critique Please
Sorry -- no offense -- but what made me think of that is that I fancy seeing an attitude in so many ducks that looks like they take pride in their appearance! And they do have a sort of comical waddle...
They are mostly penned in smallish cages and are judged on quality. The Indian Runners used to be judged on the open ground to gauge how well they stood up, walked etc. (Runners don't waddle) I breed the birds, but don't show them; I'll leave that to someone else. I do know it is a serious business. And like dogs, horses, cows, etc domestic ducks are bred to a "standard". Right size, shape, colour and weight. It's quite a challenge to get all the boxes ticked. And, yes. I believe ducks to be the best preened birds around. I have a very outdated website http://www.quackpots.net/
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