mute swan
I noticed two very serious photographers shooting this swan and his/her mate. Tripods, big telelenses. Was a bit awed by it all but decided to take the shot anyway.
What always bothers me with these birds is
- Do I meter on the bird or on the whole scene?
- What is good framing?
i'm going to let al or lance write about the metering. i dont want to confuse you. but this looks good! i would only add some canvas on the right side and reposition the bird in the frame closer to the top.
nice job with the whites. they are close to being over, but i still see detail everywhere.
Hi, Harold you left me out:)
I always meter for the bird. In this case the whites
Agree with Harold I see detail in the whites but it's on the edge exposure wise.
I like the drops coming off the bill but I might have tried for a lower angle.
Finally the subject is too close to the right and I would give it more room.
Hi - IMHO you don't want over exposed whites unless its a high key image and then not on the subject either.
Do post your full shooting info - Shutter Speed, aperture etc will help everyone see what is going on.
my advice - you need to understand exposure and how your camera's meter works and the use of exposure compensation. Most use matrix metering or the canon equivalent. Black and white birds require soft light - so that the dynamic range that your camera can capture is not exceeded by the scene in front of you. Most camera have a 5-6 stop dynamic range - our eye's see a 11-12 stop dynamic range - see the issue?
Expose for the whites - Using your over exposure blinkies and the histogram on your camera's LCD screen.
Send me a PM if you don't understand the basics about exposure and metering and I will put together something in easy to understand terms that might help.
Settings:
Exposure: 1/2500 sec Aperture: f/9.0 Focal Length: 270 mm Focal Length: 277.0 mm ISO Speed: 640 Exposure Bias: 0 EV
I did keep the whites just on the right side of the blinkies on purpose. I tend to shoot quite light at the moment. It wasn't until I got home that the doubt about that set in.
As to composition, I find it hard. Rule of thirds which works so well on many other things somehow seems not to apply as much to birds.
sorry dave. i thought you were the landscape guy:DOriginally Posted by DMills
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