I went back to the park today and did some more shooting. I know people wanted the bg OOF and now that I did it I think it was the best choice for this bird. He's beautiful and needs a beautiful bg to compliment him.
Canon Rebel XTi
Canon 100-400L IS
Hand held
Manual exposure
F/5.6
1/1000 ss
ISO 200
@400mm
Sharna
Oh.....much better. It looks like you had some nice light as well. I might consider cropping a bit tighter on the left and giving him a bit of room on the right. It would have been good to have just a little turn of the head toward you. You can always squeak, pish, or make some noise to get his attention. Nice improvements!!!
[You all are learning waaaay too much around here! :D ]
One thing I would also try to do is to get a slightly different hue or saturation to the BG than the overall color of the bird...either lighten or darken it a bit. Either way, it will make his head really stand out from the background (BG) without ruining that beautiful lighting you captured.
LOL Thanks Jules and Maxis.
I will look at the others I have of him. I think the ones with this bird all have the same bg but I moved around too.
Thanks again. Comments and Critics is how I've learned thus far. You all are awesome.