Trying new methods
I understand that the perch is bad. How does the rest look. Cropped 35%, bkgrn smoothing, refined edge, sharpening.
Camera D2XS Nikon
200-400mm @ 400mm
600mm (in 35mm film)
1/1250 sec, f/4
Mode: Av
Metering: Multi-segment
ISO: 800
White balance: Auto
Flash: On
File size: 2,217KB
Image size: 934 x 800
Color space: AdobeRGB
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Contrast: Normal
Color profile: Adobe RGB (1998)
C&C appreciated.
Rob..............
Last edited by Rob Miner; 11-11-2009 at 12:56 PM.
I think the blurring this time was done better, but I find the resulting background un-natural. And there's still some smearing along the bird and the perch. I don't know your method but I know one method is to use two layers and involves selecting - not an easy thing to do sometimes - the foreground, i.e., the bird and the perch in your case, and put them on a separate layer. Then you blur the "background" photo. Another thing you may have noticed is that blurring could create a very smooth background, too smooth that it could look out of sync with the rest of the photo, look artificial. What people do is to add a very small amount of noise on top of the blur.
As for the bird, I think the HA is off a bit. The bird and the perch don't look very sharp and clear on my monitor for some reason. Part of the perch may be blown, too. Guess it has to do with the light you were dealing with.
Personally, I think it's better not to rely on blurring, especially heavy dose of it - to get a clean background, which I also think it's not necessary all the time.
Thanks for sharing !
Last edited by Desmond Chan; 11-11-2009 at 01:52 PM.
Hi Rob - Desmond has hit the nail on the head - the burring of the BG Is giving the image a unnatural look, in my experience Blurring the BG has to be very subtle otherwise it does become very noticeable.
The OOF branch in the foreground is quite distracting.
Best option is to try and get as much right in-camera as possible - has the added advantage of less time in P.S. as well.
Looking forward to seeing more :)
Hi Rob,
I too agree with Desmond's fine advise. Also I might add that the eye looks a little funky and the subject is a tad over sharpened...chalk this one as a learning experience and practice for the next one...:cool:
Trying something new II
This is the untouched tiff of the previously submitted picture. Do your impressions still remain the same as the previous critique?
This thread is in no way arugmentive, I'm trying to learn "How to."
Thank You,
Rob...................
Hi Rob - Fairly large crop - will always reduce the quality a llttle. Looking at the original I would also woner if the sharpening is not overdone a tad. The original post looks very harsh and contrasty compared to the untouched tiff.
The original BG looks fine to me - sometimes it is what it is.
I'm fine with the background, too.Originally Posted by Lance Peters
Attached is my take of the pic. Basically: darkened the background and some highlight areas; increased the contrast and brightness of the bird a bit; sharpening selectively.
The background is not the biggest problem, IMO. The perch and the head-angle actually are the bigger issues here.
Many Thanks for your critiques. Your time and concideration is also appreciated.
Rob.........................
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