The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Sorry I put this in the wildlife category… and should have been in Avian…
Anyway I am just now getting back into bird photography and he is one of my first photographs… I got him walking through the woods and he just kind of posed for me.
Specific Feedback
Not sure if I cropped too much as he is in a lot more trees than what you see. I didn’t do much editing… did denoise and worked a little with shadows and highlights.
Technical Details
Nikon z8, Nikon Z400mm lens with 1.4 converter.
F8, 1/640, ISO 3600
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Hi Sue, nice catch of this photogenic woodpecker. I like having all the tree bark as a fitting setting for this guy. I think maybe less space on the right and the bird lower in the frame would be a better composition. The bird seems a tad soft. I’m wondering if the focus grabbed the bark to the right of the bird but the Z8 is capable of very fine eye tracking so maybe it’s just the size of the crop. Did you add any sharpening to the bird? I like using Smart Sharpen in Photoshop but there are plenty other ways to do it. A nice catch overall.
Very nice, Sue. I like the vertical placement of the bird in the frame. Even though the tree on the right is the one in focus, I’d crop in from the right maybe 60% of the way to the bird and if you have anything one the left I’d add enough to keep the same aspect ratio. That gives the extra room in the direction the bird is looking and by implication, the direction it’s contemplating leaving in.
I just tried that from another photo I had of the same woodpecker… See what you think. I don’t know… I have a lot of photos of him and my photo taking has always put him the middle. It would have been nice if I had composed differently each time.
Hi Sue. I see the same sort of issue with this shot. The bird is looking out of the frame, which tends to make it feel cramped. It is a bit hard to remember to recompose before shooting and we all have a natural tendency to center the subject, so if you’re using a zoom lens it pays not to zoom in too far. If you’re doing a lot of bird photography and you haven’t already done so, I’d investigate back button focus on your camera. It doesn’t take long to get used to it and it makes recomposing easy because you’ve separated the shutter release function and the focus function. If the bird is perched, you can focus, release the focus button and recompose at will. You do have to watch out for head turns because the shallow depth of field we usually have in bird photography can make the eye lose focus.
