Two pics for critique

[plasterman]

I am a new 40d user who is learning by trial and error and could use some helpful comments. Picture editing is real tough for me so far. I have not tried raw yet , I am struggling enough with jpeg Anyway thanks in advance for any comments ,
Doug

shooting info for snow egret iso 400 speed 1/1600 aperture 8.0 focal length 235mm

info for fox iso 200 speed 1/500 aperture 5.0 focal length 180 mm

[SwingBopper]

I think you nailed 'em both. You might try sharpening the Fox a bit. Use autosharpen if you don't want to play with unsharp mask.

[Nathan]

I love the first one. Is that as shot from the camera or was it cropped? If cropped, I'd actually center the bird a little more. Looks like it's slightly too much to the right of the frame. I like the fox, except that it looks like his backside is in better focus than his face

If you're having trouble with jpeg... just go to RAW. You'll love it. Not sure what you're editing with, but I use ACR to correct my sport jpegs

[spooch]

great shots. Specially #1.
try to use Raw more. To me it's easier to work with the raw, than with the jpeg. Post some more photos, you are really good

[joedlh]

If you had shot these in raw, you might have been able to capture some of the detail in the blown out parts of the egret's top and fox's cheek. Also, try the 40D's highlight priority mode for white birds.

[Walczak Photo]

I think the first shot is just lovely...great color, nice and sharp, good composition, very nicely done there. While I will agree with SwingBopper's comments about the fox needing to be sharper, I think the suggestion about using "auto sharpen" is very bad advice. Like "auto levels", "auto contrast" and anything else "automatic" when it comes to image correction, this tool typically does a rather poor job if you are looking for decent results. -IF it were me-, I'd separate the just the foxes face into it's own layer and do a little selective sharpening, especially around the eyes and then some lighter sharpening on the whole image. The color and saturation look good here (although I'm not really crazy about the lighting), but I would manually touch up the sharpness using either USM or (assuming you're using Photoshop) a plugin such as "Focus Magic" or something similar. In my ever so humble opinion, taking "short cuts" such as auto tools in image editing is one of the fastest ways to screw up your images.

Also as spooch stated, it's worth learning to use RAW. It seems intimidating at first (at least it was for me) but once you get used to it, you'll never look back. The advantages of RAW far outweigh the disadvantages of learning it.

Anyways, just my $.02 worth as always, but I truly feel that using auto sharpen is a VERY bad suggestion.

Peace,
Jim

[midnitejam]

I'd be proud to have shot either of them.

[ben_r_]

First one is awesome! If only the wing closest to the camera had been a bit lower so more of the face was shown...

[plasterman]

Thanks for all the comments and helpful critique. Today I shot some in raw, but not sure yet how to edit. I hope to figure it out. Thanks again

Doug

[betebete]

Just open the raw file with Photoshop and it will open the RAW edit thingy :) In there you can edit without damaging the photo. It's like tweaking your camera settings, only your doing it after the shot is taken :)

[Walczak Photo]

Thanks for all the comments and helpful critique. Today I shot some in raw, but not sure yet how to edit. I hope to figure it out. Thanks again

Doug

One quick addendum on RAW...
If you are using Photoshop, depending on which version you are using/how old it is, you may need to download the latest Adobe RAW file from Adobe's website to support that 40D. I know there are some issues here as only the newer versions of Adobe RAW support the 40D and only the newer versions of Photoshop support the newer RAW files...while I can't remember the details exactly, I know that Adobe discontinued RAW support for older versions of Photoshop so most newer cameras are not supported in older versions of Photoshop. I could be wrong here as my memory isn't what it used to be (and someone please correct me if I am!) but I -think- the reason I upgraded to Photoshop CS3 is because I bought my 40D and there was no support for it with CS2...I remember it being -very- frustrating.

Now if you are only working in the Canon software such as DPP, then please disregard that comment :D.

Okies...just a head's up!
Peace,
Jim

[capt_tast]

Great shots. I think a wider crop would be nice. Just my opinion, but the environment is important to the subject also. I'd like to see a little more of where the fox was, unless that wasn't possible. (fence or other impediment.)

[1shot4u]

Both I think you nailed perfectly..thanks for sharing

[dkord]

I think you should take the first one to the bird section of the forum you'll get a more knowledgeable critic. Also the 2nd one to the Wildlife forum.
The first shot if you were to time it so your capture is just before or when the egret is parallel to you then you would of nailed the image. Eye and head is important. Cropping wise, since you're not featuring anything on the background or foreground then a landscape crop would of been more preferred.
2nd shot is a nice portrait, since the animal is rather small, the tight crop is fine. If you decide to print you might consider aspect ratio when you do crop, so composition should be a consideration. It seems a little too contrasty and a little detail softness, was this a small part of the frame or a low jpeg compression?

[SDavis Photo]

Both are right on, Nice work

[cabandrew]

Be sure when your done editing in RAW format save it as a TIFF file so it won't change it to a jpeg and reduce information. Great shots by the way.