American Robin

[BAL Land]

Constructive critiques strongly appreciated! From Orange County. California a few days ago.

Image downsized for posting. Handheld. Processed in adobe photoshop express on my iPad.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

And here’s a link to a full resolution shot. https://share.icloud.com/photos/03bEgl3jdu1z21BZwPJM6bCGQ


Thanks!

 

[David Berry]

Constructive critiques strongly appreciated!

Bal, I like it!

For me, 'natural' photos score more highly than those that 'pop' or give the impression of being photoshopped.

I do find the green pieces on the ground distracting. If you agree—no need to, of course—choose:

• "Edit Photo" (in Photoshop Elements) then
• "Adjustments" —>
• "Background" —>
• "Light" —>
• "Saturation" —> Tone down the colours by moving slider left (by just a bit). —>
• Perhaps, go back to "Light" and then choose "Temperature" and warm the background (to counter a B&W look).

My preference would be to reduce the saturation of the green (instead of all colours in the background), but I do not know how to do that in Photoshop Express. Others might know.

… David

 

[dupcak]

I always forget how pretty these birds are - just because they are common doesn't mean they should be ignored!

Nice catchlight in the eye. Very nice OoF FG/BG.

A question for you - how low to the ground were you? Wondering if getting lower would have resulted in a different "vibe".

I'm with @David Berry - the green leaves at the tail are a bit unfortunate. Doesn't ruin the image, but I would have like some separation between them and the tail. The leaves at the breast don't bother me as much.

Also - looks about 1/2 stop underexposed on the bird, but maybe that's just me and my laptop.

- Rob

 

[BAL Land]

Bal, I like it!

For me, 'natural' photos score more highly than those that 'pop' or give the impression of being photoshopped.

I do find the green pieces on the ground distracting. If you agree—no need to, of course—choose:

• "Edit Photo" (in Photoshop Elements) then
• "Adjustments" —>
• "Background" —>
• "Light" —>
• "Saturation" —> Tone down the colours by moving slider left (by just a bit). —>
• Perhaps, go back to "Light" and then choose "Temperature" and warm the background (to counter a B&W look).

My preference would be to reduce the saturation of the green (instead of all colours in the background), but I do not know how to do that in Photoshop Elements. Others might know.

… David

Thanks David! Just FYI, I’m using adobe photoshop express, not elements.

 

[BAL Land]

I always forget how pretty these birds are - just because they are common doesn't mean they should be ignored!

Nice catchlight in the eye. Very nice OoF FG/BG.

A question for you - how low to the ground were you? Wondering if getting lower would have resulted in a different "vibe".

I'm with @David Berry - the green leaves at the tail are a bit unfortunate. Doesn't ruin the image, but I would have like some separation between them and the tail. The leaves at the breast don't bother me as much.

Also - looks about 1/2 stop underexposed on the bird, but maybe that's just me and my laptop.

- Rob

Thanks! The exposure looks fine on my screen. I will play around with the saturation of those green leaves.

Also, I was kneeling. There was an anthill right below me, and if I moved to the side, the background would’ve been much worse. Thanks!

 

[NorthernFocus]

It's a nice shot. Good position on the bird and it's looking into the frame. Good techs. Nothing overly distracting. IMO it would benefit from a little more headroom above the bird.

 

[bajadreamer]

Beautiful bird that you have captured well. I agree with the previous comments about a low perspective, but at my age that is becoming more and more difficult. Sometimes you have to take what you get. In post you can apply a graduated blur from the top to increase the perception of a low perspective.

 

[BAL Land]

Beautiful bird that you have captured well. I agree with the previous comments about a low perspective, but at my age that is becoming more and more difficult. Sometimes you have to take what you get. In post you can apply a graduated blur from the top to increase the perception of a low perspective.

Thanks all! Unfortunately I can’t do graduated adjustments in my editing app.