Heron (?) at Isle of Palms

[seh]

Thought this was a good capture but am underwhelmed for some reason--maybe too little contrast, especially around the head, and too soft. Any input is appreciated.

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[Turberticus]

I love Great Blue Herons! They're fun to photograph. For this photo, IMO it needs more room on the left side of the frame. Birds generally need more room in the direction they're looking or flying. The light seems to be pretty harsh. Might want to bring the highlights down. Also, the background is pretty distracting. You can probably clone out the piers on the top of the frame. A lower perspective would have helped as well so you'd have less of the water in focus. The focal length probably doesn't help as the DOF is pretty large at 200mm. Keep shooting!

 

[seh]

Thanks, Turberticus.

 

[JP Onstwedder]

Maybe you could try desaturating the blue water in the background. As it is, it’s brighter than the heron and therefore robs the bird of attention. Great capture though!