Honest critique appreciated
- Thread starter herjak
- Start date
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I like the mood and light. If this was my photo I would crop off the three birds and lens flared spot on the right. I think it would give better balance. Actually, even just cropping the bird farthest on the right might work, too. I would also maybe let the shadows go just a tad darker to make it close to a silhouette. As is always the case when I give ideas like this, I realize that after the changes are made it might not look quite the way I imagined. Just throwing out some ideas, here. Regardless, this is a very nice shot. The orange light and mist give it a magical quality. I will be in Bosque in a few days and this shot is hyping me up for the trip. 
Nice shot. I agree with Woodyg3 above about the 3 birds on the right. The mood is really nice here.
Besides the crop and shadows maybe add some grain to mute the highlights in the sun or clone the sky from the far right, if that’s your thing.
herjak
Member
Thank you all for the suggestions and I have applied some of them here. I went to an 8.5 x 11 size as the 16 x 9 format did not work. I also increased the shadows for a more silhouette look. When I added grain, I thought it lost some of the impact. I do think it looks better now. Again thank you all.
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raptor photo
Well-known member
Love it! The second crop is much better. I'd see if the light can take on a more orange cast, feel that would improve it even more.
I like the backlighting and the mood and the story it tells. The silhouette of the birds on the right and the partial silhouette of the main subjects works, and the glow around the rim of feathers is nice. I guess I would clone away some of the stray grasses seeking a cleaner look without disrupting the vibe.
One distracting thing to me is the blown out areas within the main grasses. The blown out sky adds to the feeling, but if the raw has anything to give to selectively pull down those blown out spots near the subjects. It's nice that they are bright, just need some detail. They kind of pop out as negative space becoming positive. That might be a job for photoshop but you could try it in curves to pull back the whites in that area only.
Nice shot overall!
One distracting thing to me is the blown out areas within the main grasses. The blown out sky adds to the feeling, but if the raw has anything to give to selectively pull down those blown out spots near the subjects. It's nice that they are bright, just need some detail. They kind of pop out as negative space becoming positive. That might be a job for photoshop but you could try it in curves to pull back the whites in that area only.
Nice shot overall!
herjak
Member
I am sorry but the shot was taken not at Bosco but at a state reserve about an hour north at Bernardo Waterfowl Mangement Area. It was recommended to us by the rangers at Bosco as the number of birds we saw when we were there left us wanting more. Bernardo Waterfowl Mangement Area had many and we found them to be closer and more active especially in the early morning. Just a note to bring warm gear as one morning it was 5 degrees so be prepared.
radal
New member
10 +++