Beaut of a lion

[Basil Dardagan]

This was a very frustrating sighting just outside Okaukuejo as 3 magnificent male lions were striding along with intent however the surrounding bush just would not open to allow a clear shot

Canon 1dx2
200-400 F4
F/7.1
1/1000
ISO 1000

[John Mack]

Nice light on this one. Like the walking pose and the environment that is included as well.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Basil - This is a lovely lion portrait and you did well to find a break in the bushes. I too like the walking pose and the light. I just thought the WB looked a little off so adjusted it based off the rocks in the bg and then gave the lion a midtones boost with a curves layer. WDYT?

TFS,
Rachel

[Basil Dardagan]

Hi Rachel - Thank you - Once again my original post uploaded at home looked right however looking now on my work PC your repost is clearly a far better depiction of the colours/light etc (VERY FRUSTRATING) ! Thank you very much
I am going to purchase a new screen for home

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Basil, another excellent image, like the angle in frame, but just wished for a bit more below, it's a wee bit tight. When shooting give yourself a bit of extra space for final comp, you have the lens, use it wisely and it delivers. Techs look good, but still I would like a bit more SS say 1/1600 or 1/2000 as the lion is moving, you have a great camera so just push it a fraction more, don't get held back by old thinking and from old camera bodies. From what you said, you did well to get the lion in quite open space, so well timed.

Once again my original post uploaded at home looked right however looking now on my work PC your repost is clearly a far better depiction of the colours/light etc

Basil you need to get on top of this with calibration, as all your hard work slips with a badly set up monitor, you can take the greatest picture, but if your monitor is out, it will only bite you and undo all your hard work. In addition get to know more about LR and just hone the basics, likewise PS and avoid Third party stuff. They are two of the most powerful tools out there and so much can be done with them, plus some of the PS adjustments do not harm pixels which is good.

Taking the OP and this is all based prior to Rachels RP as you know, you need to hone both the Exposure & Colour modules better, 90% of this RP is based within the adjustments there, and then a couple of Blend mode layers in PS using layers & masks, job done. You then start to see more form & structure within the face, a deeper, richer mane and overall you have the depth of colour and this his all based on your OP, think what you can achieve with the RAW. No additional sharpening, all your original, see how they colour has masked things.

BTW just watch the slight tweaks LR has introduce and it probably cascades to ACR, some are slight and you might not notice them in passing, but they can just change your image and not always for the good.

TFS
Steve

[haseeb badar]

Hi Basil -- Nothing for me to add here , But this chap looks really strong and handsome. You did great to find him in the open and the light is beautiful. I liked what Steve has done with his RP , bought out more details in the face .

Keep posting more, you are really coming up with some very good images.

TFS !

[Morkel Erasmus]

A magnificent lion - and the shot/terrain is open enough for me here (know the area you speak of). The light is superb.
Can't add what's not already been said, I like both reposts by Rachel and Steve.