Green Crowned Brilliant

Here is another attempt at Hummingbird photography, this time with a multi-flash set up. This is the first time I’ve ever attempted to photograph hummingbirds with the multiflash set up. All of the multiflash photography was done under a covered pavilion open to the front and sides. Although it was raining on and off and overcast it had little bearing on the exposures. The only real issue was the texture of the background utilized. It had a tendency to be quite splotchy and required blurring the background in postprocessing.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Iso-400, 300 mm PF, F 18, 250th, D 500, handheld with an on camera flash, five multiflash set up with artificial background, full frame
(If backgrounds have been removed, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

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You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.

This is the best of the flash hummingbirds you’ve posted, I think, David. There’s just a hint of flash evident, but it’s not at all obtrusive. I particularly like the way the plant came out. Exposure is excellent and your post processing of the background is excellent. I’m surprised they didn’t have blurrier backgrounds. These kinds of f-stops would make it difficult with anything else.

David, this is gorgeous. I would suggest opening up the shadow a little more especially with the bird. Also, there seems to be almost a halo around the bird that I would consider tuning a little bit. It’s easy to make a selection around the bird and if you just adjust using a curve layer and mask it carefully you can get a pretty decent result. Here is my 2-minute attempt on this.

An excellent job with the background work David. I like the position of the hummer on the plant and the composition.
I think Adhika’s edit works well.