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Trouble postprocessing bird shot, opinions please

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imqqmi

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Hi,

I've shot a black tailed godwit yesterday and can't settle on a good way to process it. I've made a start on my laptop with a bad screen. Upon looking at it on my desktop pc I did another go at it but still like the other processed image. Can you tell me which version you prefer, and failing that, can you show me what you would do? The sun was setting and a warm tone would be natural.

pp'd on laptop:



Another go at it on a desktop pc:



And yet another but trying to get a look somewhere between the first two:



--
Imqqmi
 
Thanks, I also like that one best.
--
Imqqmi
 
Thanks Bill, that's partly my problem. How to add enough yellow/warmth and still make it look natural.

You are correct, I've played with different levels of sharpness and local contrast adjustments. The second one is more contrasty which can also look sharper.

More feedback is greatly appreciated.
bjames said:
I think the second version is much sharper than the first. You
might try bumping up the color yellow with a darker hue to reflect
the time of day.
Bill
--
http://bjames.smugmug.com
Click to expand...
--
Imqqmi
 
I easily prefer the 2nd.. Nice colours, sharper, and all in all the bird looks alot more.. "brought out" in the pic.

Lovely picture as well.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Olie D
 
I like the bird in 2, maybe because it has a little more contrast. But I like the background to have less contrast and I like the slightly warmer tones of either 1 or 3.

Kind regards
Julia
 
I like the first one. color are subtle but natural, as the second one is over saturated and sharpened.

Very nice picture.
JL
 
imqqmi said:
Hi,

I've shot a black tailed godwit yesterday and can't settle on a
good way to process it. I've made a start on my laptop with a bad
screen. Upon looking at it on my desktop pc I did another go at it
but still like the other processed image. Can you tell me which
version you prefer, and failing that, can you show me what you
would do? The sun was setting and a warm tone would be natural.

pp'd on laptop:



Another go at it on a desktop pc:



And yet another but trying to get a look somewhere between the
first two:



--
Imqqmi
Click to expand...
 
  1. 3's the best as the bird has good contrast and doesnt compete with the background. #1 too little contrast overall, #2 could be pleasant if you need postcard colors.
 
I prefer the background from 1st and the bird from 2nd.
Julia’s right.

Nice picture.

What lens did you used?

--
Rebel XTI
EF 50 1.4
EF 70-300 III USM
EF-S 18-55
430 EX
Have fun!
 
Beyond saying that #2 looks "too" colorful, I don't know enough about changing color to say anything else about that.

My first impression was that the head seemed in softer focus than the body in #1. Then I thought this might be the result of the difference between the feathers - the head, downy and soft; the body flat, shiny, and highly contrasted. In #2, the body seems unnaturally "vivid" compared to #1, tho the head looks sharper or perhaps better contrasted. #3 brings the two into better balance.
 
Olie Dellar said:
I easily prefer the 2nd.. Nice colours, sharper, and all in all the
bird looks alot more.. "brought out" in the pic.

Lovely picture as well.
Click to expand...
Thank you Olie.

--
Imqqmi
 
PeaceFrog said:
I like the first and third the best though it is a tough call for
me between those but I probably lean more toward the first. The
colors look more real to me.

Greg
Click to expand...
Thanks Greg, I appreciate your comments. I think I'll give it another try, it still needs some more work.

Imqqmi
 
Yes, that might work, maybe I'll mask the bird from the background and apply different levels of contrast to it. Thank you for your helpful comments

Regards
--
Imqqmi
 
Very perceptive of you, yes the head is very slightly oof, the dof was not big enough. I couldn't push shutterspeed down more or I should have used iso 800. I've considered focus stacking, but takes a lot of time. Maybe I can get away with different levels of sharpening on the head and body.

Thank you all for your comments, it's been a great help nailing down how to postprocess it!
Jim Rodgers said:
Beyond saying that #2 looks "too" colorful, I don't know enough
about changing color to say anything else about that.

My first impression was that the head seemed in softer focus than
the body in #1. Then I thought this might be the result of the
difference between the feathers - the head, downy and soft; the
body flat, shiny, and highly contrasted. In #2, the body seems
unnaturally "vivid" compared to #1, tho the head looks sharper or
perhaps better contrasted. #3 brings the two into better balance.
Click to expand...
--
Imqqmi
 
neozed said:
I prefer the background from 1st and the bird from 2nd.
Julia’s right.

Nice picture.

What lens did you used?
Click to expand...
Thank you, I've been putting my 100-400 5.6L through it's paces. I still have some difficulty with shallow dof and focusing on the eyes properly.

--
Imqqmi
 
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