First moose images

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Dmac802

Dmac802

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Was in Jackson Hole and pulled into a random parking area on the west side of the pass and there was this moose waiting for spring. Photographed him in my truck using a bean bag on the window. Waited for him to look at me and i thought the tongue was a fun touch. Thoughts on how it could have been better? Sony a7iv, sony 200-600 w1.4 teleconverter, F9,iso 1250, 1/800, over exposed to compensate for the all white background.
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Thanks.

The snow appears over-exposed and has lost all texture. Is this the effect you wanted?

If not, did you try lowering the Whites in LR? Depending on the look you were hoping to achieve, you could have used your histogram to dial in a much lower exposure to ensure the snow was not over-exposed, then raised the darks in LR to achieve a more balanced exposure. I see you used a +1.3 exp compensation. Depending on what metering mode you were using, -0- exposure adjustment might have been OK.
 
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Fun shot. He looks quite healthy coming out of what's been a very long, cold and snowy winter.
Dmac802 said:
Thoughts on how it could have been better?
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I agree with Karen that pushing the exposure so hard leaves a bit of an overexposed look and I might take half a stop or more off the exposure plus perhaps some highlight recovery. If you want to leave the background blown out for effect, I'd still take a bit away from the overall midtone exposure as that's pretty bright for a moose.

From a composition standpoint I prefer to leave room for the feet even if they're buried in snow or sand or grass. IOW, I try to avoid the amputation at the long bones look even when the feet themselves aren't visible.

Welcome to the forums,
-Dave
 
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Dmac802 said:
Was in Jackson Hole and pulled into a random parking area on the west side of the pass and there was this moose waiting for spring. Photographed him in my truck using a bean bag on the window. Waited for him to look at me and i thought the tongue was a fun touch. Thoughts on how it could have been better? Sony a7iv, sony 200-600 w1.4 teleconverter, F9,iso 1250, 1/800, over exposed to compensate for the all white background. View attachment 59118
Click to expand...
Great shot, and I love the tongue. Two issues in this photo. One is the overexposed snow that has been mentioned, although personally, I think the exposure on the moose is perfect, just lower the highlights. The bigger issue is that there should be way more room at the foot. I would add a good amount of space there if this is cropped. If not, I would try to extend the canvas because it would make this already great shot that much better.
 
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Good on you taking advantage of the opportunity. In addition to what others have suggested it may present better with more space in front of the beast than behind. With the animal broad side like this the butt right up to edge of frame typically works well.
 
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DRwyoming said:
Fun shot. He looks quite healthy coming out of what's been a very long, cold and snowy winter.

I agree with Karen that pushing the exposure so hard leaves a bit of an overexposed look and I might take half a stop or more off the exposure plus perhaps some highlight recovery. If you want to leave the background blown out for effect, I'd still take a bit away from the overall midtone exposure as that's pretty bright for a moose.

From a composition standpoint I prefer to leave room for the feet even if they're buried in snow or sand or grass. IOW, I try to avoid the amputation at the long bones look even when the feet themselves aren't visible.

Welcome to the forums,
-Dave
Click to expand...
yes the feet are an issue that i should have corrected while taking the shot.
 
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raptor photo said:
Great shot, and I love the tongue. Two issues in this photo. One is the overexposed snow that has been mentioned, although personally, I think the exposure on the moose is perfect, just lower the highlights. The bigger issue is that there should be way more room at the foot. I would add a good amount of space there if this is cropped. If not, I would try to extend the canvas because it would make this already great shot that much better.
Click to expand...
it was a white wall of snow behind him i didn't think i added anything, but i probably should have only exposed a half or 2/3 stop over which would have given me more options in post. The exposure on the moose was what i was concerned with. It's not cropped except for a little bit behind him...had a tangle of trees in front which didn't go with what i was envisioning.
 
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Just a thought, the legs are covered in snow, I would have added some more foreground just to make sure the legs aren't cut off. it would make the moose appear taller. If I were to being more of a portrait then cut off at the shoulders.
 
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NorthernFocus said:
Good on you taking advantage of the opportunity. In addition to what others have suggested it may present better with more space in front of the beast than behind. With the animal broad side like this the butt right up to edge of frame typically works well.
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thought the same thing on site, but couldn't move my truck to get more in front of him without getting a tangle of trees in the shot. I did try without success
 
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Dmac802 said:
it was a white wall of snow behind him i didn't think i added anything, but i probably should have only exposed a half or 2/3 stop over which would have given me more options in post. The exposure on the moose was what i was concerned with. It's not cropped except for a little bit behind him...had a tangle of trees in front which didn't go with what i was envisioning.
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Just a thought....by pushing up your exposure compensation, you were also pushing up your ISO. With less positive exposure compensation, you could have raised the whites in post....and/or raised the darks if they were too dark. As you say, you would have more choices in post.

Do you use the histogram while shooting? The histogram is very handy for ensuring you are not clipping darks or whites and are getting the full range of tones in the scene...i.e. capturing as much data as possible.
 
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ISO was definitely pushed by the the exposure compensation and my shutter speed. I just looked at my original and final histogram in LR and nothing is clipped. It has a large area that is near clipping but it was a white wall of snow with little to no detail.
 
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Dmac802 said:
Was in Jackson Hole and pulled into a random parking area on the west side of the pass and there was this moose waiting for spring. Photographed him in my truck using a bean bag on the window. Waited for him to look at me and i thought the tongue was a fun touch. Thoughts on how it could have been better? Sony a7iv, sony 200-600 w1.4 teleconverter, F9,iso 1250, 1/800, over exposed to compensate for the all white background. View attachment 59118
Click to expand...
I do like the whimsical look of the tongue sticking out. You said the high key look is what you were after so they is cool. I like wildlife images where the animal is doing something interesting or whimsical. The tongue makes it for me.

Jeff
 
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jeffnles1 said:
I do like the whimsical look of the tongue sticking out. You said the high key look is what you were after so they is cool. I like wildlife images where the animal is doing something interesting or whimsical. The tongue makes it for me.

Jeff
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Thanks...I thought the same thing about the tongue too, that's why i chose it to post. When i was taking the images, i was thinking that you don't see many wildlife images that have a "studio" look which is why i decided to over expose the background and have a high key look.
 
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