Any good, or monkeying around?

[Joe B]

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Hey all, I posted this one early on in the presentation forum, but thought I would put it here to open it up to critique. One of my better shots, but trying to improve, so no holding back!
Rhesus macaque mother and child.

For those interested:
Nikon d3200, AF-S 300mm f/4D
Taken at f/4, 1/250 sec, 1600 ISO
Cropped somewhat, down to about 19MP at full resolution

 

[Callie]

Joe - nice family moment but maybe a bit small in the frame. You can loose a lot of the OOF tree trunk on the right and also above her head by cropping. Darkening the BG behind her, giving her more colour and structure punch and maybe adding a spotlight affect on her would make the image stronger. For great spotlight advice and how to, see Blake Rudis 64 Academy (or Piximperfect or PTC)

 

[Kathy G]

Like Callie said. I think it is a beautiful photo. I wouldn’t be afraid to crop more. When I used a D7000 with its 12 mp sensor I would crop photos. If you still have 19 mp you still have room to crop some more - you just won’t be producing a big print

 

[KCPhoto]

I agree with @Callie on darkening the overall background and spotlighting. I can envision a wonderful end result which really would emphasize the bonding moment which is taking place.

 

[Joe B]

So both the darkening and spotlighting are there in the version I posted, but perhaps I was trying to be a bit too subtle. I personally kind of like the amount of space around them, but can see why it might be considered distracting, especially the far right.

So I darkened up the background, brightened the spotlights and added a touch of warmth. Here's one with my original crop and one cropped much tighter, down to about 6MP. Well, the first almost my original crop. Just noticed that little bit of a tree on the far left, so I took that out.

I definitely like the darker background, but I'm not sure about the crop. The tighter one definitely highlights the macaques better, but I also like shots that show a little more of the environment. Thoughts?

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[Callie]

#2!

 

[KCPhoto]

Both of those are improvements, for me at least. Of course, the next person may say no, I like it brighter and looser. I think I like the environment statement you make in a lot of cases. But for some reason with this one, I do indeed prefer the tighter 2nd crop. Maybe I am too distracted by the brighter area left of that foreground tree on the right. Great moment captured no matter how one prefers though. Good work.

 

[Kathy G]

I really like the edits. I prefer the second, tighter crop. Can I suggest that you widen that tighter crop a bit? That would give you more of the context but without the distracting parts of the foreground and background.

 

[DRwyoming]

I like the scene, especially with the tighter crop and I like the composition in both images. Great tender moment you captured there.

To me at least it looks like both sets of eyes are a bit soft. I can't say at this image size whether that's a slight AF miss or perhaps some motion blur but to me at least it looks like the eyes aren't as crisp as they should be. That's something you should be able to critically assess by zooming into 100% on the original full size image and maybe it's just my aging eyes looking at this smaller jpeg, feel free to tell me I'm full of it and you could cut glass with those razor sharp eyes but to me at least they appear soft.

If you do a close inspection and also find the eyes a bit soft then try to figure out why. Was it an AF issue, perhaps something you could remedy with an AF Fine Tune or is it a bit of camera shake and motion blur and something you could remedy with additional camera support or perhaps a bit faster shutter speed?

It really is a beautiful and tender moment.

 

[Joe B]

Thanks for the feedback all. It's nice to have some input.

Maybe I am too distracted by the brighter area left of that foreground tree on the right.

That bright area is a bit of a sore thumb. I experimented briefly with trying to darken it, but haven't done it satisfactorily yet, so left it off for now.

Can I suggest that you widen that tighter crop a bit? That would give you more of the context but without the distracting parts of the foreground and background.

I could take it wider, but I like the way the tighter crop is framed by the trees on each side. I could look at a portrait orientation, though...

To me at least it looks like both sets of eyes are a bit soft.

If you do a close inspection and also find the eyes a bit soft then try to figure out why. Was it an AF issue, perhaps something you could remedy with an AF Fine Tune or is it a bit of camera shake and motion blur and something you could remedy with additional camera support or perhaps a bit faster shutter speed?

I'd say you're right Dave, particularly the baby's eyes. I'm not quite sure the cause, though at 1/250 sec for a 450mm eq. FOV, some shakes aren't out of the question! Unfortunately, AF Fine Tune isn't an option on my little old d3200, so if that's it, then I'm out of luck for now. I probably do need to start carrying my sticks with me more often, particularly in the woods. Just like the freedom of going handheld.

 

[DRwyoming]

....I'd say you're right Dave, particularly the baby's eyes. I'm not quite sure the cause, though at 1/250 sec for a 450mm eq. FOV, some shakes aren't out of the question! Unfortunately, AF Fine Tune isn't an option on my little old d3200, so if that's it, then I'm out of luck for now. I probably do need to start carrying my sticks with me more often, particularly in the woods. Just like the freedom of going handheld.

Sounds like a good situation for a monopod where you basically want the freedom of hand holding but just want some added stability. You don't even need a very beefy monopod for that kind of setup, just get one that's tall enough.

I'd also say that if the mother's eyes are sharp to your liking when viewed on the original but the babies eyes went soft then perhaps stopping down a stop or so might have made all the difference as I see you shot this wide open. I basically stop down a bit any time there are two or more animals in the frame that I want to keep sharp. It's just really hard to get that perfect alignment where both sets of eyes are in the same plane of focus and it gets harder as you get closer or use longer lenses and image magnification increases.