The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
As opposed to Jerry & George, at least when it comes to these guys. They don’t come very low on trees often, but I noticed an area where they do and sat on a log to wait. I have several photos of this guy, but not his mate who I assume is in the nest with the kids. He is active and forages often and I even caught him just from his bath one time. I like this pose since it is a bit different from the usual woodpecker photos. And you can see a tiny bit of his namesake Red Belly.
Specific Feedback
Well that tree. I know. But it’s the woods, they’re everywhere and there isn’t really a better alternative for a background - it’s all like this. I lightened it as much as I could while keeping it looking reasonably natural. Deal breaker?
Technical Details
Handheld
Lr for basic processing including a crop and some work with masks to even out the highlights and shadows. Pulled down the red saturation somewhat because wow, it was bright. Topaz Sharpen to bring up some detail and knock down noise.
Hey, Kris. Those background shadows are always a nemesis but, it’s the woods - whataya do? The bird is sharp and beautiful and gave you a nice pose. The shadow is noticeable, but not a deal breaker - at least not for me. Nice shot.
Excellent perch and pose, Kris. I love the light on the bird. I think mellowing out that background might make it even better. Sometimes with situations like this I’ll just select a neutral toned area in the background an use it in a low opacity brush to paint over and smooth out gradations in the background. It still leaves the variability, just with less tonal variation.
A very nice pose, a nice tree, good light on the woodpecker and the bird tack sharp. What more do you wish
As you say: there are trees in the wood, also in the BG. I understand that this is not the smooth BG that you would have chosen, but it is not too bad. Interesting suggestion by @Dennis_Plank to paint it over, I never tried that. Made the note!
I downloaded the image and blurred the BG, but that might be too unnatural for you (anything in between is possible as well, of course).
Hi Kris, I like the pose you caught and the sharpness of the bird is great. The original image you posted would be a keeper for me but I like what Han did with the background. Really interesting to see what you are finding amongst the trees.
Thanks @Dennis_Plank, @terryb, @Han_Schutten & @Allen_Sparks - your advice was very helpful and I’ve added a 2nd version in the OP. I struggled with it a bit, but persisted and realized that by adding a black mask to the blur layer and painting it in, I could keep the edges of the bird crisp. No amount of select and mask got that right. Phew.
I was less successful with toning down or altering the color of the trunk itself. I tried a few things and then settled on a TK8 color mask and output that to Paint with Color so I could pick a lighter shade and paint it onto the selection from the color mask. It worked, kinda, but better when I put it into a Lighter Color layer instead of Soft Light or whatever the panel chose. It still isn’t as subdued and pastel as I’d like, so if you have any thoughts on how to achieve that, I’m open to ideas.
It is a darn nice shot even if I do toot my own horn by saying so. I’ve only been seriously trying to photograph birds for a couple of seasons, but the advice from you guys and a bird photographer I admire has helped me get better faster.
I meant to comment on this but got busy. Still am but I’ll share two secrets:
“Paint” with a low-opacity clone brush, not a regular brush. Try making the source very close to the target – almost overlapping – and you’ll “drag” paint just like with a real paintbrush and fade the stroke – assuming it’s not 100%.
If you use the Filter > Blur Gallery > Field Blur, it will stop the blur cleanly at selection lines.
I would have used both those tricks and gotten a more artistic blur – will try later if I have time but try it yourself!
Well worth the effort @Kris_Smith , it definitely is a very nice shot.
I’m a bit surprised by your remark that you couldn’t get your mask or selection right, to keep the bird crisp. I didn’t use PS, but there was no need to make a very precise mask because the area around the bird is already very smooth. I stayed away a bit from the bird and blurred the BG without problem. If you need to select very carefully because you will see the edges of the selection otherwise, it is a different story.
What exactly do you want to achieve with the perch? I see little difference compared to the original post. The trunk is a little less crisp, and there is a very subtle change in hue. In what direction do you want to change more?
Thanks @Diane_Miller - Doh! You are so right about the painting and that’s probably what Dennis meant as well. Oy vey. Some days the old brain just doesn’t cooperate. And I played with a different blur and should have moved onto Field Blur. Clearly more experimentation is needed. Not necessarily on this photo, but in general. So many tools that I don’t even know I have.
I’d like that background tree to be a bit paler, but I’m leaving it for now. I think the blur helps quite a bit and will see how it works on some other bird photos I have in the can.
Thanks @Dennis_Plank - your suggestion was a good one.
