In the Pond

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I am working on my "eye" so to speak when it comes to post processing. I am not super on PS but know the basics and I do question my eye quite often which is why I do appreciate critiques. I am working on making my images pop more since brought to my attention so I need some honest feedback. I keep feeling that the face is shadowed here and have worked on it some. I really like the colors and the water drop so I want it to be the best it can be.
Canon 1DMIII 300mm 2.8 L IS lens w/ 1.4x
ISO 400 f9@1/800
Thanks so much for your time and honest feedback

[Randy Stout]

Cheryl:

The colors are attractive, drop nice as mentioned, good shooting angle, body looks good. I think the head is too light now, at least for my taste. Might be interesting to post the unprocessed image, just cropped to this same size (if it has been cropped) so we can get a look at where you started.

I might try a version cropped down about 1/4th of the green off the top (not the reflection, just the actual foliage.

Cheers

Randy

[Melissa Groo]

Lovely peaceful scene of this pretty duck. I really like the way the colors in the feathers mirror the color of the water. Nice comp.
I think the head looks a bit light too. Maybe darken that a bit and also lighten the eye a tad?

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Cheryl:

The colors are attractive, drop nice as mentioned, good shooting angle, body looks good. I think the head is too light now, at least for my taste. Might be interesting to post the unprocessed image, just cropped to this same size (if it has been cropped) so we can get a look at where you started.

I might try a version cropped down about 1/4th of the green off the top (not the reflection, just the actual foliage.

Cheers

Randy

Thanks for that and here is the original from raw. Changed to jpg converted color space and sharpened. I forgot that i cropped it in raw but its not too big of a crop.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

This was my first crop choice and I think may be my favorite. I toned down the image a bit and this is what I got. Better? Hope I'm not over posting.

[Randy Stout]

Cheryl:

It is fine to add reposts with original files or variations on the original image. Often very educational.

I do like the crop in pane #5.

I also prefer the darker head in the original file, not the lighter version in your original post.

Cheers

Randy

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Cheryl:

It is fine to add reposts with original files or variations on the original image. Often very educational.

I do like the crop in pane #5.

I also prefer the darker head in the original file, not the lighter version in your original post.

Cheers

Randy

Thanks Randy. I am going with that cropped anda tad brighter version than the original. Thanks for all the feedback.