Godwit PP effort !!

[Maurie_S]

I would like to know how others feel about this image. I am pretty average at PP. I have used PS Elements 6 (ancient) for this !. I don't really want to subscribe $130 ish a year. or should I ?
I am fairly happy with it , but would really like to know what others think. Have also posted the original ( jpeg ). ( if anyone wants to show me what really can be done I'll email it to them , if you PM me.

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

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

 

[David Berry]

I don't really want to subscribe $130 ish a year; or should I?

Maurie…

Adobe's Photography Plan costs me ~AU$170 including taxes per year (equivalent to NZ$185; US$110).

It's an outstanding suite of applications, and I can think of only two reasons why I might swap:

• preferring how another app operates;
• being implacably opposed to paying an annual fee.

… David

 

[bleirer]

If you don't want to go for the subscription photography plan, you might look into an add on called Elements +. It adds back a lot of the things that are crippled in Elements. That said If you do a lot of photography the subscription photography plan is well worth the $9.99 per month.

About Elements+

 

[bleirer]

About the image, it's clear in parts where you worked on the cutting out the background. Is that using the background eraser brush? Subscription Photoshop has very sophisticated selection tools and the ability to refine selections, but I believe the newest Elements has also added a lot more in that area as well. You might look into updating to the most recent Elements. Also if you opted for the subscription Photography Plan, you usually start in Lightroom, and you can do a lot of selective editing there. For background removal you jump to Photoshop from lightroom, and save the edit back to appear in lightroom. There is a learning curve, but being good at Elements you will find a lot that is familiar.

 

[Winston Churchill (Sir)]

What a lovely bird!! - but I am sorry but my comment may seem harsh - (and of course it's only my opinion)
My advise would be - go back and try and photograph this bird in isolation. If this isn't possible - live with the group photo. The editing you did, didn't work.
It's also not a case of just subscribing to Photoshop - the learning curve is steep. Very steep if you want to do it properly. This is also not the kind of photo you can "fix up" in lightroom / Adobe Camera Raw.

I would be more than happy to edit the image - but that doesn't really solve your problem. It is better to shoot in such a manner that it fits your editing style and with the software you have. Unless you feel like taking up Photoshop - but it isn't for everyone. And it doesn't have to be.

 

[BlackRockArt]

I would like to know how others feel about this image. I am pretty average at PP. I have used PS Elements 6 (ancient) for this !. I don't really want to subscribe $130 ish a year. or should I ?
I am fairly happy with it , but would really like to know what others think. Have also posted the original ( jpeg ). ( if anyone wants to show me what really can be done I'll email it to them , if you PM me. View attachment 73268 View attachment 73271

Maurie, there are plenty other options for photo-related software.

Affinity is an excellent choice.

Capture One Express is another great option.

Oliver

PS: beautiful birds in breeding plumage.

 

[DRwyoming]

I would like to know how others feel about this image. I am pretty average at PP. I have used PS Elements 6 (ancient) for this !. I don't really want to subscribe $130 ish a year. or should I ?
I am fairly happy with it , but would really like to know what others think.

Since you're asking for feedback.

I'd say as a way to learn how much you can accomplish with your editing tools it's an interesting exercise. You could probably do better even in PS Elements if you go back and work carefully, ideally using multiple layers so you can finesse masks, selections, cloning, patch tool use and the like.

But I'm with the good @Winston Churchill (Sir) above, in terms of wildlife work I'd say it's great that you captured one flying Godwit with decent sharpness and in pretty good light (not too. harsh) but I'd say use this as a learning experience of what's possible instead of trying too hard to salvage this as a wall hanger. By the time you remove all the other birds you've basically replaced more than half of the image that was captured. I'd use this as a positive stepping stone but get back out and work on isolating your subjects against nice backgrounds so you don't have to clone out more than half the captured image.

That said, nice light on the in-focus subject, nice placement in the frame (not flying completely out of the frame), good job capturing a sharp flight image with good wing position and great eye contact.

 

[Maurie_S]

Many thanks all, I really appreciate you all taking the time to make the comments you have. !
I will certainly consider going to PS with a subscription. After all, it's only the price of a good bottle of NZ wine a month. !!
I'll tell my wife she's cutting back !!!
I have posted some other photos of the same group of BTG's in the past few days which are better IMO, one single bird , and one group. See Below. I just liked the pose/look of this bird in the group and thought it was worth trying to turn him into a star !!.
Once again many thanks for giving up your time to help. !

Z9, 800/6.3 pf.View attachment 72793

Bar-tailed Godwit. Coromandel peninsular N.Z.

Z9, 800/6.3 pf
View attachment 73138

 

[Winston Churchill (Sir)]

Many thanks all, I really appreciate you all taking the time to make the comments you have. !
I will certainly consider going to PS with a subscription. After all, it's only the price of a good bottle of NZ wine a month. !!
I'll tell my wife she cutting back !!!
I have posted some other photos of the same group of BTG's in the past few days which are better IMO, one single bird , and one group. See Below. I just liked the pose/look of this bird in the group and thought it was worth trying to turn him into a star !!.
Once again many thanks for giving up your time to help. !

This image - Z9, 800/6.3 pf.View attachment 72793 - is really beautiful. I think its much better than the selected photo. Everyone thinks (me included) that one needs a single bird against a clean background - I think you just showed me that this is simply not true and furthermore - we need to stop being like everyone else as every second photo looks the same. Well done on that photo.

 

[Maurie_S]

Thanks all.
I have decided to get Lr and Ps. Now the learning curve starts !!! Just hope the curve is not too flat. !!

 

[DRwyoming]

Thanks all.
I have decided to get Lr and Ps. Now the learning curve starts !!! Just hope the curve is not too flat. !!

If you shoot a lot you won't regret it.

Before you get too deep into using LR's editing features I'd highly recommend learning how to setup and use LR's Library module to organize your images.

@Steve has a great course on using LR's Library features and there are books, videos and the like out there as well but it gets much harder to organize everything if your image library grows before figuring out a system.

Here's a link to Steve's LR course: https://bcgwebstore.com/product/bcg-lightroom-course-1-the-library-module-file-handling-importing/

 

[bleirer]

There are a lot of good resources online. Here is one link, and folks here will answer even the most basic question with no judgement.

https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html

 

[Maurie_S]

If you shoot a lot you won't regret it.

Before you get too deep into using LR's editing features I'd highly recommend learning how to setup and use LR's Library module to organize your images.

@Steve has a great course on using LR's Library features and there are books, videos and the like out there as well but it gets much harder to organize everything if your image library grows before figuring out a system.

Here's a link to Steve's LR course: https://bcgwebstore.com/product/bcg-lightroom-course-1-the-library-module-file-handling-importing/

There are a lot of good resources online. Here is one link, and folks here will answer even the most basic question with no judgement.

https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html

Many thanks, I'll certainly follow your advice.

 

[David Berry]

I have decided to get Lr and Ps.

Maurie…

One more thing: when you subscribe to Adobe's Photography Plan you will receive the following programs:

• Bridge—Br
• Photoshop—Ps
• Lightroom—Lr
• Lightroom Classic—LrC

I strongly advise that you choose Lightroom Classic—LrC rather than Lightroom—Lr.

• With Lightroom—Lr your photos are stored in the cloud (on Adobe's computer system) and may be edited anywhere and on any device (computer, phone, tablet; not necessarily your own).
  
  Lightroom—Lr has the feel of a typical mobile device app.
  
  Online help for Lightroom—Lr is so limited that you might not be able to find it.
  
  
• With Lightroom Classic—LrC your photos are stored in folders (on your own computer system).
  
  Online help for Lightroom Classic—LrC is unlimited.

… David

 

[Maurie_S]

Thanks David, I haven't yet purchased,, but that was the way I intended to go.

But while watching some Photoshop YT videos a Luminar Neo popped up, and got me interested

Maybe a little more expensive , but could be easier to get to grips with, for my 77y. brain, It seems to have a lot of AI type features.

I'll do a little more homework .

Maybe others could comment on Luminar Neo!!

 

[AlanB313]

This image - Z9, 800/6.3 pf.View attachment 72793 - is really beautiful. I think its much better than the selected photo. Everyone thinks (me included) that one needs a single bird against a clean background - I think you just showed me that this is simply not true and furthermore - we need to stop being like everyone else as every second photo looks the same. Well done on that photo.

I agree, I really like this photo a lot, as it shows the community behavior of the Godwit flying in a flock, which they do all the time. The personality of the bird(s) shows. The other birds make a good BG, and the light is nice on the focus bird. I also agree that departing from the "single bird, clean background" style opens up creativity.
I personally need to work on my editing skills but I must admit I dislike working on my photos at the computer. I'd much rather be out shooting. So often I don't do it. I tried to get a flock of shorebirds when they flushed like this and tried to include their habitat as a recognizable yet blurred background. Only partially successful, still learning...
Thanks for posting, it helped me to think through things I'm working on.
Nice! --Alan

 

[AlanB313]

I agree, I really like this photo a lot, as it shows the community behavior of the Godwit flying in a flock, which they do all the time. The personality of the bird(s) shows. The other birds make a good BG, and the light is nice on the focus bird. I also agree that departing from the "single bird, clean background" style opens up creativity.
I personally need to work on my editing skills but I must admit I dislike working on my photos at the computer. I'd much rather be out shooting. So often I don't do it. I tried to get a flock of shorebirds when they flushed like this and tried to include their habitat as a recognizable yet blurred background. Only partially successful, still learning...
Thanks for posting, it helped me to think through things I'm working on.
Nice! --Alan

Here's two images. One has a LOT of birds, maybe too many. A peregrine freaked them out and I only had moments to react. The flock stayed tight, maybe thinking safety is in numbers.
I think I was working on perhaps the same thing as you? At least one bird in focus that can be seen well, with it's flock as background. These are busier than I want, but I had to react quick.

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

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

 

[Winston Churchill (Sir)]

The above 2 images tells a story. I especially like the yellow legs dangling all over the place in no 2.
yes one can edit - and edit - but a tad contrast would go a long way.

 

[BarryRic]

Thanks David, I haven't yet purchased,, but that was the way I intended to go.

But while watching some Photoshop YT videos a Luminar Neo popped up, and got me interested

Maybe a little more expensive , but could be easier to get to grips with, for my 77y. brain, It seems to have a lot of AI type features.

I'll do a little more homework .

Maybe others could comment on Luminar Neo!!

Have a look at ON1 PhotoRAW 2024. You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[bleirer]

Personally, because of your familiarity with Elements you would be better off starting with the $10 a month Adobe photography plan. You get Lightroom in both a desktop and a cloud version, Photoshop, and some other programs. Lightroom is both the organizer and a top quality editor. It does everything you would want to do except it doesn't do layers. It does do easy masking for selective edits for example selecting the sky and working on adjusting that separately. A lot of folks use Lightroom only. But if you need layers it also includes Photoshop, which is very similar layout to Elements. It is the standard other programs compare themselves to. The two programs work hand in hand. Good luck!

 

[AlanB313]

The above 2 images tells a story. I especially like the yellow legs dangling all over the place in no 2.
yes one can edit - and edit - but a tad contrast would go a long way.

Thanks, I'll try that. I'm trying to learn editing techniques like the OP, so the discussion helps.

I'm first concentrating on putting myself in the right place for better light and BG, and getting better with exposure and composition. These long-billed dowitchers discovered the peregrine above them and burst into action.

Telling a story is why I liked the OP's 2nd set of photos of the Godwits! I think "telling a story" makes our images more powerful even if my technique is lacking.