I photographed this (House?) Sparrow in a bush, and would appreciate both your feedback and your guidance on the best post-processing methods for 1) blurring the background and 2) removing the OOF branches of the bush that are in the foreground of the bird's wing and the tail. I considered using the magnetic lasso to isolate the bird, but wasn't sure how to handle the wispy feathers with the lasso tool. To remove the branches in front of the bird, I thought about using the clone tool but was similarly concerned about how that tool would handle textured feathers.
Canon Xsi with 70-200 / f4L IS lens; 1.4 extender: shot at f/5.6, 1/50 s, ISO 200, 280mm; sharpened in Raw.
Welcome aboard, in this picture it would take too much effort to blur and remove IMO. Rather next time try and get a cleaner shot and for now this can be part of the habitat. Habitat pictures are great and sparrows can be hard to isolate. Let's talk about the exposure, looks like it is underexposed. Check the histogram and see if the data is clipped on the left hand side remember to try and get data in the first two stops on the right if possible. Another option here was to use fill flash - best to use external flash like a 580 speed light as opposed to the pop-up flash - usually not that effective.
Now lets talk composition, I absolutely love the capture angle with the feet spread open - well done. You captured sharp feather detail which is critical in bird photography the shot needs to be critically sharp and this is for the most part. I really like the close up view and nice DoF for 5.6. If you want to work this image, lighten it and sharpen the eye area, where was your point of focus. Remember to try and photograph a clean, sharp well lit eye and when this is accomplished the results are much stronger. Where was this taken and how far were you from the subject.
ps - there is a great thread in the education and tutorial forum to help with nature photography. Written by Artie Morris and references some reading material named "Digital Basics" a nice read detailing post processing techniques like you mentioned above.
Jeff...thank you so much for all of your valuable feedback. This photo was taken in Washington DC, by an apartment building where the birds seemed pretty familiar with humans walking back and forth. I was fairly close...probably about 3 or 4 feet away. I checked the histogram, and although it did not indicate that the data was clipped on the left side, it was slightly to the left of center, so I'll work on improving exposure when I am out shooting in the next few days. I don't recall if my point of focus was the eye or not, so it probably was not...I'll definitely need to work on that too! It's so helpful to get such specific feedback...I really appreciate it.
Hi Wendy- I quite like the background of this image- the repeating pattern of branches mostly oriented in the same direction gives a sense of order. But as noted you have two problems with the branches, one over the tail and one over the wing. They are not easy to remove but it is possible. Try local contrast enhancement for the really OOF one on the right. For the other one, the clone tool should do the trick.
This image would be more compelling if you captured the bird with its head rotated a little CCW- a little towards you rather than away as it is now. The subject is also quite tight in the frame so a looser crop if possible, may be desirable. This would also give the OOF male, lower left, more room around the feet.
Indeed it is a House Sparrow- female. This species was so familiar to most of us 30+ years ago but has declined for largely unknown reasons since then.
Hi John,
Thanks for all of your suggestions. I'll work on cloning out the branch in the foreground. I may have a couple of photos in which the bird has a different pose, so I might post one of them for feedback. By the way...the image is not cropped at all: the birds were unusually tame and allowed me to get very close to them!
Wendy
Post-processing a busy image
