Early spring, the garter snakes were just coming out to sun themselves and didn’t much care about intruders.
Any feedback is welcome
Nikon D7500, 70-300 mm zoom, ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/320 sec. The subject was brightened in LRC with the brush tool, and some other distracting bits cleaned up. The background may still be too distracting, and the color (or lack thereof) is what it is.
Elizabeth, the sharpness on the snake’s head is very good. To me, the yellow seems too strong, plus a bit of burning-in along the side would be good.
Hi Mark, Thank you so much for the help. I’m attaching the original, and any advice on editing would be most welcome, though there may not be enough to work with. I’m truly an amateur among professionals here, and I appreciate the help!
Elizabeth, the colors and brightness of the snake look very good in this “original”. It’s good to be aware that Adobe’s processing tools routinely add extra saturation, to the point of making things look unreal. I think your crop in the initial post looks good as it moves the snake close to the corner. The bit of green on it’s left is a nice touch. You could burn-in some of the brighter leaves under the snake’s head and to it’s left. That lets the snake get more attention. Usually, when you’re photographing animals, it’s important to get the eye(s) sharp and with a highlight. Here, the eye is “good enough” but could be a bit sharper. It does have a decent highlight along the top edge. I would have used a slightly smaller aperture to get it’s nose sharp also, but that a style call and you should be developing your own style.
Here’s a quick look at what I would try with this photo.
Thank you, Mark. That’s very helpful. I did go overboard, and your subtle edits are much more tasteful. I honestly didn’t have much time to think about settings–the snake came and went pretty quickly! But yes, slightly more of the head in focus would have been good.
