cjeisch

You can make it looklike this in elements by blurring the background using the selection tool and then use the clone stamp tool.

anotherview Loc: California

Yes, but this rendering looks doctored and fake.

bcrawf

This treatment needs to address keeping some of the grass in focus.

Harvey Loc: Pioneer, CA

All quality PP takes time and sometime several trys- I like this re-work as it now just has the subject and a good background.

Oh yes - a very interesting bird .

aellman Loc: Boston MA

I'm not sure I have a great example of bokeh. In the case of the ducks in question, I probably wouldn't have shot it in the first place because of the lack of compositional simplicity I look for. Bokeh is not really my thing, partly because up 'til now, my kit lens really wouldn't do it. In the duck image I would prefer blurring the background ducks to either leaving them in or deleting them. In any case, I think it's worth a try. As they say,"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." The attached is the best example I have. Who knew the kit lens can do it with closeups; iris wide open of course. >Alan

usken65

Yes ditch the ducks and you have a nice shot of the grass and water.

robsphotography Loc: New Zealand

Thanks very much to you all for your very interesting and informative posts, it's always very helpful to get a range of views on a topic like this.

There are some excellent points made in the postings that have been made so far and I have already found that the time I have spent in Photoshop trying out several of the suggestions made here is very worthwhile. I now pay a monthly subscription to Adobe for Lightroom and Photoshop.

Thanks "cjeish" for your version of the Pukeko, I have been wondering whether the dark breast area should be lightened to show its "true" blue colour? Your version does this and has been good food for thought.

Thanks "ncshutterbug" and "captgac" for mentioning that I need to take out stray shadows that belong to the ducks, this is important.

Thanks "tturner" for the tip about kneeling down and holding the camera at a low angle. This is well worth keeping in mind when the ground surface is suitable.

Thanks "aellman" for the idea of blurring / defocussing the ducks, that's a good thought. Also, I tend to agree that when the background is poor it may be better to not take the shot in the first place (or perhaps delete it after a brief look to see whether the image is usable). But I'm glad I have kept this image as I nearly deleted it when I first saw it. My initial reaction was in line with the thought of "anotherview" who said "I'd say the heck with it and move on"!!

Thanks "rook2c4" for your comment that you don't remove or add objects for wildlife photography. I have thought a lot about this point and I suppose it depends to a certain extent on the objectives of taking the photo. If it's to show how the bird fits in with its environment and the other birds around it, then I would leave the ducks in it. But I would take several more shots to try and get one that perhaps better illustrates this point.

Regards
Rob

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Thanks for the mention. I didn't mean that you should delete it or shouldn't have taken it; I just meant that I wouldn't have shot it only because it doesn't appeal to my individual taste. I again suggest that you try the blurring option and see how it goes. Best wishes > Alan

robsphotography Loc: New Zealand

Hi Alan, thanks for your post, yes I will spend some time trying the blurring option, it's a really good alternative to deleting the ducks altogether.

As to individual tastes, I think that we do need to be quite selective and just go for what really interests us. And when a good photographic opportunity arises that is within your interests, I think this thread emphasises that it's a really good idea to take several images in case your first image wasn't all you thought it might be!

For example, when photographing a fast-moving bird, the background changes rapidly, so several shots are a good idea as you don't always have time to compose each shot as you would like.

Regards
Rob

crissx09 Loc: FL-USA

Robsphotography Yes you can. This is not a fine work from me but a very quick one made with PSE14

robsphotography Loc: New Zealand

Hi thanks very much for posting this, it's really helpful to see just what can be done with PS.

I think the bird looks really good without the distraction of the ducks and it's amazing how you have been able to deal with the difficult background that was in the original image.

Regards
Rob

crissx09 Loc: FL-USA

Thanks Rob but taking a second look at my quickie I noticed I didn't eliminate the shadow from the duck that was at the right side of the bird's head. Just clone some grass and cover that spot.

crissx09 Loc: FL-USA

There is again

robsphotography Loc: New Zealand

Hi, thanks very much for doing an update of the retouched image. Yes, I agree there should be only one shadow remaining after eliminating the ducks from the image and your updated image now shows off the Pukeko really well. Thanks again to all who have contributed to this thread.

Regards
Rob

pjarbit Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Well, I guess that's another way to do it. Thanks