The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
One of my favorite subjects to shoot is a male northern flicker and I happened to get this guy posing in a nice sunny spot one morning.
Specific Feedback
I am wondering if I got the left/right cropping about right. I thought that centering it was best splitting the difference between his body facing right, and his head facing left. What say you?
Technical Details
Z9, 180-600 lens, Nikon 1.4 TC, monopod, 1/1250th, f 8.0, 750mm, ISO 1800, cropped to 2408 x 2872
Critique Template
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Nice image of the flicker on a very photogenic perch, Dave. For my taste, I think I’d pare a bit off the right side, though not too much or it would get too close to the end of the perch and you want to leave a little room between it and the edge. The light is excellent in this image. You might paint over (or use Diane’s method of 50% opacity cloning) to lessen the impact of the lighter streaks in the background.
This is an excellent shot of a flicker. I like the pose and it’s nice to get those tail feathers showing. Interesting perch as well. I had exactly the same thought as Dennis about using Diane’s cloning trick on the background.
Hi Dave
I agree with Dennis and Allen on the framing. The background is less distracting, to me, than the saturation on the perch, in the left side of the frame. Have said the I like the overall look of this photograph.
Peter
Dave, this is a really nice image with a great pose from the bird and perfect light. Detail is fine, and the perch is very interesting.
From here, the yellows along the branch and the head of the bird seem a little over-saturated. I also might consider moving the bird a bit to the right, if you have room with a looser crop.
The white area above the head is a bit distracting , as well, from this fine image.
Wonderful catch – I can’t get anywhere near these guys! I’ll add my vote for Diane’s treatment of the brighter OOF branches. Do a subject selection and refine it in quick mask mode (zoomed way in) to make it perfect in the head area (and near wherever else you want to clone, like below the perch), then inverse it and clone way!
