I know this image is lousy, and I'm sorry to submit this here in the midst of all these gorgeous shots! but I decided to submit it anyway, completely unadjusted, to ask how I can improve this type of shot next time.
This weekend I am taking my father out to this park to get more pre-sunrise photos of deer and maybe a Great Horned Owl. But how can I improve what I am getting?? So far my images are all very blahhhhh, not really worth the effort of getting them. I really am looking for an image of the deer/birds as the morning mist rises. How do I get that to translate well in a photo??
I know we need to get there quite awhile before sunrise, but other than that, how do I shoot to improve these????
Light would be my first thought and this looks back lit, need some light on the animals... if not go with the flow and make them dark into a silhouette, would be interesting.
The spacing and facing of the animals is important but getting them to sync is something else..... or you can go tighter and isolate a couple.
Variable ND filters are an option under those conditions but a challenge with the trees !! ... and like you mention getting there pre dawn would be great !!! Lets see what other suggestion the gang comes up with !!!
Hi Cheryl...I took the liberty to try a few things with your image. First off I cropped it radically for a few reasons. I focussed on the 3 subjects for compositional reasons. I cropped out the sky because it was bland and bright which led your eye up to it. I cropped down to the softer colored backround which is more appealing. I liked the weeds sprouting up in the foreground and left them in. I used some shadows and highlights and levels to bring the deer up.
I dodged the mist behind them so it would stand out more. Finally I kicked the grass color up a bit.
Light is everything in photography and the deer were in heavy shade. If you wanted them in silouette then you would need a cleaner backround so they would stand out and not blend into the backround. Hope this helped a bit!
If you are interested in just the subject animal (deer, owl, etc.) then I would try a longer lens and follow the guidelines of proper light angle, head angle, eye contact etc. For this image, it is backlit, so may have to move around without frightening them away. They my be dark, so a high ISO and/or flash may help.
If you were interested more in environmental or landscape, then I would try an even shorter lens, and follow the guidelines of rule-of-thirds, and try to focus & re-compose. I would also try Alfred's idea of exposing more of the environment (and not on the subject deer) ... and you may be surprised to start seeing some morning colors coming out of your sky.
This is also a really good challenge, as I am always looking for the answer myself.
hi cheryl, there's no better way to photograph than to know your subjects habits and the area you are shooting in. the more you visit you will be able to learn where the deer will be during certain times. that will enable you to find a good area to set up in to wait for them. patience is the key. i know i have sat in one place for a while waiting for a certain movement from a bird.
anytime you go on an IPT or with a pro for a workshop, these people always put you in the proper wind, light and background for the best images. it's only because they have been there so many times, they know what is going to happen.
best of luck!!! cant wait to see what you get!!!!!!
OK, if the deer is the subject, how do I set the exposure? I tried some images pushing the EC up, but those didn't show the mist and early morning effect well. Would spot metering work better than evaluative metering?
for the landscape/silouette image, I got those to turn out well with underexposing .33
But I don't want the deer in sil. So that is what I am trying to learn how to do--to see some of the deer but emphasis the early morning part....
can get them in the light with a good sidelight or light behind you? will make exposing the scene a lot easier. your exposure will vary depending on where the sun is.
both images you posted in this thread have you pointing the camera directly into the sun. the exposure for the sun/sky vs the foreground will be TOTALLY different. you will either have a nice looking sky and a dark foreground or a blown sky with a properly exposed foreground when shooting those conditions. unless of course you are using grad nd filters.
Harold, how does a grad nd filter affect morning mist/fog?
Yes, both these images are pointing into the sun, that is what I am trying to learn how to improve. It sounds like the grad nd filter is what I need.
Cheryl the camera can not capture such range !! You will either block the shadows or blow the highlights.
Best to have the sun behind you for a better chance.
The grad filter will help you cope with the sky by reducing exposure by three stops (they come in different strengths) For pointing to the sun you will just have to adjust the exposure and meter off the sun a few degrees, the sun itself will be blown out.
Hi Cheryl,
I like the perspective on these, very good advise given by Mr. Forns and Doctor Davis, I do like the selective crop by Dave, isolating the three deer...:cool:
A good image for playing around in Photoshop ... which is what I did, and found myself outside the box before I knew it! :D I do like Dave's tight crop.
image needs help
