Buff-bellied hummingbird Posing III
Here I sharpened and slightly brightened the hummingbird and I blended in the flowers on the right by about 40% to reduce their impact and to keep the bird as the main subject.
Buff-bellied hummingbird Posing II
On this modified version of the original I cropped the image more to remove the flowers on the right and I added sharpening to the face of the bird.
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I took this image in May while on a 10 day photography trip to Costa Rica. It stormed one day and I was stuck in my rental house. Fortunately, there was a covered porch overlooking a garden at my rental house and I was able to set up my tripod, sit down and drink coffee and wait for something to show up. I was set up to capture this hummingbird feeding on a flower, however, I quickly repositioned my camera when this scene came about. (This explains the high shutter speed used).
Specific Feedback
I feel like I was very lucky to capture the bird with the circular bokeh behind it. I tried to darken the white on the left and right side of the image to keep the attention on the subject. I feel that keeping the flowers on the right completes a little story of the bird scouting out his next meal.
I would love to hear comments on the crop choice, keeping the bright flowers on the right, and any other suggestions on composition or processing.
Technical Details
Camera: Canon R5 on tripod
Lens: Canon EF 600mm L F4
Settings: ISO-3200, 600mm, f/4.0, 1/4000sec
Noise removed in DXO Pure Raw 2, LR and PS
Very nice detail and light on the bird, with a nice pose. The flowers on the right are not pretty and only serve as a distraction, pulling the eye away from the subject. The light just behind the bird is perfect and all the environment you need. Crop this one – a lot!
Well, I get what you were going for, but think the wee bird gets overwhelmed by the mass of OOF foliage. There is such visual weight there and so little to go on in terms of what’s in focus, that it grabs too much attention IMO. If the flowers were less massy or much smaller in the frame, I think you’d have something.
The bird itself is so nicely framed in that big bokeh ball that I don’t know if you need more stage dressing for it. Great eye contact and the colors are so lovely. You could consider bringing up the exposure int he eye and face just a touch. What a gorgeous little creature. We only have one kind of hummingbird here so any other species is a treat to see!
I agree with your assessment of the environment/story.
I also agree that the amount of OOF flowers is a bit much and it tends to leave the Hummer seeming a bit insignificant in the frame but they are small birds and they are such a wonderful part of nature.
Here’s an alternate crop that might work to add continuity, the color of the feathers closely match the foliage colors and that itself adds continuity in my view.
Maybe the thin dark orange frame will help to bring the bird and foliage together?
I sharpened the Hummer just a bit as well just for the heck of it.
Amazing capture of this beautiful bird. I see what others are saying about the flowers on the right side. I do like something that shows the environment a little, so the crop that @Merv did. Over a beautiful photo, @Willemd
Hi Willem. A very nice shot of the hummingbird, and I like the idea of it looking off to the flower. I think you did a great job with the bokeh circles. I agree with the other comments that he masses of color, and in my case, particularly the green in the lower right, pull too much attention from the hummingbird. I do like Merv’s compromise, though I wish the bloom head had been in that dark red stage of the one above it-the yellows tend to grab a lot of attention. This is one of those images that you can play with a lot to try to get the most out of it.
Thank you @Diane_Miller , @Kris_Smith , @Merv , @Dean_Salman , @Allen_Brooks for sharing your thoughts and ideas! I feel I am really benefitting from all the slightly varied ideas. My first thought was why not go simple and completely remove the flowers. I will show this above, but it seems like it is better with something on the right. I don’t want to just copy what @Merv did, so I plan to follow @Dennis_Plank 's advice and ‘play with it a lot to try to get the most out of it’!
