Costa Rica pics

[Ganesh88]

I'm new to the forums, but I just got back from Costa Rica and have been working on going through my pics. I've always wanted some honest/educated feedback on my shots so I thought I would just post a few of my best/favorite snaps and see what you experts had to say. I'd love to hear any feedback on the shot or editing. I generally try to do very little post-processing except cropping and minor lighting color adjustments. Of course, that is partially because I am not well skilled with editing software, to be honest.

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[NorthernFocus]

As requested:

Sloth: Nicely composed with the animal looking into the frame and plenty of headroom. The two branches at bottom right an the bright spot a lower left are a bit distracting. Applying a bit of vignette might help with both.

Second image(whiporwil?): The lighting is nicely handled. Again a nice job with the bird facing into the frame. It might be an improvement if the bird wasn't quite so vertically centered in the frame and had a bit more headroom. The branch curving across behind the subject and the bright yellow spot at upper right are distracting. Again applying a vignette would help with the bright background.

Anhinga: Nice exposure, great detail, and the bird is nicely isolated from the BG. This time you didn't position the bird looking into the frame by centering it too much. Pushing the left wing closer the the edge of the frame would open it up a bit on the other side. But honestly the branch to left of the bird completely ruins this image IMO. It's a combination of the brightness drawing the eye and the curve matching the shape of the bird that is really distracting. Unfortunately below the wing the branch is positioned perfectly along the edge of the bird's body which would make cloning it out a real challenge. This is a case where a slight movement left or right at time of capture could have made a big difference. At least to simplify a cloning job.

 

[Ganesh88]

Thanks for the really constructive and specific input. Super helpful. I think one thing that I've known for a while is that I need to get better at editing.

Sloth: I definitely see your point about the Sloth, there was something about that lighting in the pic that I couldn't put my finger on. I haven't ever used vignetting, but clearly I should bring it into my thinking.

The second shot is a Great Potoo, a rare and amazing bird. I had no idea such a thing existed. The shot was exceedingly difficult, taken from a swaying boat against a bright afternoon sky. I definitely felt that the background was a bit too bright. Looking back at my original it looks like I over-cropped and over-adjusted the brightness. If I was skilled with photoshop I could probably remove that branch as well.

Anhinga: I didn't really see it before, but now that you mention it, that branch really is distracting. I loved the pose and the light, maybe I can find another in that series from a better angle.

I looked back at the originals of the Sloth and Potooo and used vignetting and the LR background masking (for the first time) and removed that twig with the heal tool. I really think it's a big improvement. I could probably do a little more about the bottom twigs in the sloth photo.
I'd love your feedback. Thanks.

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[Winston Churchill (Sir)]

Beautiful photos. Dan gave you very good advice above. Just clone that branch out to see a huge difference

 

[PhD69]

Thanks to the good advice of @NorthernFocus, the second versions are much better. Luckily for you, the Great Potoo shows part of its eye. I’ve never seen it open during the day

 

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the really constructive and specific input. Super helpful. I think one thing that I've known for a while is that I need to get better at editing.

Sloth: I definitely see your point about the Sloth, there was something about that lighting in the pic that I couldn't put my finger on. I haven't ever used vignetting, but clearly I should bring it into my thinking.

The second shot is a Great Potoo, a rare and amazing bird. I had no idea such a thing existed. The shot was exceedingly difficult, taken from a swaying boat against a bright afternoon sky. I definitely felt that the background was a bit too bright. Looking back at my original it looks like I over-cropped and over-adjusted the brightness. If I was skilled with photoshop I could probably remove that branch as well.

Anhinga: I didn't really see it before, but now that you mention it, that branch really is distracting. I loved the pose and the light, maybe I can find another in that series from a better angle.

I looked back at the originals of the Sloth and Potooo and used vignetting and the LR background masking (for the first time) and removed that twig with the heal tool. I really think it's a big improvement. I could probably do a little more about the bottom twigs in the sloth photo.
I'd love your feedback. Thanks.
View attachment 53979View attachment 53978

IMO both are much improved. Maybe a little to heavy with the vignette on the sloth. Somewhere between the two versions. The potoo is much improved.

In my experience considering BG is typically the last thing that people learn and can make a huge difference in images. And with wildlife we often have no control over BG and/or things happen too fast to move/recompose. For those cases learning how to deal with it as best we can on the computer is all we can do.

 

[Ganesh88]

Thanks to the good advice of @NorthernFocus, the second versions are much better. Luckily for you, the Great Potoo shows part of its eye. I’ve never seen it open during the day

I had taken tons of photos of it and was very excited to find one good shot with the eye open. Apparently, they can see with their eyes closed, or more accurately they close their eyes almost all the way and keep watch with just a small slit to see from.

IMO both are much improved. Maybe a little to heavy with the vignette on the sloth. Somewhere between the two versions. The potoo is much improved.

In my experience considering BG is typically the last thing that people learn and can make a huge difference in images. And with wildlife we often have no control over BG and/or things happen too fast to move/recompose. For those cases learning how to deal with it as best we can on the computer is all we can do.

Thanks much. Your suggestions have given me better insight into critically viewing my photos, and pushed me to try some additional editing techniques.

With a little more work, I was able to remove the annoying twig and fix the Anhinga as well.
Thanks again.

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[BarkingBeans Coffee]

I had taken tons of photos of it and was very excited to find one good shot with the eye open. Apparently, they can see with their eyes closed, or more accurately they close their eyes almost all the way and keep watch with just a small slit to see from.

Thanks much. Your suggestions have given me better insight into critically viewing my photos, and pushed me to try some additional editing techniques.

With a little more work, I was able to remove the annoying twig and fix the Anhinga as well.
Thanks again.

View attachment 54057

This is great, and the Sloth modifications too. @Steve video course really sold me on Lightroom. The new masking and the options, along with the cataloging, dual monitor use etc. Glad you got to experiment with some of these. I just watched his video on High Key which I may use on some shots as well.

 

[Winston Churchill (Sir)]

I had taken tons of photos of it and was very excited to find one good shot with the eye open. Apparently, they can see with their eyes closed, or more accurately they close their eyes almost all the way and keep watch with just a small slit to see from.

Thanks much. Your suggestions have given me better insight into critically viewing my photos, and pushed me to try some additional editing techniques.

With a little more work, I was able to remove the annoying twig and fix the Anhinga as well.
Thanks again.

If I may make a suggestion - darken the horizontal branch so not to draw your eye to it

 

[Ganesh88]

If I may make a suggestion - darken the horizontal branch so not to draw your eye to it

That's probably a good idea. Thanks.