Advice needed

C

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I took this the other day, its very similar to one posted recently by Lammie.
It was a very grey flat sky, and i tried a few different settings and generally got the same results. I happy with the detail on the Kestrel, but could i have done anything to have improved the sky. Im not after a P&P fix, just wondering what settings on my camera i should have used ? Exif data is included with the image.

regards brian.

Kes_2.jpg
 
I like it as is, the only thing I could suggest would be notching down the exposure slightly as the subject has plenty of detail to cope with it and maybe try to separate the tips of the tail feathers from the background a little more.
 
Can't help with the sky except to say that it's a pretty much spot on representation of the sky outside my window right now. :(

As for the bird... Damn! that's good! :clap:
 
I'd say it is a touch over exposed, which makes the sky look bright and the bird slightly washed out. Compenstion of about -2/3 stop may have helped a little.

Is this a crop? What metering mode were you using? Lots of sky is always tough and I tend to dial in -2/3 to - 1 1/3 compensation against the sky or shoot in manual having taken a reading off the grass first.

Paul
 
Cracking shot Brian. It's just looking way over-exposed which is the basic problem with it. When you're shooting a bird against the sky like that it's lit from behind by that sky so you need to give extra exposure to show some detail on the underside which is in shadow.

Whilst you want to show feather detail on the underside of the bird you need it to be looking natural and this looks a bit like it's lit by a strong light or flash from underneath which looks unnatural.

Using evaluative/matrix metering unless the bird substantially fills the viewfinder, the meter is going to be unduly influenced by that bright sky which is going to result in under-exposure of the bird every time, so I suspect this overly light image is a result of you adjusting in processing to compensate.

An old trick is to extend your hand above your head and meter from your hand backlit by the sky to simulate the situation with the bird. With a bird of the mid tones of a Spar, you could also get a pretty good exposure by using a grey card reading or taking a reading from grass which is a reasonable substutute.

With a white featureless sky like that though, the extra exposure for the bird is bound to blow it out even further, so there's not much you can do about that unless you redice the contrast in processing with a selective mask. Just pray for a nice blue sky when you're doing BIF.
 
Its a great shot, but there is no detail on the sky so you can't add a photo filter. This is probably because if your camera's time is correct you shot it at 12pm which is sort of a no go in photography as the light is to harsh. If you had been lucky enough to take it in the morning or evening when the sun is lower you would get the blue sky you are after.

No mater what you did the sky would be overexposed.

If you look at this image: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZpuHnzPSq.../f14x6_w3pOc/s1600-h/30GreyHeronApril2009.jpg

I took it moments before the sun set when the sun was low.
 
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Thanks Liam , my sky was a uniform grey rather than blue and i had soft bland light to deal with. Been trying something different today, Locking my focus on something green or grey before recomposing on the subject, seems to give better results. Wish i could remember these things when birds turn up unexpectedly Its all a learning curve, cheers for your input im grateful.
 
Just render one ;) Took 30 seconds and I didn't create a mask and tidy it up so you can with a little effort get a great natural result ;)

3428841724_538673ae36_o.jpg
 
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And when seen against a sky with definition the kestrel looks spot on for exposure. A bit of work on the edit to sort the edge of the wings out and it becomes brilliant shot ...from just a very good one.

Andy
 
Thanks Alby, great edit. Just want to get it right first time in the camera, but that kind of knowledge is something only time can teach.My photoshop skills are even worse than my photographic capabilitys, so i doubt i could even get close to your edit.
 
Trouble is you will be hard pushed to get the shot straight out of the camera as the dynamic range of the sensor is limited so you can't get correct exposures that wide and therefore you need to manipulate in software to gain the desired finish. This edit was done pretty quickly using a new layer, the render clouds filter, and I changed the blend type to get the desired effect, I should have added a mask and rubbed out the feathers to tidy it up but I was just showing you what was achievable quickly. It really is worth learning a few PP methods just to fix some of the limitations bestowed upon us with the technology we have at the moment.
 
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