Hi Marc - a big warm welcome to the bPN family - Nice first post. No better way to learn than jumping right in - dont hesitate to post commenst on others images as well- all we ask is that if you like or dont like something about a image - that you say what it is that you like or dont like - will actually help you learn even quicker.
Lots to like here - Sharp - Lovely background, Good eye contact and nice colour rendition.
A couple of things to keep in mind -- As a guideline you want to keep your shutter speed at 1 over your focal length as a minimum IE: Here 1/500TH - will help you keep your shots sharp (Nothing wrong with the sharpness here).
You will also probably see comments about removing one of the catchlights in the eye - some prefer to have only the 1 catchlight - If you do this - when you post a image ensure that you mention any cloning work.
The crop works OK - if it were mine I would have removed some from the bottom and RHS (Getting rid of some of the OOF body area) and left a little more room on the RHS for him to look into.
Once again welcome - have fun and looking forward to seeing more:)
Well for a first post you are off with a bang. This is a neat bird. Love the colors. The bird is sharp and well exposed. Like the composition as well. This portrait works well.
Personally I wish the head was pointed just a titch toward the viewer. I think the "perfect" HA is where the eye and the tip of the bill are in the same plane parallel as the plane of the camera. (Anyone?). Maybe it's me, but I think your bird is looking slightly away from us?
See the dark brown bits that is touching the bird - I wonder if it pulls the eye away from the subject and perhaps looks like a funny bit of the bird? My personal rule of thumb is that blurry bits are fine as long as they are clearly bg. But I can't always effectively clone them out, and so lots have them stay.
I wish my first post could have been half as good. Welcome.
Welcome, great advise given above - keep the shutter speed high like Lance said. I did not see ISO but make adjustment as needed (open aperture, higher ISO, flash etc) to increase speed, sharpness rules in this genre.
A big warm welcome to the BPN family Marc.
You have a killer first post...the color rendition and feather details are superb. You have a sharp eye, would like to see a single catch light, and your head angle is a wee bit off. The bird is looking slightly away from you, it needs just a slight counter clock wise rotation. Aside from this, you did very well...congrats, looking forward to your next one...:cool:
Thanks guys for all the comments. So glad I made my first post. Now that it has been mentioned, I see exactly every point that has been made and will keep your excellent advice in mind in my future photography and post-processing. Keep up the good work - it means a lot to beginners and those eager to learn like myself.
Welcome Marc,
Love the sharpness, the details, and color, great first pose indeed. Just wish that the head is turning toward you. I don't know if there is a perfect HA or not but generally if the bird is turning toward you, you feel more connected (at least to me) than turning away. However there is no set rule, I have seen many great pictures with head turning away.
Crested Barbet
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