Teton Moose with suggested edits

Image Critiques Wildlife Critiques
1

20231004-_DSC2312-Enhanced-NR-Edit.jpg
20231004-_DSC2312-Enhanced-NR-Edit.jpg1701×2200 1.95 MB

Original

20231004-_DSC2312-Enhanced-NR-Edit-2
20231004-_DSC2312-Enhanced-NR-Edit-21780×2300 2.19 MB

Edited

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

This was another image from my recent rip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks a few weeks ago. The moose were out in full force and I was fortunate enough to see 11 moose in one day. Incredible. There were fall colors still hanging on so I tried to frame this one up with some colors in the background. This is one of two bull moose that were actually facing off with each other. I’ll post another image with both of them in a stare down when I get around to editing it. As always, let me know your thoughts on this and if there’s anything I can do to improve it. Thanks for taking a look.

Technical Details

Z9, 800mm lens, ISO 4000, f/6.3, 1/800, hand held, manual exposure

2 Likes
2

Wonderful pose with great detail! The OOF FG elements act as a nice frame, with the same colors and soft focus in the BG. My only thought would be to wonder about a tiny bit more detail in the darks (i.e. Shadows slider in raw) since the animal is so dark against a fairly bright BG. But just a little…

1 Like
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Thanks, Diane. This is once again the same issue I am having as my Teton post where I am about 1/3 to 1/2 a stop dark on all images posted. I generally just add about .4 of exposure to every post but I forgot on these last 2. Any ideas on what would cause this? I am processing in LR. I always convert to sRGB before exporting. Thanks again.

4

Ah, great encounter. A majestic animal. I love the pose and the soft colors in the FG and BG. No need to change anything for me.

5

Great setting and wonderful subject !
The bokeh here is so wonderful ! This can make a nice cover image.
I would prefer to have a touch more room at the bottom.

6

Thanks so much for your comments and suggestions @Diane_Miller , @Han_Schutten , and @JRajput.

I have added a revised edit with slightly more canvas at the bottom and around edges and also I added a little bit of shadow detail to the Moose. This is almost full frame now.

1 Like
7

Yes – a very good image made even better!

I asked a couple of questions about the exposure change on the Teton thread.

1 Like
8

Really beautiful portrait. I think the extra shadow detail in the second image enhances it quite a bit. The creamy bokeh is really amazing and I do really like the colors that highlight the season in which this was shot. Regarding the crop, I personally feel I prefer the first more than the second as it feels a bit more immediate.

1 Like
9

@JRajput , thank you again. Wow! I very much appreciate it.

1 Like