The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
On a recent trip to the Galapagos Islands, I was seeking to photograph a Blue Footed Boobie and was fortunate to photograph them a few times. While visiting San Cristobal Island, I spotted this bird on the harbor in mid day light. With the help of some tutorials from a YouTuber, Christian Möhrle - The Phlog Photography, I was able to present, I believe, a more pleasing image.
Specific Feedback
I am new to bird photograph and looking for constructive commentary on my image.
Technical Details
Nikon Z8 1/500 sec f/8 ISO 400 100-400 mm F4.5/5.6 @400mm
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Very nice, Gary. I’m guessing from your text that the edited version is at the top. You can label them after posting by clicking on the pencil icon just below the “critique template” block and above the first critique. It opens up a straightforward editing area for the text. You’ll find your images represented by some enormous character strings ending in “jpeg”, so they’re easy to find.
I really like what you did to the water, but the booby is feeling a little confined for my personal taste. The vertical composition is nice, I’d just open it a bit in all directions. Detail in the booby is excellent and I like the pose.
Nice! Raw files almost never look optimal. The light on the water caused the shaded side of the bird to be a little underexposed, with loss of detail, and the processed version is a very nice improvement. I also think a slightly looser crop would be good. The water treatment looks good but the mask missed an area just right of the beak. You might (in raw) pull down the Highlights and increase the Whites a bit to look for more detail in the whites. Nice job so far!!
Reducing the highlights slightly will help reduce the impact of the brightest top of the rock and the white areas on the bird. More space at the bottom may also strengthen the comp…Jim
