House Finch and Re-post x2

I took a page out of @Dennis_Plank 's book (partially). Placed a branch on the bird feeder and positioned myself with a tripod fairly close. No blind like Dennis has, but after a while the birds get comfortable with my presence and ignore me.

What technical feedback would you like if any? Any

What artistic feedback would you like if any? Any

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Canon 7DII; Sigma 150-600 at 600 mm; 1/640; f7.1; ISO 250; Tripod

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

A nice pose, indeed, Allen. Dennis is certainly a hard act to follow, in my humble opinion. I have learned a great deal from him. I love the head turn on this little finch. On my monitor, there are some highlights that look blown out on the perch especially, but even some of the feathers. Love the background that you have, it makes him stand out nicely.

Thanks, Shirley. I noticed the perch after I posted. Always something!

Here’s a repost with the whites/highlights reduced.

Definitely like the re-post better with the darkened perch. I think the image feels out of balance with the amount of space above the bird and no space below the perch. I think it would look better with a different crop.

Nice pose and perch, Allen and the detail looks fine. I’m not sure what’s going on, but it looks like there’s too much saturation/contrast to my eye.

Nice catch Allen. I like the reposted perch with the highlights muted. Nice background I could see cropping some off the top and reducing exposure further on the bird.

Allen, this is nice, and I like the repost with the highlights pulled back. Great sharpness in the bird and a beautiful background. Not sure if this was planned or coincidence, but I like the placement of the OOF yellow circular area behind the bird’s head.

I agree with Keith about the crop, specifically that the perch is awkwardly cut off on the bottom. If you have more below in your original, I think that would work nicely.

Thanks to @Keith_Bauer, @Dennis_Plank, @Allen_Sparks, and @Craig_Moreau for their input. Here’s a second re-post taking into account your suggestions. The yellow ‘aureole’ was a pleasant coincidence.

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Allen: This an interesting pose with a great background and light. The final repost is a big improvement over the original, but image still looks a little over-sharpened and contrasty. I notice there is a fair bit if noise in the finch - not sure if it is from sharpening or present in the original (likely the former from your tech details). I also noticed the little green patch between the finch and the perch also has a little bit of noise in it. Not sure how particular you are, but that should be easy to take care of.