(If backgrounds have been removed, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Welcome to NPN and the Avian forum, Terry. I love the spotlight effect you managed to get here. That shows the first essential characteristic of a wildlife photographer-patience, patience, and more patience! Compositionally, the bird could stand to be a bit more off center-I think I’d crop a bit off the right side and the bottom in this one, but not enough to mess significantly with the spotlight. The bird is rather soft (out of focus), but I’m not seeing anything in the image that is really crisply focused, so it could be motion blur. You didn’t mention what shutter speed you were using, whether the camera was on a tripod, or f this was a large crop, all of which could contribute to the softness. I really like the thought that went into getting this image. Keep them coming-this is a great place to improve your skills.
Thanks for the welcome, Dennis. I’m excited to be here! Wow! Thank you for the in-depth critique! This is exactly why I am exploring joining NPN. I was aware of the softness of the photo, as if it’s slightly out of focus - and it may be. However, contributing factors are that this lens tends to produce soft images when extended to 300mm - especially in low light. I shot this in Av mode, and the camera chose a shutter speed of 1/750 sec. It was, indeed a large crop, and I shot it hand held. I am experimenting with AI Sharpen software, so I dropped this photo in there and played with it, and I think it did help. I then reworked it in Photoshop. I may post the reworked photo. Thank you, again for your thoughtful critique! I’ll be back!
Hi Terry
I think you are see more camera jitter then focus softness. AI Sharpen has a setting for that. Also see if your Photoshop has our camera and lens setting, that will also help. Have fun out there.
Peter
Hey, Peter. Thank you for your input! I was able to sharpen the photo some in AI Sharpen. I wasn’t aware Photoshop had settings for particular cameras and/or lenses. I will check that out! Thanks, again for taking the time to comment.
Terry
