550-GTS Loc: Wisconsin

I am an amateur photographer looking to up my game, so looking for critique on these photos (from same original, just cropped differently).

Canon 80D, Tamron 150-600 (at 552mm), shutter 1/1024, aperture f/6.4, ISO 250
Shot in manual with auto ISO
Post done in PaintShop Pro

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JimmyTB

I think it's a nice photo. I prefer the first image because of the negative space in front of the goose but others may differ. To my eye it's sharp, well composed and nice exposure. Better photographers than I might have constructive criticism on the actual photo and post processing. And welcome aboard!!

Ourspolair

Looks like a great capture. A close look at the white highlights suggests that you might want to reduce the brightness a bit - should be no trouble if you were shooting raw. Shutter speed was adequate to stop the most important part of the wing, so the feather detail is sharp. Something that you could not control is that the goose's eye is in shadow, you could work on that in post as well if you wanted to get picky like I am being (since you asked for a critique). Well done. Thanks for sharing and welcome aboard.

tcthome Loc: NJ

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

Nice set, both are a little soft which may be caused by your sutter speed. I've found that a ss of 2000+ works best for fast moving wildlife.

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

Just some thoughts from my perspective. I think the image is a bit soft, most likely due to your shutter speed. Even though it's a large bird, I would be shooting faster to freeze the bird for this action. Some may say its overkill, but I would probably be at around 1/4000. You are at a relatively low iso so a faster shutter speed should not impact image quality that much. The first image is better composed than the 2nd. I typically like a bit more room in front of the bird. Unfortunately the head of the goose is looking away from you and as a result, there is no sun reflection on the bird's eye and the light on the head is poor. Considering the shadow of the wing on the birds back, it looks like you were shooting mid day with the sun high in the sky. Morning or evening will give you a better sun angle on the bird. A previous comment mentioned exposure. Indeed, the blue channel is overexposed. If you are shooting raw, you should not have much of an issue making that fix. I shoot in auto ISO when light conditions are changing rapidly, but on many occasions, at least for me, auto ISO can result in blown highlights simply because the camera meter cannot pick up the bright portions of the image, especially if the is a lot of dynamic range. These geese have a bunch of contrast and in your situation here, the light is pretty static. I would go completely manual and control your highlights a bit better using test shots with similar contrast and checking out your histogram and blinky's. You could accomplish that to a certain degree with exposure compensation using auto iso, but still you will have better control in manual.

Anyway, good start, and the more you get out there the more you will see improvements in your images. And check out images by the best. A good starting point might be birdphotographers.net. If you join, you can post images and you will get some very constructive criticism. Also, check out images from Artie Morris, Chris Dodds, and Denise Ippolito. All great bird photographers.

Have fun!

550-GTS Loc: Wisconsin

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. This is exactly what I was looking for.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

They're both excellent