The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I was at the beach photographing birds and came across a group of beach hoppers. I thought the backlighting was interesting and did my best to get low and get a photo of the fast moving crustacean.
Specific Feedback
I increased the contrast a lot during post production to bring out the hopper’s internal features. I may have gone too far (?). I don’t want it to look too fake.
Excellent job getting this image, Stewart. I don’t know how big these are, but I suspect they’re quite tiny, so this is quite an accomplishment. The contrast does look like it’s been pushed a bit far, but it’s giving the effect of strong sunlight backlighting and coming through the hopper. You might try selecting just the body of the critter and increasing contrast more there than on the appendages to obtain a bit more of a realistic effect.
Stewart, this is an outstanding look at this beach hopper, with it’s entire body nicely sharp. I’m assuming that it’s Megalorchestia californiana, which is about 1 inch long, based on the red antennae (thanks to Wikipedia). Getting it back lit lets it’s internal structure show nicely (Wikipedia says it’s semi-transparent).
Thanks for the feedback. I just reposted the photo. I lowered the brightness/highlights of the legs and did a subtle overall contrast/highlight adjustment. I do think it looks more realistic now so thank you for the great suggestions!
Thanks for nice comment! Yes, it is Megalorchestia. I believe it is primarily nocturnal, so I was fortunate to get a photo during the day. They also move surprisingly fast for their 1" size. I got a bit of work-out following it around.
