Would you even have bothered?
Jul 28, 2023 11:20:47 #
I took this shot, almost as a "grab" shot, off our porch at the lodge we were staying at in Costa Rica. These are Orange-chinned Parakeets, acting as parakeets do-talking, arguing, cooing. They were in partial sun (bright) with a wildly spackled background.
My first question: would you have trashed this shot immediately? Would you even have pushed the shutter?
Second, if you did keep it, how would you have proceeded with PP?
I took it into ACR, masked the birds and brought up their exposure via shadows and exposure sliders. Also slightly increased saturation. Masked the BG and brought down exposure via highlights and exposure sliders.
Took into PS, masked birds and leaves; inverted to protect them, then used Clone Stamp at 35% opacity to tamp down specular highlights. Also brought up shadow on right bird slightly.
The result? Let me know your thoughts. To me the birds now look "punched out" of BG. Maybe I should have feathered mask more?
I am posting original shot and then PP shot.
My first question: would you have trashed this shot immediately? Would you even have pushed the shutter?
Second, if you did keep it, how would you have proceeded with PP?
I took it into ACR, masked the birds and brought up their exposure via shadows and exposure sliders. Also slightly increased saturation. Masked the BG and brought down exposure via highlights and exposure sliders.
Took into PS, masked birds and leaves; inverted to protect them, then used Clone Stamp at 35% opacity to tamp down specular highlights. Also brought up shadow on right bird slightly.
The result? Let me know your thoughts. To me the birds now look "punched out" of BG. Maybe I should have feathered mask more?
I am posting original shot and then PP shot.
Jul 28, 2023 11:26:40 #
Your PP effort looks pretty good to me. The birds are the stars of this capture and should stand out.
Will
Will
Jul 28, 2023 11:48:38 #
bajadreamer wrote:
I took this shot, almost as a "grab" sho... (show quote)
Looks good! perhaps a little bit of additional sharpening on the tail feathers (Topaz Sharpen AI) but that maybe just me.
Jul 28, 2023 12:11:41 #
Perhaps you could treat the branch and the attached leaves half way, as it were, so it is brighter than you have it here, but not quite as bright as the birdies. Then one could read the image as one of the branch and the birds being in the sun, but the background in the shade.
Jul 28, 2023 12:30:54 #
Jul 28, 2023 12:41:49 #
Soul Dr. wrote:
Your PP effort looks pretty good to me. The birds are the stars of this capture and should stand out.
Will
Will
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Jul 28, 2023 12:58:42 #
Jul 28, 2023 15:22:50 #
Jul 28, 2023 15:27:36 #
bajadreamer wrote:
I took this shot, almost as a "grab" sho... (show quote)
You did a marvelous job, and in my opinion, the result is simply beautiful 💚💚🌿💚💚
Jul 28, 2023 15:33:09 #
Jul 28, 2023 15:40:38 #
Great photo! I like the original just fine. It captures just the right moment showing these two (best of friends?, mates?, work buddies?) engaged in a deep philosophical discussion of some vital importance. It's a great photo snapped at just the right time.
Jul 28, 2023 15:49:24 #
Jul 28, 2023 16:24:52 #
I would absolutely have edited, and it would have been no bother, especially with the outstanding pose, color and clarity.
As shot, the background is too bright IMO. I would probably prefer something halfway between your original and your posted result so that there is not quite so much contrast in brightness ("punched out" as you say).
If you still have your psd file, with layers intact, you could experiment a bit more. If your result here is A-OK for you, print poster size, hang on your wall and enjoy!
As shot, the background is too bright IMO. I would probably prefer something halfway between your original and your posted result so that there is not quite so much contrast in brightness ("punched out" as you say).
If you still have your psd file, with layers intact, you could experiment a bit more. If your result here is A-OK for you, print poster size, hang on your wall and enjoy!
Jul 28, 2023 16:27:24 #
Soul Dr. wrote:
Your PP effort looks pretty good to me. The birds are the stars of this capture and should stand out.
Will
Will
Thank you for the kind words. I agree with you about the birds.
Jul 28, 2023 16:29:48 #
dck45 wrote:
Looks good! perhaps a little bit of additional sharpening on the tail feathers (Topaz Sharpen AI) but that maybe just me.
Thank you for looking. I did try some local sharpening on the tail area (I had no where near enough DOF) but because of the BG the sharpening looked bad, even after decreasing the amount in TS AI.
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