Great Horned Owlets please critique

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Still a beginner- would love expert advice. I used my Nikon D5300, f/8, 1/1250 sec, ISO 900, -0.3 step, focal length 400 mm. I used photo editor to sharpen the babies a little, added a little saturation, and lightened it because when I print it, the image looked too dark.
 
The only programs I know (a bit) are GIMP and RAW Therapy- they both have noise reduction tools in which I am pretty unfamlliar with. I am still learning how to reduce noise without reducing sharpness (if that can be done). Thank you for the advice. I will try those suggestions!
 
The best way to remove noise is through one of the apps that I mentioned. All wildlife photographers should have one of them, because of the high ISOs required for low light and action. All other apps use non-ai noise reduction, which just smoothens out the image, reducing noise but also precious detail. DXO, the best app IMO, reduces noise but also makes your photo sharper.
 
Super! looks like you are were at eye level.
I have a nest I watch yearly, they have 2 owlets yearly, your 3 is amazing. They will be leaving the nest soon. Keep shooting
 
Super! looks like you are were at eye level.
I have a nest I watch yearly, they have 2 owlets yearly, your 3 is amazing. They will be leaving the nest soon. Keep shooting

The best way to remove noise is through one of the apps that I mentioned. All wildlife photographers should have one of them, because of the high ISOs required for low light and action. All other apps use non-ai noise reduction, which just smoothens out the image, reducing noise but also precious detail. DXO, the best app IMO, reduces noise but also makes your photo sharper.
Confession- this photo was taken in jpg fine (not RAW- because at the time I was not aware of RAW conversion programs I could afford). Does DxO work only with RAW images?
And, Mr. Loy, yes, I felt exceedingly fortunate to see them. Where they were located, straight on (and relatively close) was the only option I had, so I snapped a few very quick photos as to not upset the babies- which probably added to the reduced focus.
Please forgive, I also have a learning curve with forum skills! I will review forum tutorials.
 
It's a wonderful capture and I would agree with the earlier comment about cropping the image somewhat; I would tighten the crop, lose the sliver of sky on the right, remove the border and perhaps tighten the crop just a smidge more at the top and on the left. The work done in post-process looks to have lost detail, contrast and clarity, but please don't take that comment harshly (it's not meant to be)...post processing is just as much as skill as photography itself in some ways and one that is continually evolving as different tools are made available. Keep shooting and good luck with your images and your growth!
 
Thank you ALL for the critiques and suggestions. I was afraid that the detail I lost had a lot to do with the cropping I already did. Because this image was not created in RAW, I'm sure that lost detail cannot be recaptured. In GIMP I lightened, added a little saturation, then sharpened the birds a bit. I liked the less lightened image better, but when I had prints made, they were too dark. Would love post processing advice as well as photography advice. Thanks for all of it.
 
I love the subject matter. You did a great job capturing it, but it's a learning experience. That's a really great find, and often you can go back to the same nest for a week or so until they fledge. Just stay back and try to avoid doing anything that would encourage a crowd. You don't want the adult to abandon the nest or not be able to feed the owlets because people are too close. Brief visits are best.

As others have mentioned, if you have a RAW file - the NEF - it's a lot easier to adjust exposure, shadows, or white balance without creating problems like more noise.

It looks like you have a white vignette around the frame edge. The only reason you would normally want a white vignette is for printing on a notecard or similar publication where you want a soft edge. In that case, I'd want a wider and more gradual oval vignette. But other than that rare case, avoid a white vignette. If you choose a darker vignette, it should be subtle enough that it is not really noticed - it just looks good. Just a little darkening is enough.

I took the liberty of editing the image. All this was in Lightroom Classic and it took about 3-4 minutes. Most of my edits were local adjustments using layers - one to the owlets, a second layer for the tree surrounding the owlets, and a third layer to brighten the rear (top) owlet. I made just a minor global adjustment to WB to make it slightly cooler and less yellow.

For the owlet layer, my goal was to make the subject more prominent and take advantage of the bright eyes. I made them brighter with a 0.30 exposure adjustment, I boosted shadows slightly, added a clarity to increase contrast, and boosted sharpening and noise reduction. This made the eyes much brighter and helped them to pop.

I inverted the owlet layer and made a copy so I could edit the tree. My goal was to make the tree recede so attention was on the owlets - not the tree. I decreased exposure 0.7 stops. I also decreased highlights, decreased whites, and decreased shadows - all to darken the tree. With these adjustments I was loosing a little texture, so I added a little contrast and clarity (I could have kept highlights brighter and decreased shadows more for a more proper edit). I also added noise reduction. Darkening the image for this layer by itself helped to reduce visible noise and would be even better working with a NEF.

My third and final layer was a mild brightening layer for the rear owl and some touch up. I selected the owl, then reduced opacity to 35% and brushed in some details on the darker side of the owlets and their left (viewers perspective) eye. I boosted exposure 0.67 stops and brightened highlights a little more. The result was more even brightness for the subject and the eyes popped even more. One eye of the bottom right owl was partially hidden and brightening helped a lot.

I finished with a crop - eliminating your vignette, the sky and bright area on the right side, and the sunlit bright area on the left side.

Here is the result. It's your photo - just a few modest edits to enhance your vision.
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Yes, I shoot in RAW now (that I learned about RAW Therapy). I look forward to practicing the edit steps above on my original image I plan to invest in Topaz or DxO. At first glance it appears that DxO is a lot more powerful than Topaz for close to the same price. Either one you would recommend? (Hopefully I won't always be a beginner). Thanks again.
 
Yes, I shoot in RAW now (that I learned about RAW Therapy). I look forward to practicing the edit steps above on my original image I plan to invest in Topaz or DxO. At first glance it appears that DxO is a lot more powerful than Topaz for close to the same price. Either one you would recommend? (Hopefully I won't always be a beginner). Thanks again.
Topaz is not a full editing tool set - it's for sharpening, noise reduction, and upsizing. It's very good at those things.

Have you tried using Nikon NX Studio? It's free and is a good interim step.

I usually recommend Lightroom Classic using the Adobe Photography Plan. It has the largest market share and if you use it, more people will be able to provide help. There is also a lot more free training on YouTube.

DXO is a solid product - but you should assess whether you can access the training resources you need. All of these products are pretty good and have pluses and minuses.
 
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