Hi Theresa,
A big welcome to the BPN family. Here you will find informative help from both members and moderators. For starters; It would help us in evaluating your images if you provide us with the technical details of the composition. ( f - stop, shutter speed, ISO setting, focal length, etc...) Your composition as is, lacks in several areas. The bird is hiding it's head. The background is too busy; this takes the attention away from your main subject. The way it is presented, its just a picture telling me that there is a bird perched on a branch in thick heavy brush. I would like to see the face and eyes looking at you. If possible, on your next capture, try to select the a background that is less full of leaves and branches. If possible, try to get in closer, so that you can fill the frame with your subject. Try composing in camera, paying attention to the whole picture, background subject and foreground. Try avoiding branches that touch or cover the bird...:) Well, enough said. You are on the right track. Just remember, patience, patience, and patience. Rome was not built in one day. Your next image will be much better than your first. Thanks fore sharing with the family...:D:)...and looking forward to your next creation...all the best...:cool:
Hi Theresa,
Here is what I did with the image. I am limited as to what I can do. To give you an idea as to the background being clear or less congested and I cloned out the white hot spot in the lower tail...:cool: I also cropped from the left of the frame.
Great suggestions by Gus !!! Can add from a hardware point to get a converter. The 1.4X will give you more reach, with your body it actually becomes a 600 f5.6 lens !!! Make sure it firm on a tripod. For these little guys is just patience and getting close to fill the frame. Oh setting wise do increase the ISO since you camera performs well, don't be afraid to crank it up to 800 if you have to (or more) .... better noisy than soft !!! Looking forward to many more.
Gus!! Dude, that white spot that you cloned out was the birds eye!! This bird is a species of Manakin in the middle of a display behavior. In my repost, I cropped, adjusted levels, hue and sat. with PS CS3 sharpened the eye and then the whole image a bit. I don't know anything about Elements, so I can't help you with that, and I agree with the rest of Gus's and Alfred's suggestions.