Female Greenfinch

[Kerry Barlow]

f6.3, 300mm (Canon 70-300mm IS lens), 1/1000, iso 400 Canon 400D, no flash or EV compensation. Shot using RAW format and converted to jpeg. Minimal processing using Digital Photo Professional - the software that came with the camera: cropped and sharpened.

This is my first post to the forum and I would be grateful for input on improving my shots.

Many thanks
Kerry

[Mike Lentz]

Hi Kerry, welcome to BPN!
The complimentary colored BG sets the bird off nicely and the pose is nice.
It looks like maybe you ran some noise reduction on this guy a bit as the feather details seem a bit smooth.
Also, could you post the info on the photograph... ie... ISO, F/stop, EV comp, flash or no flash. It helps in our CC'ing an image.

Thanks! :)

[Kerry Barlow]

Hi Kerry, welcome to BPN!
The complimentary colored BG sets the bird off nicely and the pose is nice.
It looks like maybe you ran some noise reduction on this guy a bit as the feather details seem a bit smooth.
Also, could you post the info on the photograph... ie... ISO, F/stop, EV comp, flash or no flash. It helps in our CC'ing an image.

Thanks! :)

Thanks for the welcome Mike. The information for ISO, etc is directly under the photo. I didn't use flash or EV comp with this shot (I shall see if I can edit the post to add the bit about flash and EV).

I actually only have the software that came with my Canon 400D and only did minimal alterations of cropping and a little sharpening so there is no noise reduction added. The image was shot RAW and converted to JPEG.

Regards
Kerry

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

You have a nice head angle, you also got both of the feet. Maybe you could sharpen the image more.

[Ilija Dukovski]

Agree about sharpness, what I like here is the BG.
Very nice colors. I wish the geenish patch was not right
in front of the bird, but it is nice as it is too.

[Aidan Briggs]

Another vote for more sharpening. I could see this as a vertical crop as well.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Welcome aboard Kerry, and you've got a nice classic BOAS image to present us - one that has much potential. First noticeable thing is that as presented the image needs sharpening - this is where the perceived lack of detail comes from as focus looks good. Moving right at time of capture, if possible, would have placed the sun more directly behind you and thus help avoid (or at least minimize) the large shadow on part of the bird. It is still not bad though as the face and belly are nively lit. The square comp is OK, but I feel a vertical one would be stronger. That is a matter of taste though.

You did get a beautiful BG, and an adequate perch. The lighting is nice and soft too. I like the fact the bird is clinging at the very top of the perch - the foot is thankfully hiding what looks like and not so great blunt ending to the perch. Keep them coming Kerry!

[Kerry Barlow]

Thanks everyone for your input and welcomes. I am always worried about oversharpening but obviously I am going too much in the other direction and not sharpening enough. I hadn't thought of a vertical composition as I felt that I might hem the bird in too much, but I will have a go at that.

Regards
Kerry

[Stu Bowie]

Welcome to BPN Kerry. Super pose, and I like the light and colours in this. I have reposted as I see the comp. Did some NR on the BG, and ran a round of sharpening on him.Also lightened the eye a tad too. Hope you dont mind.

[Kerry Barlow]

Thanks Stuart for taking the time to alter the image and show me what can be done. I especially like the lightening of the eye. Can I ask what program you use for NR?

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Kerry, I use neat image. Its a plugin you can download. Cheers, Stuart.

[Gal Shon]

I love the pose, BG and the beautiful light.
I prefer a more traditional 3:2 cut, both horizontal and vertical can work well here.
It looks soft on my monitor