Finishing the Mallard trifecta - Portrait
While the previous two Mallards in flight were the same bird, I have this drake from the same area, different day.
I know this is not the perfect portrait (slight direction away, etc), I loved the colors and thought it was worth sharing.
D850
600mm + 1.4x
HH
ISO 1250
1/2500
f5.6
Post in C1P and PS. Normal stuff plus a couple minor TU's on the bird.
Brian:
Nice job of getting the entire head green, often there will be black patches. Like the bow wake, water in general. Good shooting angle.
The head is actually a sliver too sharp for my tastes. I also think that it would have been nice to have smaller f/stop, as your DOF with that focal length at that distance is razor thin, and would have been nice to have a bit more DOF for the body. The slight angle in the frame you mentioned also make DOF more of an issue.
Cheers
Randy
Thank you Randy. Comments on the aperture received.Originally Posted by Randy Stout
Regarding sharpening, I did very little on this one - only 120 in C1P and a super light touch after resizing in PS. In fact, I can move the slider down on the RAW file from 120 to 50 and notice almost zero difference. I was just super close (hence the portrait choice) and his head is wet; both contributing.
Hi Brian, Randy has given a very good and concise reply, my only feeling is that this is again, a big crop and because of this it's not 'critically' sharp as it lacks that fine detail/definition. The plumage on the neck appears sharp, but not quite if you know what I mean. The light looks bright and so the colours are very 'rich', the ghosting/shimmering of the reflection is a little uneasy on the eye I for me, but I do like the framing.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Ok, maybe I am confused but Randy says it's over-sharpened and you say it's not sharp enough? Compared to most files I process I could have added quite a bit more.
I definitely don't think my poo doesn't stink, but not sure I understand. I only cropped this by about 3200 pixels on an 8200 pixel file. Usually that doesn't concern me... but maybe it does on a portrait.
OK, sorry Brian, my reply was perhaps a little misleading I guess, what I mean is that the image I feel isn't critically sharp in the raw capture and so you have over sharpened to compensate, hence why Randy thinks it's over sharp if I'm right. Hope that helps clarify my point.
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Ah ok. Sent ya the raw, take a look. Thanks.OK, sorry Brian, my reply was perhaps a little misleading I guess, what I mean is that the image I feel isn't critically sharp in the raw capture and so you have over sharpened to compensate, hence why Randy thinks it's over sharp if I'm right. Hope that helps clarify my point.
Hi Brian, not a big a crop as previous, but still a crop and more then perhaps I would do, however...
Is the raw sharp, well it could be a tad better, however as Randy mentioned, it really needed more DoF to bring more of the plumage back in, although it has been cropped out here. The eye for me needs to be crisp and the surrounding area too, yes picky, but being closer and less of a crop to retain IQ would be better IMHO.
Sadly you forwarded the file yesterday as I'm now away again and using the laptop so less than ideal. Colours are based on numbers rather than anything else. Kept both Contrast & Blacks at bay, plus just opened the exposure up by a thirds. The HL's on the bill just need a tweak to reduce the hotspots but you won't get rid of them. Added a hint of pre sharpening, NO NR!!!! then just brought it into PS to add a little more depth to the bill. Re saved to LR cropped to something like your OP and exported with sharpening applied for web.
Hope it helps, but as I say please done judge for colour, just is it an improvement for the good/
cheers
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Brian, here I just added +5 in Vibrance and Saturation as an option.
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
You were close and this beauty is sopping wet and yes, swimming slightly away, but love the water, the colors and even the wet look.
Thank you David. Those were my sentiments as well.
Steve, what I loved most about this photo were the colors. While I can see how your edits reduced highs, unfortunately it stole the vibrant colors from the image and I feel it lacks pop - at least in my opinion.
If it's not critically sharp, then it's not. Not all are keepers, thank you for taking a crack at it.
Hi Brian, from our conversation it wasn't about the colour, but was it sharp, or how could it be improved. As I said, I'm working away and the colour wasn't the primary issue, but based on the raw, I would suggest for the future you look at firstly things like when and how you use Contrast and Levels and the amount, plus your sharpening regime. Hope this may be of help.Steve, what I loved most about this photo were the colors. While I can see how your edits reduced highs, unfortunately it stole the vibrant colors from the image and I feel it lacks pop - at least in my opinion.
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Steve, sure I know you didn't have your great gear here.
All I've been doing the past few weeks is paying attention to my sharpening and contrast techniques as they have been beaten into me here
This one received -9 contrast in C1 and no levels adjustments. In PS I did a color balance level (50% gray in curves) and a mild S curve on the mids.
Always something to learn, thanks for the thoughts.
Hi Brian, Mallards are always under rated as subjects, so I'm glad you have captured one here. Nice low angle, and love the bow wave. Focus spot on where it counts, but agree with Randy, having more DOF on the body would have raised this a few more notches.
Lovely light here. The reflection almost looks like a double exposure. Nice Framing. You caught the sheen on the head very well.
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