Male House Finch with Texture

[Cynthia Thayer]

This is a result of adding a textured layer to the original image, then using the Oil Paint filter in Photoshop CS6, trying different blend modes and opacity settings. My question is, as an artistic image, does the background take away or distract. Does it work? I'd love to get all your inputs. Thanks in advance.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Cynthia, I like the image and the PB. I would prefer a less colorful background (not so many different colors) and a crop from the right. Or maybe just toning down the colors would work. There's a pretty distinct horizontal line from the texture that bisects the finch above his legs that you might tone down or remove also. But you are very creative so if this is your vision then that is the most important thing to consider

[Cynthia Thayer]

I see what you are saying, Cheryl. That's exactly the kind of input I was looking for. :) Let me see what I can do and still keep it within my vision.

[Hazel Grant]

Yes, being true to your vision is VIP. Re the horizontal stripe...maybe a slight blur of the background might take care of it??? Not sure. I love the work on the bird and I don't really dislike the bkg. Try playing with it, though, with different effects just for fun. My first thought when I saw this was that there was just too much of the bkg for the bird. Maybe croping a bit as Cheryl said....

[Cynthia Thayer]

I've made some changes, but how do I add my edit to this thread?

[Cheryl Slechta]

Laurie, just start out like you were making a reply then click on "Go Advanced" button below the post and you will be able to scroll down and see "Manage Attachments" and attach your new image. Send me a Private Message if that doesn't work and I'll try to help you.

[denise ippolito]

Cynthia, Cheryl makes some good suggestions already. I really like the pose and sharp eye. Well done and I look forward to seeing the repost.

[Maureen Allen]

I like this a lot, Cynthia. I think if it were mine, I'd try desaturating the background a bit and selectively sharpening the bird.

[Cynthia Thayer]

Ok, so here are my edits. I desaturated the background some and lowered the opacity on the texture. I really like the comments I received on this. I really loved the background, but after some thought, I agree that maybe it is a bit busy for this particular image. So, this is what I came up with.

[Cynthia Thayer]

btw, this was shot in my backyard, and the colors are from all the foliage in my yard.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Cynthia, this looks great! The background looks much better and the line bisecting the bird is gone - you did a great job with your tweaks Now the finch is the star.

[Cynthia Thayer]

Thank you, Cheryl!!!!