Leopard

[Rachel Hollander]

Taken in the Timbavati in August 2009. Another vehicle had just approached and that drew her attention.

Canon 50D
100-400 at 310mm
Av f8.0
Tv 1/500
ISO 400

Slight crop to remove excess space on right and above.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks

Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel

I don't actually have any issue with the crop, I like the look back and size/position within the frame is fine.

OK, perhaps a lower POV might have worked being more at eye level, but assume that this was from a vehicle and to shoot out side would be a big NO NO. However, for me it is just running too warm overall and needs a bit more selective sharpening certainly around the head for me. Check where your focus point was, it should be either between the eyes or spot on in the nearest eye too you, as you have the DOF.

TFS
Steve ;)

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Steve. I'll check where the AF was. Yes, this was taken from a vehicle and I was in the lowest row. Shooting outside the vehicle would have been a major NO NO. I actually have another version where I played with the WB in PP and cooled it but then went with the original. I think I shot it on "cloudy" and this was fairly early in the morning game drive but I see there's a shadow so it's likely the sun had broken through the clouds. I'll give the selective sharpening a try tonight. Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel

Not sure what RAW convertor you use, but you can change the WB there. If so, change to Auto and see how it looks. For me, I always have it set to Auto as I never really like the presets and I feel they can over saturate the image and give a false result.

If you need any more help drop me a line :)

Steve

[Tom Graham]

Nice pose from leopard. I agree about being a bit warm, would think easy to tweak from here in PS. POV is ok, just not perhaps perfect.

The POV is tough from a game drive vehicle, even like the vehicles (Land Rovers) common in South Africa. You are sitting down but your eye level is still at maybe 5 feet, even if on the lowest seat. But better than pop top mini-van (Toyota?) common in East Africa safaris where you stand up inside the open top van to shoot. In the open Land Rover, no top, no side, just low door sill between you and leopard, lion, buffalo, elephant. Often stops your breath as the stare at you!!!!

Tom

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel

If you want to adjust your image properly, then if it was shot in RAW then making then adjustments here will give you your best results, as it from the original file, where as PS is another stage on.

kind regards
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Steve and Tom - I did shoot RAW so I'll do the adjustment there either tonight or tomorrow and repost. Btw Steve, prior to this trip I always shot in AWB but our ranger, who is an excellent photographer, suggested shooting with it set on cloudy to get truer colors on the early morning and late evening game drives unless there was really direct sun. I guess because it is easy enough to shoot on AWB and adjust in PP, that is actually a better choice. I just started shooting RAW in 2009 and use DPP to process. I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Thanks for the tips and patience.

Tom, I know what you mean about the Land Rovers in Kenya and Tanzania. That was my first trip to Africa back in 2003. Of course I was shooting film then and just praying that I got a few decent shots. The only shot from the Land Rover that was eye level other than elephants or giraffes was when the mother cheetah jumped on the hood to see if she could spot any prey.

Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Rachel, have dropped you a PM to clarify what you need to do in RAW as that is your best & only option.

Let me know how you get on.

TFS
Steve ;)

[Rachel Hollander]

Ok, here's the repost after adjusting the WB to AWB in RAW and then tweaking contrast and sharpening. Thanks for the suggestions and help.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel

Now to me that is far more natural and gives a faithful reproduction. The colours seem to be more in keeping, in terms of both the environment and the Leopard. You could not have achieved this result in PS. How do you feel about the end result?

I would suggest posting the revised image in Wildlife too. :)

Steve

[Morkel Erasmus]

stunning pose and open surrounds here Rachel! the repost rocks thanks to Steve's expert guidance. I concur that this should be posted in the Wildlife forum for all to enjoy.

I might even try and selectively darken the BG around the leopard to make it stand out a bit more?

[Steve Kaluski]

Hey, thanks Morkel, he might have a point. ;)

Rachel you could try this
Duplicate layer and go to Exposure -0.10, 0 0.95
Make a mask and combine
See what you think.

If you leave as is then would suggest in cloning out a few white marks in the BG that really stand out and if you can, plus the scrub poking up behind the shoulder blade/back? Go to go then :)

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Morkel and Steve: Here's the end result (although my procedure was slightly different than suggested I think b/c I did the changes in Elements to the JPEG for this round.) Let me know if it has the effect you intended. Thanks, Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel

You could improve things slightly as 'Elements' perhaps hasn't been that effective in certain parts of the BG I feel. also there are a few spots that just need to be tickled in around the shoulder. Saying all that I do feel that you have a better image and hope that these few pointers have been of help.

Might be worth looking at PS, as it's has a lot more to offer you and your images would benefit, but one step at a time and I am not sure how far you are on this road. :)

Look forward to seeing more and perhaps some images in Wildlife too, all the best.

Steve ;)