Fawn Stare

[Daniel Grossi]

I don't think this photo is terribly good, but it sure is cute. This was about the best framing I could do considering the surroundings. I'm sharing it because I'm looking for some guidance. Where is the line drawn between a busy shot versus a nice shot of an animal in it's environment? Bird portraits, BIF shots and such I understand (though my photos don't always prove that), but I'm having trouble with shots like this.

Nikon D500 (Handheld)
Nikkor 600mm f/4E FL ED VR
1/400
f/4
ISO-1600
Center Weighted Average

Cleveland, Ohio
June 2017
Warm and mostly sunny 4 hours after sunrise.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Daniel - It is a cute shot. To answer your question, it's largely a matter of personal taste and sometimes a fine line. I personally like environmental images but for me in this one the foliage encroaching on the face is too thick, encroaches too far and is a bit vibrant for the shot to really work. Let's see what others think.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Daniel, I really like this, it conveys the scene well as the young deer peers through the vegetation. Was this prior to me saying about changing the matrix and upping the ISO? With such a shallow DoF and proximity (can you mention always if this is a crop or FF and by how much in the intro), As the focus is bang on between the eyes I wonder if the eyes are a fraction off, or the left appears slightly sharper, need to view really in LR. If you can, try f/5.6, but also upped that ISO to gain around 1/1600SS, but if this is a regular encounter then I might get you to try something PM me.

The environment is busy, not much you can do, but you could try to reduce things by cropping, reducing light areas, varying exposure and colour management, all available within LR. Daniel, this is not a definitive answer, but perhaps some thoughts and options, how far you take things or choose a route is personal choice, you are the author.

TFS
Steve

Dan, I'm away and using theMacBook pro so not ideal by any measure.

[Daniel Grossi]

Hi Daniel - It is a cute shot. To answer your question, it's largely a matter of personal taste and sometimes a fine line. I personally like environmental images but for me in this one the foliage encroaching on the face is too thick, encroaches too far and is a bit vibrant for the shot to really work. Let's see what others think.

TFS,
Rachel

Thanks Rachel! You said it - I still haven't quite figured out where personal taste and great image meet as far as environmental shots go. I like bright vibrant colors and that often comes out in my images. That said - it's not always appropriate, I'm going to work more on subject vs BG coloring in post.

[Daniel Grossi]

Hi Daniel, I really like this, it conveys the scene well as the young deer peers through the vegetation. Was this prior to me saying about changing the matrix and upping the ISO? With such a shallow DoF and proximity (can you mention always if this is a crop or FF and by how much in the intro), As the focus is bang on between the eyes I wonder if the eyes are a fraction off, or the left appears slightly sharper, need to view really in LR. If you can, try f/5.6, but also upped that ISO to gain around 1/1600SS, but if this is a regular encounter then I might get you to try something PM me.

The environment is busy, not much you can do, but you could try to reduce things by cropping, reducing light areas, varying exposure and colour management, all available within LR. Daniel, this is not a definitive answer, but perhaps some thoughts and options, how far you take things or choose a route is personal choice, you are the author.

TFS
Steve

Dan, I'm away and using theMacBook pro so not ideal by any measure.

A square crop!? I would never even consider a square crop - your RP of my image is fantastic. Yes, this image was taken before your recommendation on ISO and matrix. I'll be sure to post cropping info from now on. Unfortunately I wasn't considering DoF when I was taking this shot, I was too concerned with getting as much light as I could.

The weather last night (or this morning) didn't cooperate for photos. Should be muggy and overcast w/o rain for the remainder of the day here. I'll be out shooting at uncomfortable ISO's in a bit. I want to see what I can do at ISO-3200. I'll report back soon enough. Thanks Steve.

[Steve Kaluski]

You are welcome Daniel, best to explore techs and see how you go, but don't get to 'hung up' about trying to please folk, they are your captures, all anyone can do in feedback is make suggestions, you then have to distill from them and discard anything that may not be relevant so to speak. The more you shoot the better your reaction time & thinking is, you will soon do a lot of things instinctively and know when to increase ISO, SS, DoF etc. PP is easily learnt, the hard part is getting the capture and exposed well. Obviously in forests light will be a premium, so perhaps getting some deer out in the open may help the techs perhaps?

I'll be out shooting at uncomfortable ISO's in a bit.

Don't be uncomfortable, cameras these days are designed to cope with high ISO, folk who are reluctant to change or try will have soft images because they have insufficient SS because they did not push their ISO beyond 800 or 1600. You have nothing to loose and a lot to gain Daniel, be brave and take the plunge

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Daniel, you have a nice peek-a-boo kinda image with some nice details in the head and eye. Good suggestions by Rachel & Steve.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Daniel , lovely looking fawn peeking through the foliage , does look natural to me .
It is just a bit wide in your OP , and has some tonal and color issues if one is critical .
Steve has taken it where it should roughly be ....well colors are sometimes very subjective , so up to you how you want to present the image .There is no such fixed rule , just thoughts and different views .
His RP is a tiny bit too tight for my taste , but as you can see even square can work .....

TFS Andreas

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Daniel, Steve's repost works better for me as it also tones down the greens in the foreground making them less prominent and less of a pull for the eyes, allowing the viewer to focus more attention on the fawn.

[Daniel Grossi]

You are welcome Daniel, best to explore techs and see how you go, but don't get to 'hung up' about trying to please folk, they are your captures, all anyone can do in feedback is make suggestions, you then have to distill from them and discard anything that may not be relevant so to speak. The more you shoot the better your reaction time & thinking is, you will soon do a lot of things instinctively and know when to increase ISO, SS, DoF etc. PP is easily learnt, the hard part is getting the capture and exposed well. Obviously in forests light will be a premium, so perhaps getting some deer out in the open may help the techs perhaps?



Don't be uncomfortable, cameras these days are designed to cope with high ISO, folk who are reluctant to change or try will have soft images because they have insufficient SS because they did not push their ISO beyond 800 or 1600. You have nothing to loose and a lot to gain Daniel, be brave and take the plunge

Plunge was taken today ha ha ha. It was liberating.

[Daniel Grossi]

Hi Daniel, Steve's repost works better for me as it also tones down the greens in the foreground making them less prominent and less of a pull for the eyes, allowing the viewer to focus more attention on the fawn.

Thanks Andrew! I couldn't agree more, Steve's RP was what I based my second try on today.

[Daniel Grossi]

Hi Daniel, you have a nice peek-a-boo kinda image with some nice details in the head and eye. Good suggestions by Rachel & Steve.

Thanks Sanjeev!

[Daniel Grossi]

Hi Daniel , lovely looking fawn peeking through the foliage , does look natural to me .
It is just a bit wide in your OP , and has some tonal and color issues if one is critical .
Steve has taken it where it should roughly be ....well colors are sometimes very subjective , so up to you how you want to present the image .There is no such fixed rule , just thoughts and different views .
His RP is a tiny bit too tight for my taste , but as you can see even square can work .....

TFS Andreas

Thanks Andreas!

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Daniel,

Cute little Fawn and those innocent eyes remind me of Bambi:)

I believe a busy environment can sometimes benefit an image. To me the green foliage surrounding the subject helps emphasise the delicate nature of the species, so I quite like it. It is perhaps a tad overwhelming, but Steve's RP demonstrates that there are ways to deal with such issues.
Nice eye contact and lovely inquisitive look from this little one. I just wish for more DoF, Daniel. I would have loved the nose to be in focus, as it is rather prominent. And more SS too. But I gather you " took the plunge " today so I look forward to your next image. Or rather, images...

Thank you so much for sharing,

Kind regards,

[Daniel Grossi]

Hello Daniel,

Cute little Fawn and those innocent eyes remind me of Bambi:)

I believe a busy environment can sometimes benefit an image. To me the green foliage surrounding the subject helps emphasise the delicate nature of the species, so I quite like it. It is perhaps a tad overwhelming, but Steve's RP demonstrates that there are ways to deal with such issues.
Nice eye contact and lovely inquisitive look from this little one. I just wish for more DoF, Daniel. I would have loved the nose to be in focus, as it is rather prominent. And more SS too. But I gather you " took the plunge " today so I look forward to your next image. Or rather, images...

Thank you so much for sharing,

Kind regards,

Thanks Gabriella! I've been spending a lot of time in the woods instead of my regular bird spots lately in order to work on high ISO and framing "busy" backgrounds. I have a few ideas of how I want to go about it, now I just need the wildlife to cooperate. I've had a few of my shots reposted here in the wildlife forum, and seeing how others approach the processing is really helping out. Particularly color (mine tend to be a touch more vibrant than others) and crop dimensions (I'm finally starting to consider something other than 3:2).

[Melissa Usrey]

I think this is a GREAT photo! You put a huge smile on my face and made me fall in love with the fawn. That's what I want to see in a photo and what I strive to show in mine.