The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I came upon this guy suddenly while hiking. Although we could have both been startled, it seemed instead that we were just curious about each other.
Specific Feedback
I want the image to express both the unexpectedness of the encounter and the mutual curiosity that to me reflects the intelligence and individuality of elk. So any suggestions to emphasize these points are particularly welcome but all feedback is appreciated!
I like the ambiguity where the elk’s fur blends into the vegetation and this seemed to work better in B&W than color. What do you think? Does this work for you? For processing, I lightened the shadows on the elk’s face and cropped to emphasize the feeling of sudden closeness (although in reality with a 400 mm lens, I wasn’t that close).
Technical Details
Canon EOS RP + EF 100-400 f/45-5.6L IS USM @ 400 mm
1/400 s, f/5.6, ISO400
I like the conversion to B & W since that helps the elk to stand out better. From my point of view the elk antlers would have need a bit more room at the top and as you already noticed, the shade around the eyes is a bit unlucky…
I think the image quite well captures your intentions. It is obvious to me how surprised the elk was.
The BG is very bright and distracts us from the subject, especially the eyes. I am not sure how much more you can recover from the elk’s face in the shadow. On the other hand, you could try to burn the BG some more and eliminate a lot of its brightness. That contrast could make the elk’s face more visible and allow you to open the shadows on its face just a bit more. The strong bright spots on the left create difficulty in seeing the elk’s face. I also agree with Cay-Uwe’s suggestion about adding a bit more space above the antlers.
This is a beautiful image. I hope you can try further edits to bring out more of the elk’s face.
Cay-Uwe, thank you for your comments! Unfortunately I don’t have any more real estate at the top of the image to give the antlers more room. Do you have any suggestions for HOW I might be able to reduce the impact of the unfortunate shadows on the face, especially on the right?
Egidio, thank you! I see what you are saying about the bright BG. I’ll see what I can do in Photoshop to burn the BG and accentuate the contrast with the elk’s face. Unfortunately that’s all I have in the frame at the top, so I can’t open it up there. But I’ll make some more edits when I have time and will repost my revised image. (Edits take a while because I’m struggling to become proficient in photoshop, so any suggestions for learning resources would also be appreciated).
Cathy, I totally understand about the time it takes to get things changed. No rush, of course. As for the other part of your note regarding proficiency in PS, join the club. I am not one who uses PS much. I know a few things, but through the years I have become a whole lot more proficient in LR. With the recent advances in LR, including the latest update with Point Color and intersecting masks in previous updates, I really often think that I am satisfied with LR only. I am not a professional photographer. All my photos are for personal use on social media and screen resolutions. I recently got into TK9 in PS and am slowly learning more things with PS. However, the fact remains that so far nearly everything I see done in PS I can do in LR. Maybe it’s just my ignorance in PS.
Very interesting frame I like the dazed eyes !
I agree with @Cay-Uwe_Kulzer, some more canvas on top may help. This kind of frame calls for luminosity masks to control the bright highlights.
@Cay-Uwe_Kulzer@Egídio@JRajput Thank you all for your comments and suggestions! In the revised version, I’ve darkened the background a bit (maybe not enough?) and further lightened the shadows on the elk’s face. I used the opportunity to experiment with generative fill in Photoshop to open up the image at the top. It was interesting but it felt too creepy for me so I kept the original canvas.
Egidio – thanks for your encouragement/understanding about PS. I am endeavoring to learn Lumenzia for lumenosity masking but have not progressed very far yet. I made the changes on this image by a curves adjustment layer on the inverse of the subject (with many refinements). It’s a slow process but I reckon I’ll get better and more efficient with time.
Cathy, what an improvement these edits created. I really like the revised photo. One thing I forgot to mention previously is how nice the elk’s neck blends in so nicely with the BG.
