Please critique my beginner pictures

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antoine2022

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Hi,
I started wildlife photography a few months ago. I didn't have much time to go shooting (10 times max) so I'm looking for reviews to improve myself as much as possible and apply in the field when I can go out

Thanks
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antoine2022 said:
The quality of the images on the forum is really bad, does anyone know how I can change that?
Click to expand...
If you're processing your images in Lightroom then in the Export dialog box make sure the following is set:

- Output file type jpeg
- Color space sRGB
- Size, no larger than 1200x800 pixels
- Enable Sharpen for Screen

If you're not using Lightroom for image processing, what tool are you using as there are similar settings in most tools or steps you can take to achieve similar results.
 
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DRwyoming said:
If you're processing your images in Lightroom then in the Export dialog box make sure the following is set:

- Output file type jpeg
- Color space sRGB
- Size, no larger than 1200x800 pixels
- Enable Sharpen for Screen

If you're not using Lightroom for image processing, what tool are you using as there are similar settings in most tools or steps you can take to achieve similar results.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I'm using Adobe Lightroom (not Lightroom classic) so I don't have the ability to change the size of the export pictures when exporting but I can try in Photoshop if it is the same ?
 
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antoine2022 said:
Thank you. I'm using Adobe Lightroom (not Lightroom classic) so I don't have the ability to change the size of the export pictures when exporting but I can try in Photoshop if it is the same ?
Click to expand...
The user interface and dialog changes between LR Classic and LR but they both support image resizing and things like sharpening during the export process. Here's an article that explains how to do it in both versions of LR: https://photographylife.com/how-to-properly-resize-images-in-lightroom

BTW, very nice image set and a long way from beginner wildlife photos. Nice work!
 
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These images are far from beginner. People usually shoot for years before they start to include negative space and start paying attention to the rule of thirds, if they ever do at all. Also shooting from ground level is a great way to set your images apart, which you're already doing. I especially like the first one, very creative. Nice work!
 
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Hobbzz said:
These images are far from beginner. People usually shoot for years before they start to include negative space and start paying attention to the rule of thirds, if they ever do at all. Also shooting from ground level is a great way to set your images apart, which you're already doing. I especially like the first one, very creative. Nice work!
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Thank you, appreciate that.
I feel that the birds pictures lack emotions, do you agree?
 
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antoine2022 said:
I feel that the birds pictures lack emotions, do you agree?
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Having shot many thousands of bird images I'd say it is tough to convey the kind of emotion in bird photos as you might with say a cute young mammal or even a powerful adult mammal. There are exceptions like some shots of chicks or some bird interaction shots that might convey more emotion but a lot of bird photos don't grab the emotions in the same way many mammal shots might.

That said, there are many possible dimensions for good or even great wildlife images including all the normal photographic things like interesting light, good composition, the interaction of color, action, the sense of tranquility, intrigue or other aspects of working photos. From that standpoint I think you ticked a lot of boxes with these images that are: well composed, shot in nice light, have good connection to the subject (very good head positions especially in those first two bird shots giving good eye connection to the viewer) shot from good perspectives making the subject pop and the background recede, good background control in general and overall very nice images.

Keep putting in field time with birds and other critters and you'll get those high emotion shots when the subject does something really interesting but I'd say these shots work on a lot of levels.
 
antoine2022 said:
Thank you. I'm using Adobe Lightroom (not Lightroom classic) so I don't have the ability to change the size of the export pictures when exporting but I can try in Photoshop if it is the same ?
Click to expand...
If you want to export from photoshop you can use file/export as. In the dialog you can choose jpeg, your pixel dimensions, and click a checkbox to convert to srgb and imbed the srgb profile, as well as get a slider for quality (you see the approx file size upper left as you change the jpeg quality slider.
 
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These photos are very good! Great job getting low and remaining on sun angle.
For number one, all you should do it tone down the highlights during editing.
For number 2 and 3, I would make sure to pay attention to the foreground and background to get any distracting elements out of the way.
For the last one, next time try not to clip off the edge of the wing reflection. I would crop it closer since you clipped the wing.
But again, great shots! I would be happy to have all of these.
 
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Those are very good photographs. It's very difficult to get emotions in bird photos since their faces are fixed and normally display no expression. The only emotion I ever get in bird photos is in a display between adults or feeding of the young. Mammals are very different.
 
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DRwyoming said:
Having shot many thousands of bird images I'd say it is tough to convey the kind of emotion in bird photos as you might with say a cute young mammal or even a powerful adult mammal. There are exceptions like some shots of chicks or some bird interaction shots that might convey more emotion but a lot of bird photos don't grab the emotions in the same way many mammal shots might.

That said, there are many possible dimensions for good or even great wildlife images including all the normal photographic things like interesting light, good composition, the interaction of color, action, the sense of tranquility, intrigue or other aspects of working photos. From that standpoint I think you ticked a lot of boxes with these images that are: well composed, shot in nice light, have good connection to the subject (very good head positions especially in those first two bird shots giving good eye connection to the viewer) shot from good perspectives making the subject pop and the background recede, good background control in general and overall very nice images.

Keep putting in field time with birds and other critters and you'll get those high emotion shots when the subject does something really interesting but I'd say these shots work on a lot of levels.
Click to expand...
Good advices, thank you very much!
 
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raptor photo said:
These photos are very good! Great job getting low and remaining on sun angle.
For number one, all you should do it tone down the highlights during editing.
For number 2 and 3, I would make sure to pay attention to the foreground and background to get any distracting elements out of the way.
For the last one, next time try not to clip off the edge of the wing reflection. I would crop it closer since you clipped the wing.
But again, great shots! I would be happy to have all of these.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I will apply your advices the next time I go out
 
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Woody Meristem said:
Those are very good photographs. It's very difficult to get emotions in bird photos since their faces are fixed and normally display no expression. The only emotion I ever get in bird photos is in a display between adults or feeding of the young. Mammals are very different.
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Yeah I agree it's hard with birds but I will try my best to get something better
 
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I seem to remember some years ago downloading from BCG some of Steve’s photoshop “actions” that he created for resizing and sharpening for using images on the web. They were and are still very good. I imported them into my Photoshop CC software In the actions palette. Backed up, they still work in later versions of Photoshop. Worth trying them out.
 
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The exposures and compositions are fine. I would prefer a little more of the animal's face in the first one. Nice low perspective in the bird shots. If these are beginner photos I look forward to what you do down the road.
 
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You have a good start and just practice as much as you can. Pay close attention to what your camera is showing you for results and which you feel is what you like.
 
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DRwyoming said:
The user interface and dialog changes between LR Classic and LR but they both support image resizing and things like sharpening during the export process. Here's an article that explains how to do it in both versions of LR: https://photographylife.com/how-to-properly-resize-images-in-lightroom

BTW, very nice image set and a long way from beginner wildlife photos. Nice work!
Click to expand...
Dan - great article. I'm not a Lightroom user but almost everything in that article is available in the tool I use most (Affinity Photo). In Affinity, the export box shows an approximation of the file size that will be exported. I tweak the quality slider until the file size is where it needs to be for the intended purpose. Unless one is pixel peeping at 200% or something, I have seen no difference between 100% and 85% quality slider settings.

Thanks for sharing.
 
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Hi,
I started wildlife photography a few months ago. I didn't have much time to go shooting (10 times max) so I'm looking for reviews to improve myself as much as possible and apply in the field when I can go out

Thanks
Click to expand...

Antoine -
first your images are very good. Well composed and well executed. Since you asked for critique, I hope this is constructive.
1) in the first image (impala, antelope, not sure). I love the peeking around the tree pose. It is more interesting than a full on broadside shot. Going with black and white worked. I would probably darken the highlights some as the white blobs are a little distracting. With the B&W treatment, darkening them to a more neutral gray should be pretty easy with no worry to preserve color or odd color casts that can come from darkening highlights.

2) on the birds, this may be an artifact of downsizing for the website but I would encourage you to be mindful of the highlights. Some of the white areas on the birds are almost washed out beyond recovery. Of the birds, your last one is probably the best exposure... at least to my eye.

Again, my intent here is not to be critical but to be constructive. Your images are well done and I would have been proud to have called any of these mine.

Jeff
 
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