Black-capped Chickadee and re-post

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

Black-capped Chickadee-NPN2
Black-capped Chickadee-NPN21545×1932 301 KB

Black-capped Chickadee-NPN.jpg
Black-capped Chickadee-NPN.jpg1546×1932 842 KB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Not sure what it has in its mouth, but that made the image for me.

Specific Feedback

Any thoughts appreciated.

Technical Details

Canon R5; 100-500 with 1.4 TC at 700 mm; 1/3200 at. f10, +1/3 EV; ISO 4000. (Don’t recall why the settings were what they are, maybe hoping for a bird in flight shot.)

Critique Template

Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.

  • Vision and Purpose:
  • Conceptual:
  • Emotional Impact and Mood:
  • Composition:
  • Balance and Visual Weight:
  • Depth and Dimension:
  • Color:
  • Lighting:
  • Processing:
  • Technical:
2 Likes
2

Allen - Nice catch of this little cutie! Looks like some kind of small nut or seed pod. Great pose, bright eye, and nice BG. I do wish he’d flashed you a bit of tail, though. (Wishing is easy)
I’m almost always set for flying birds, although it occasionally screws up a close shot.

1 Like
3

What a cutie he is, Allen, and catching him with the seed or whatever it is in his beak is a nice addition.

1 Like
4

I agree with you Allen. This is really a great image with the little pod in it’s beak.

1 Like
5

Chickadees are always cute subjects, Allen, and this is no exception with the seed being a nice touch.

1 Like
6

A nice pose but looks like it was a little problematic in focus. I’m afraid the cutout for the BG is showing.

7

Hi Diane, Not sure what you mean by cutout. This isn’t a composite, that was the actual background. It is heavily cropped and ran through DxO.

8

Under the belly between the legs and just to our left of the right leg these are brighter yellow areas that indicate some sort of hard-edged mask. Maybe not a cutout. The general outline of the body just doesn’t look normal – it looks like a feathered selection of some sort. (Maybe you used a selection to lighten the bird?)

There is also an odd feathered area around the toes. Some piece of processing has not lived up to its promises. Even with a heavy crop and high ISO, your sensor and lens gave you better information to work with.

9

Hi Allen
The overall eye contact, framing and dinner make for a very nice photograph. Allen what setting did you use on DXO? (is it the standalone denoise or the one in DXO PhotoLab)
Peter

10

Thanks, @Peter_Morrissey . I use DxO pure raw.

11

Here’s a re-post based on @Diane_Miller 's comments. Basically started over again. I think the re-post looks better.

12

Repost definitely looks better, Allen. Much more subtle adjustments and the whites look softer.

1 Like
13

Yes, much better. The issue of the brighter yellow between the legs is best addressed by some old-fashioned elbow grease. In PS, go to quick mask mode and zoom way in and carefully draw a soft-edged mask that overlaps into the legs but not into the BG beyond them. Use a big brush to fill in most of the area (you can slop into the belly a bit as there is not much yellow there, but go to a very small brush size in the legs. Probably keep it pretty sharp at the stick. Then hit the quick-mask icon again to have a selection and use it to make a Selective Color or Hue-Sat adjustment and dial down the yellows to match the nearby area. Then you can use the brush to tweak the mask edges if needed.

You can use the same technique to lighten a bird, keeping the soft edges of the mask inside the body and use a curves to lighten. It will look much more natural than some auto-selection that tries to go right to the edges, and you get a slight 3D effect in the bargain. And it’s editable forever in the layered master file.

1 Like