Hi John, it's quite a nice portrait, but personally I much prefer your previous ones where the subject is smaller in frame, but has that gorgeous habitat/environment.
As presented I initially thought f/6.3 might have been too little and going to say f/8 might have been better, however I think a bit more sharpening on the muzzle is all it needs? OK viewing on the laptop, but again I wonder if going slightly cooler in Temp may offer a better balance, but I can't help wonder if you pushed the saturation in the BKG so the colour leaches into the whites of the fur, something like -80 Green/-45 Aqua (figures optional) starts to neutralise the fur, WDYT????? I also feel a tad off the top helps. Good detail for the high ISO.
Not sure if the attached helps, but you may feel it is a bit too muted, let me know.
I like this portrait very much but do agree with Steve, those recent images of yours which include a bit of environment are even more 'charming'
Subject looks good with nice detail and I love the pose and eye contact. I am amazed how close you get to your subjects and you must be really patient to get the right HA each and every time - lovely work!
Regarding whites in the coat (chin) where the green tinge is visible, Steve might remember I had the same issue with a leopard image a few years ago. Still blame it on the green vegetation/grass the leopard was walking on as I do not have another explanation. I think in certain light the grass may reflect this green colour cast which I personally prefer to remove during PP work:)
Happy with the subject as is but I quite like the more 'muted' BG in Steve's RP. If you work with layers in PP you should be able to make changes on the subject (curves etc) without affecting the BG.
Hope you have a lovely afternoon, thank you so much for sharing!
Always have it set to standard. They is no more faithful.
OK, this is where things can go 'pair shaped' so take it with a pinch of salt... If you do get your mid grey balance, you could try changing the Profile - Portrait (does change much, or landscape then tweak the Temp, Tint etc and or WB Custom setting, but John you have to be sensitive to the changes as it could just take you way off the original capture, again a balancing act, just a thought.
Standard is alway a good start and tends to offer a more 'Standard' overall colour profile, with little or no strong biases in colour, so if you feel comfortable in your Workflow just keep it that way until you feel more comfortable in Colour management because it is all about tweaks both Global & Selective in LR & PS.
However, I just can't see where you are getting these colour casts.