The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.
Self Critique
I really like the sharpness of the fox’s face, the fact that he appears to be looking directly at me, and his eyes.
I wonder if I can do more to make the viewer feel the fox staring at them either through crop or some other aspect of post processing.
Creative direction
I want the viewer to ‘feel’ the fox staring at them, but I don’t want to lose the scene altogether. In other words, I want more than just the fox’s face in the image.
Specific Feedback
I would like suggestions regarding the amount of detail, i.e. sharpening in the face and cropping of the image. Are their other things I could do the make the fox and his stare have more impact on the viewer.
Technical Details
Camera: Canon R5 on tripod
Lens: Canon 600mm F/4L
Settings: ISO 640, F/4.0, 1/2500sec
Processed using DxO PRIME 3
Lightroom and Photoshop
Face sharpened with Topaz Sharpen AI
Background darkened and Animal brightened around the face
Description
I had about 20 minutes with this fox as he was busy hunting in a field in Yellowstone National Park. He had just buried what appeared to be a vole and it almost seemed like he was checking to see if I saw where he buried it or maybe he was warning me to stay away from his meal.
Wonderful capture …the stare is definitely the story here and comes through loud and clear. I do find the areas of out-of-focus light and dark in the background and foreground distracting. I am sorry I don’t know how I would deal with that in post. I would consider cropping more tightly as the grass directly in front of the fox tells enough about the habitat.
Sounds like a very fun 20 minutes and a lovely photo as a reward.
What a wonderful opportunity! For me, a crop would be the way to emphasize the stare. Like @Robena.Sirett, I find the dark blobs distracting.
I’m glad you posted a large file size, because it shows an issue with processing. I am very familiar with your camera and lens, and have never gotten this sort of result with them. I have to think that your use of DxO Prime is at fault. How do you interface it with LR? You say you sharpened the face only, and it is definitely overdone, but there are significant issues elsewhere.
You could get a good comparison by doing the minimal tonal work in LR and comparing it at 100%, then doing Topaz DeNoise from PS, if you have that software. Otherwise, try to compare the LR Denoise feature, but probably at less than the default values.
If the details are not sharp enough, you might try Topaz Denoise, but with very careful comparison of the algorithms, and probably then lowering the opacity of the layer. Sharpening is still at a primitive level of development and is done by introducing artifacts that only make things look sharper at some certain image size. Maybe AI will allow a breakthrough someday?
Hi Alexander, Really great moment you captured! I think you could go with a tighter crop also to emphasize the stare if you want but the fox’s intensity was the first thing I noticed when viewing the image as is.
Agree with Diane that there are processing issues from over sharpening. I would think at ISO 640 on a R5, you could just use Smart Sharpen in photoshop assuming the original RAW was relatively sharp. Anyway that’s what I use when my original capture is pretty sharp to begin with.
Based on these I have performed the following:
Starting over from the raw image I:
used the weaker of the two denoise modes in DxO prime (I used the stronger one before, but when comparing to the original image I couldn’t discern any image distortions)
in PS Beta I used the new remove tool to remove a few blades of grass
played with Topaz sharpen levels, PS unsharpen mask, PS smart sharpen and PS highpass filter. I struggle with the subtle differences each one of these impart on the image. In the end I used the PS highpass filter at a very low level. The sharpening was restricted via a mask to just the face.
I brightened the eyes
I added extra sharpening to the eyes
I brightened the face
I can clearly see that my original version was oversharpened. Diane mentioned that there are “significant issues elsewhere”. I hope you can see if these when away with this new version. If they did, then they were definitely caused by using the highest denoise version of DxO PRIME 3.
The new version looks much better, but the enlarged size is too small to really see if the new sharpening method could still be improved further. (Sharpening and NR need to be evaluated at a 100% view.) You have a very nice image and it’s worth getting the best result possible.
Two immediate thoughts: I wonder if mixing DxO, LR and PS can have pitfalls. And I am especially leery of doing a denoise (which can have a softening effect) and then trying to sharpen back. And the High Pass filter is a very old method for pseudo-sharpening that has been replaced by more sophisticated methods.
When I looked at the very large (full-res?) file you posted first, I saw an artifact-like look everywhere that I would not expect. I urge you to make a third try with these simple steps:
Bring the raw file into LR and do any necessary global tonal adjustments. Then if you are comfortable with the radial filter, use it for your desired brightening on the head. If the image is soft at 100%, use Texture very subtly, at a 100% view. Leave sharpening at the defaults.
Open in PS and make a new layer and use Topaz DeNoise if you have it. Viewing various parts of the image at 100%, go through the various algorithms and choose the best one (I usually have the best results with Low Light). Then look at the sharpening and detail recovery sliders – you might add a little detail that is possibly all you can hope to do for sharpening.
Now that it is denoised, make a new layer and try Topaz Sharpen (if you have it) to see if it can do more if still needed. The odds of a good result may not be high. You might need or want to mask this layer just to the face after it’s done. If you don’t have TS, you could try the Camera Raw filter and try the Texture slider, but if you already used it a second pass might not be a great idea.
Thank you @Diane_Miller for taking the time to comment again on my image with such detail. I have Topaz Sharpen and Denoise, so I think I can follow your instructions to the ‘t’.
@Diane_Miller here is what I did:
Starting with the .CR3 file in lightroom:
I made tonal adjustments
I brightened the face using the radial filter
I added a little texture to the face again using the radial filter
I noted that the default sharpening value in LR was 40 and I left that unchanged
5)I went into PS and did a small amount of artifact removal using the PS beta remove tool
I created a new layer and converted it to a smart object and then went into Topaz Denoise. I used the ‘low light’ filter and inside Topaz I selected everything but the area around the fox’s face to apply the denoise to.
I went back into PS and created a new layer and converted it to a smart object. I went into Topaz Sharpen and this time selected the face. The mode was ‘normal’ for sharpening. I added a small amount of sharpening and exited.
I used the ‘curves’ and brightened just the eyes using a mask.
I added my signature and went back to LR and saved as a jpg to post to npn.
I think this is another improvement, with the darker blobs now less prominent, But a direct comparison of the face at 100% is not possible due to the different sizes here. But you can do that and be the best judge.
It sounds like you are quite capable with LR and PS (it’s hard to know what level to speak to when putting out ideas) but I’m confused about your saying you did the Topaz Denoise to everything except the area around the face. If I was going to sharpen the face further, I would want to denoise it first, but just not enough to smooth it out. Low Light will usually do a good job globally. If there are issues with it, they might be in the darkest areas, or sometimes in isolated areas between fine tree branches in a sky. But maybe you found in between some of the fur pieces was a problem?
At any rate, you have the tools – it’s just a matter of figuring out the best workflow.
You might also consider removing the two OOF bits on the bottom edge toward the right and the long grass stem above them. The Spot Removal brush can be dragged along its length and will usually do a good job. I haven’t looked at the newer tools yet.
Thank you again @Diane_Miller ! You are awesome. I think I do have a lot of knowledge on how to use the tools in both LR and PS, but I don’t know how to use them to get the best possible results on my images. This sounds almost contradictory, but this exercise that we are doing shows exactly where my gaps are.
Regarding your question, had the understanding that if you denoise something it will take away the sharpening. Since the issue we are addressing is the sharpening of the fox’s face I figured that I wouldn’t apply any denoise at all on the face. Also, the noise level is pretty low for the entire image. (This is my logic. I am not trying to say it is correct…)
We’re all constantly learning how to use the tools best – every image can have its own unique issues.
The modern denoise tools won’t soften features if used correctly. Topaz has a slider to add subtle sharpening to a denoise adjustment, and it’s usually all I feel I need for sharpening. But if i do need more, I don’t want to sharpen noise – even barely visible noise – as it may become more visible if I do further tonal adjustments.
Thank you again @Diane_Miller . I get it. I was always a little confused why sharpening was included in the deNoise application. From what I understand you to say is you may want to sharpen slightly to remove any slight blur that occurs when you remove noise.
I just love the stare, but find all those grasses bit distracting.
IMHO the critical sharpness is lacking, could be due to some shake despite the tripod and high shutter speed.
Thank you @JRajput for this feedback! I am just seeing this now. The face seems sharp to me, but I trust your feedback. I will look into my processing of the image.
Regards;
Willem deGroot
