Critique Style Requested: Initial Reaction
Please share your immediate response to the image before reading the photographer’s intent (obscured text below) or other comments. The photographer seeks a genuinely unbiased first impression.
Questions to guide your feedback
Is the forehead too white?
Other Information
Please leave your feedback before viewing the blurred information below, once you have replied, click to reveal the text and see if your assessment aligns with the photographer. Remember, this if for their benefit to learn what your unbiased reaction is.
Image Description
As Europeans are thrilled to see an American Cardinal, an American like me was thrilled to see this lovely little Blue Tit in northern Finland. Its vibrant colors relegate its distant cousin, our Chickadee, to the back row of any beauty contest.
Technical Details
Sony a1, Sony 200-600mm at 540mm, 1/400th at f/6.3, ISO 1600.
1 Like
Hi Charles, forehead whiteness looks a tad bright to me but not overwhelming. Critical focus seems to be on the lower body of the bird and not the head/eye. I like the perch with the bird on the raised knob. Think you could add more room on the right. Nice capture.
1 Like
A beauty. To me, the eye seems pretty sharp. I like the perch and the background. Agree with a bit more room on the right for the bird to look into.
1 Like
I love everything about this image - the perch, light, color. Wonderful shot. Eye is sharp enough of me.
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Re more room on the right…Following the rule of thirds, I put the eye in the crosshairs of the lower left corner of the upper right quadrant. But in this case, it appears that the rule of thirds doesn’t work that well.
The focus issue is minor, for me, compared to the beauty of the bird. with a very nice perch and BG. I agree the perch could be darkened at the base, and I would remove the brighter area in the ULC.
The NR/sharpening has gone a bit farther than I think was needed, bordering on an artificial look most visible on the yellow feathers.
The rule of thirds works way less than 1/3 of the time. Centering the eye right-to-left (or close to it) is often a good strategy with a shot like this. Lovely catch!!
2 Likes
