Critique Mandarin Duck, Negative Space

It is just a matter of trying different crops Richard and seeing what they look like - making sure that the bg does not dominate too much - the fore ground OOF area is obviously something to reduce and to see what you think ....... but I can see what you are trying to achieve

It is a bit too much for me ..... and on a technical point there are vertical lines in the fg [showing your cloning, (??)]
 
BillN_33 said:
It is just a matter of trying different crops Richard and seeing what they look like - making sure that the bg does not dominate too much - the fore ground OOF area is obviously something to reduce and to see what you think ....... but I can see what you are trying to achieve

It is a bit too much for me ..... and on a technical point there are vertical lines in the fg [showing your cloning, (??)]
Click to expand...

Cheers, and well spotted, i need to work on my cloning skills

I will have a look tonight and maybe try out a few different crops
 
I like it, but I do enjoy a good photo with shallow DOF. You have got the duck beautifully sharp and I don't find the foreground to much. I can however see that a crop would probably work as well.
 
SteveSc said:
I like it, but I do enjoy a good photo with shallow DOF. You have got the duck beautifully sharp and I don't find the foreground to much. I can however see that a crop would probably work as well.
Click to expand...

Cheers Steve, i was fortunate enough to be able to get below the level of the water as this is a man made pond, which helps massively enhance the DoF
 
I don't like the amount of oof foreground and there is the appearance of it sloping slightly to the right but otherwise it works. :)
 
Yes Richard, it isn't giving the appearance of sloping now :)
 
the last image works for me and very nice shot, right hand side just in the oof area is a black blob that is a tad distracting which I think I would try and remove but would still be happy if it were mine
 
RKC said:
the last image works for me and very nice shot, right hand side just in the oof area is a black blob that is a tad distracting which I think I would try and remove but would still be happy if it were mine
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Cheers, looking at them all now, i do feel that last one is just about the right balance of subject and OOF area, so thanks everyone for taking the time to comment
 
rpsmith79 said:
Cheers, looking at them all now, i do feel that last one is just about the right balance of subject and OOF area, so thanks everyone for taking the time to comment
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Morning Richard, but you need to remove the black "blob" in the bottom right quarter
 
I like the final one except for the black blob and the fact that it looks very slightly too dark to me. Anybody else think that?
 
htid said:
it looks very slightly too dark to me. Anybody else think that?
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Looks more backlit to me, hence the darker appearance of the body away from the light :)
 
I will see if i can lift the shadows a touch more (and remove the blob), it was still early and the sun hadn't ridden above the tree line, so he was getting diffused light from around the 2 to 3 o'clock position if i remember correctly

I have already done a fair bit of shadow lifting to get to where it is now, so i will see if i can raise it any more without it looking unnatural
 
Still not a mega fan of the fg Richard - but it is a beautiful bird and image

constant edits will reduce the IQ if you are not careful - plus I have edited the low res on here

I'd start again from the very beginning if I were you - incorporating the changes on here, but simplfy them just a few logical processing steps

These birds do look "un-natural" - should not be here really!!!

Cheers

EDIT
RPS.jpg




ORIGINAL

RPS_org.jpg
 
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Cheers Bill, i will have another play tonight and see if i can make a few improvements
 
rpsmith79 said:
Cheers Bill, i will have another play tonight and see if i can make a few improvements
Click to expand...

Rich

what I did was quick

1). lighten the fg - one method would be to use a graduated filter

2). Remove the blob - clone

3). Reduce the dark noise in the bg - select and reduce noise

4). lift shadows in bird - select bird and lighten


All in PS, but other apps will have similar functions
 
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Right then, here goes, i have applied some noise reduction to the bg and fg, also lightened the fg a touch, removed the "blob" and lifted the shadows a touch, also increased contrast as it was looking a little flat with the shadows lifted

So here goes, what are everyone's thoughts


Mandarin Duck by Richard Smith, on Flickr
 
rpsmith79 said:
Right then, here goes, i have applied some noise reduction to the bg and fg, also lightened the fg a touch, removed the "blob" and lifted the shadows a touch, also increased contrast as it was looking a little flat with the shadows lifted

So here goes, what are everyone's thoughts


Mandarin Duck by Richard Smith, on Flickr
Click to expand...


I like it, you don't want the colours of the duck too diluted as it makes it look unnatural. :)
 
now if it were mine after all that mucking about ..................................put it on my wall :)
 
RKC said:
now if it were mine after all that mucking about ..................................put it on my wall :)
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Cheers, my other half has already marked out a spot on the wall where she wants to hang it ;)
 
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