New to bird photography

ba15ck · 25th of April 2006 (Tue)

What do you guys think--i know a little over exposed on bottom of bird--but other than that--shot with s2

stopped down one stop in cs1--ran through neat image--no other adjustments

cfcRebel · 25th of April 2006 (Tue)

Nice attempt. But i think it would be better if the frame includes the whole body, or just the head if you want to go for a bird portrait.
The noise reduction has caused alot of detail lost.

Colin Morey · 25th of April 2006 (Tue)

I'm having a hard time working out where the focus point was, it looks overall quite shot, I do like the pose though, and the crop is fine for me.

ba15ck · 25th of April 2006 (Tue)

here is one more--thanks for the comments so far--first bird pix but only using an s2

ClareH · 25th of April 2006 (Tue)

Hi,
I also am fairly new to bird photography, but once you start the addiction sets in,
IMHO the second shot looks a lot better as you can see more of the bird, keep the tail in your frame when shooting.
I think it is helpful for people to know your exif when you post, that way they can advise you better.
As you mentioned you blew the white, a very easy thing to do on birds, beware where the sun hits them..... catching the light in their eyes is the best.
Good luck,
Clare

tupe · 26th of April 2006 (Wed)

The S2 is a nice camera - better than my [other brand P&S] with similar features. Gotta love that optical zoom.

And for a first timer you have some nice elements in this shot. The detail around the eye is good, and in my opinion the most important part of any animal shot. And your crop used the better elements of the picture.

I agree with Fee, maybe a tighter crop on the head would be good, if you aren't already at 100% (i.e., if the new crop would be larger and not lose detail).

Working with noise is a give-and-take proposition. My camera has lots of visual noise, so what I often do is select just the background for noise reduction so I don't lose detail on the bird itself.

Ultimately if your shot is out of focus, you can't really fix it with pp. A good start, take plenty of shots--after all, the film is free!

ba15ck · 26th of April 2006 (Wed)

Input is appreciated.

should I assume (with this particular shot anyway) you all like this crop better (the first was straight out of camera--no crop.
1/1600 f 3.5 72mm

superdiver · 26th of April 2006 (Wed)

Seems like the dark part of the face is too dark in this set up. Other then that I like the picture...

waussie · 27th of April 2006 (Thu)

I prefer the first, if its a picture of a bird, then I prefer to see the bird!

ba15ck · 27th of April 2006 (Thu)

Thanks for the input--in any case, it seems that you really need to now exactly what you want the picture to look like cause it ain't easy catching our fleeting friends--a change in the settings and gone goes the subject.

cfcRebel · 27th of April 2006 (Thu)

The second is much better. It shows the head, body and legs, except the tail got clipped.
Go easy on processing. It's always better to get the shot right in the first place, but i know sometimes it's almost impossible (bad lighting, busy bg, poor posing). At least now you have pictures of a scrub jay. You learn what is good and bad about these pictures. So next time when you see one, you can try taking better shot of them.

Happy shooting.

dancinec · 27th of April 2006 (Thu)

I played with your image a little bit to sharpen the head and feathers. I used focus magic, neat image and photoshop.

CyberKat · 27th of April 2006 (Thu)

I just thought to add that since you use S2 for shooting bird pix, it might be a good idea to buy a teleconverter as well.. you would be surprised what a big diference a tcon makes.

Dennis... I think you oversharpened it a bit... see the halo on the beak and head.

dancinec · 27th of April 2006 (Thu)

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberKat

I just thought to add that since you use S2 for shooting bird pix, it might be a good idea to buy a teleconverter as well.. you would be surprised what a big diference a tcon makes.

Dennis... I think you oversharpened it a bit... see the halo on the beak and head.

I didn't notice that, but you are correct. The focus was off and focus magic found it to be 2 pixels off.

superdiver · 27th of April 2006 (Thu)

When you use "focus magic" do you always need to use it before noise reduction?

25th of April 2006 (Tue)	#2
cfcRebel Cream of the Crop Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 10,249	Re: New to bird photography Nice attempt. But i think it would be better if the frame includes the whole body, or just the head if you want to go for a bird portrait. The noise reduction has caused alot of detail lost. __________________ Fee Canon \| SIGMA \| TAMRON \| Kenko \| Amvona

25th of April 2006 (Tue)	#3
Colin Morey Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 621	Re: New to bird photography I'm having a hard time working out where the focus point was, it looks overall quite shot, I do like the pose though, and the crop is fine for me. __________________ 1DmkIV, 350D dual zoom kit, EF-S 60mm macro(for sale), 50mm 1.8(sold), 100-400mmL IS, 70-200mm f2.8 IS L IS, 10-22mm(sold), 3x580EXII, 24-70mm f2.8L Comments and Critisms welcome, edits allowed if you tell me how you did it No Bird Posts Left Behind! My photo-a-day habit.Zenfolio: VPZ-MH5-2PZ

25th of April 2006 (Tue)	#5
ClareH Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 444 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: New to bird photography Hi, I also am fairly new to bird photography, but once you start the addiction sets in, IMHO the second shot looks a lot better as you can see more of the bird, keep the tail in your frame when shooting. I think it is helpful for people to know your exif when you post, that way they can advise you better. As you mentioned you blew the white, a very easy thing to do on birds, beware where the sun hits them..... catching the light in their eyes is the best. Good luck, Clare __________________ Clare C & C very welcome 30D, 100-400is

26th of April 2006 (Wed)	#6
tupe Goldmember Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Knoxville, TN USA Posts: 3,275 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: New to bird photography The S2 is a nice camera - better than my [other brand P&S] with similar features. Gotta love that optical zoom. And for a first timer you have some nice elements in this shot. The detail around the eye is good, and in my opinion the most important part of any animal shot. And your crop used the better elements of the picture. I agree with Fee, maybe a tighter crop on the head would be good, if you aren't already at 100% (i.e., if the new crop would be larger and not lose detail). Working with noise is a give-and-take proposition. My camera has lots of visual noise, so what I often do is select just the background for noise reduction so I don't lose detail on the bird itself. Ultimately if your shot is out of focus, you can't really fix it with pp. A good start, take plenty of shots--after all, the film is free! __________________ --Joe Canon 20D, T2i, EF-S 18-55mm IS, EF-S 55-250mm IS, EF 50 f/1.8 II, Speedlite 430 EX Sigma 17-70, 70-300 APO DG -- http://pbase.com/tupe

26th of April 2006 (Wed)	#8
superdiver Cream of the Crop Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ketchikan Alaska Posts: 9,831 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: New to bird photography Seems like the dark part of the face is too dark in this set up. Other then that I like the picture... __________________ 40D, davidalbertsonphotography.com Newbie still learning

27th of April 2006 (Thu)	#9
waussie Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Albany Western Australia Posts: 738 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: New to bird photography I prefer the first, if its a picture of a bird, then I prefer to see the bird!

27th of April 2006 (Thu)	#10
ba15ck Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 271 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: New to bird photography Thanks for the input--in any case, it seems that you really need to now exactly what you want the picture to look like cause it ain't easy catching our fleeting friends--a change in the settings and gone goes the subject. __________________ Polarize This! ----- Canon s2 IS l Canon Rebel 2000 l Kodak v550 canon ef 35-80 f4 l tamron 75-300 f4-5.6 52mm CPL l 52mm ND 8 l 52mm Yellow 12 l 62mm Yellow 12 Raynox .66 WA-Converter CS1

27th of April 2006 (Thu)	#11
cfcRebel Cream of the Crop Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 10,249	Re: New to bird photography The second is much better. It shows the head, body and legs, except the tail got clipped. Go easy on processing. It's always better to get the shot right in the first place, but i know sometimes it's almost impossible (bad lighting, busy bg, poor posing). At least now you have pictures of a scrub jay. You learn what is good and bad about these pictures. So next time when you see one, you can try taking better shot of them. Happy shooting. __________________ Fee Canon \| SIGMA \| TAMRON \| Kenko \| Amvona

27th of April 2006 (Thu)	#12
dancinec Cream of the Crop Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Carlsbad, California Posts: 8,035 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: New to bird photography I played with your image a little bit to sharpen the head and feathers. I used focus magic, neat image and photoshop. __________________ Dennis Canon 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, Canon 100 mm Macro, Canon 100-400mm, Canon 400mm 5.6L, Canon TC 1.4X, Tamron 28-75 mm, Bogen 3221 Tripod, Kirk BH-1 ballhead, Sigma EF-500 DG Super Flash, Canon 580 II Flash, Better Beamers, Whimberly Plamp. My galleries Last edited by dancinec : 11th of March 2007 (Sun) at 10:21.

27th of April 2006 (Thu)	#13
CyberKat Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Belgrade/Serbia Posts: 36	Re: New to bird photography I just thought to add that since you use S2 for shooting bird pix, it might be a good idea to buy a teleconverter as well.. you would be surprised what a big diference a tcon makes. Dennis... I think you oversharpened it a bit... see the halo on the beak and head.

27th of April 2006 (Thu)	#15
superdiver Cream of the Crop Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ketchikan Alaska Posts: 9,831 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: New to bird photography When you use "focus magic" do you always need to use it before noise reduction? __________________ 40D, davidalbertsonphotography.com Newbie still learning

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