Mute Swan

[Dave Barnes]

A snug crop for a snug pose, does it work?


Camera: Canon 1D mk3
Lens: Canon 500 f4
App: f8.0
SS: 1/2000
ISO: 640



All comments and crits welcome

[Stu Bowie]

Dave, good detail and eye contact. I would maybe try and lighten the eye a tad, if possible. Comp wise, too tight for me, especially left and bottom. There will be folks who will like this, but someone had to go first. ;)
How was your Kruger trip?

[joel quenneville]

Definitely a good idea. I love the soft, low contrast tones here. Composition-wise, you made good use of the neck to lead the viewer's eye to the swan's face. This looks good with a tight crop, but I would suggest going even tighter. You have probably heard Artie's famous "Cut don't clip" guideline. This would apply here. Cutting the neck rather than clipping the feathers would strengthen your comp. Perhaps going for an 8*10 aspect ratio would work. Play around with various crops and don't be afraid of going tight, sometimes this results in the most powerful composition available in your image. :):)

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Joel. For this one I would prefer a bit of room on all four sides with just a bit more on the right to keep the eye as far right as possible. The feathers of the wing look greay rather than white... Love the resting HA and the basic COMP.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the angle, sharpness, light and pose. I would give it a little bit more room, especially on the right side for the 'virtual bill'. I would love to see a repost.

[Kobus Tollig]

Ditto All Artie said. Still really nice image

[Dave Barnes]

Thanks guys, I will look at a revised crop later today.

[Dave Barnes]

Revised crop as suggested.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Dave, You over-did the addition on the right. I also way-brightened the wing with a QM. When I opened it the brightest whites there were in the 190s....

[Dave Barnes]

Thanks for the trouble Arthur, it is appreciated.
Yes I struggled with the whites on this one.

[Arthur Morris]

YAW Dave. I painted a QM of the wing, subtracted 90 points of BLACK from the WHITEs in Selective Color, and then did some curves work.