Strolling through Circle B Bar Ranch preserve in November and one of the small creeks was loaded with baby gators. I caught these two nestled together.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I enjoy seeing these two baby gates nestled together, but can’t help but think they may be fighting each other next season. The creek bed was very dark, but I’m not sure I’m happy with how the water looks in this image and would welcome suggestions. Any other thoughts and advice are welcome, too!
Technical Details
Panasonic G9 body with PL 100-400 lens at full 400mm. f/11, 1/250s and ISO640. Processed DXO Photolab for noise reduction, then LR Classic and PS.
The tight composition works well in my opinion and the focus and DOF look great.
These critters do have a way of becoming creatures in a short time
As for the water, you might try creating a mask using a brush above the gators, then reduce exposure and maybe make some others adjustments to get it to match the water at the bottom.
If you need, I’ll give it a try and provide details on how I did it. Just let me know.
Hey Paul, what a cute little cuddle of crocs.
Ok, they aren’t crocs, but I am a slave to alliteration sometimes.
Masking has come a long way in Adobe’s stuff and I think you’ll have an easier time now than you would have had before. In addition to taking down the water behind, I’d have a go at lowering the highlights in the scales, too. Using luminosity masking in either program will do it, but I find that using the TK8 plug in for Photoshop works better with more precision.
You say that it was pretty dim when you took this and so I wonder if you presented something that was closer to those conditions if you might have something even more compelling on your hands. I really love the texture and the color in these guys and I think a darker overall exposure might add some intimacy and mystery. Just more ideas to play with.
Well, they are Crocodilia. So “what a cute compact cuddle of Crocodilia” works for me!
Thank you for the additional thoughts and comments.
On the suggestion of a friend I’ve explored TK8, but I’ve hesitated to dive in due yet due to the huge number of additional buttons on the screen. But your suggestion may just push me over the edge. Geronimo!!
Oh I hear you! It intimidated the heck out of me as well, but I purchased the Video Training Guide by Sean Bagshaw and that helped me a lot. I also have watched a ton of Dave Kelly’s videos and that helped, too. Learning curve flattened!!!
Thanks for coming back in with this. Yes. I really enjoy his videos … just need to find a quiet stretch of time to take in what he’s doing step by step.
