finally caught that little killdeer after a year of hunting :)

here is the first of a few pictures i have of this little fella, any input welcomed 150% crop

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nice, but in b&w it really blends in with the bg - what's the color version look like?

I'll post it a little later

here is the colored version im not sure if i over did it but maybe you can be the judge

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a much better black and white version! but please offer any input! i really need your help in getting better

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I like the colour version best. To me, it looks a little oversharpened (especially the grass around the bird) but of course you sharpen to your own taste. B & W bird shots sometimes look OK but as Rick said that doesn't really work when a B & W conversion makes it harder to see the subject. Just my opinion FWIW

thanks for the input 2slo i dont use the sharpen slider so is there a way to unsharpen? i dont really like the first black and white but the second i thought was more pleasing but im with you and rick that the color version is much better.

i appreciate the input and any advice as these things just help me get better

If you haven't sharpened this in post processing then look at your in camera settings and see what sharpening is set to. Possibly bring it down a notch? Again, just my opinion.

i shoot raw, does the in camera settings affect the raw files when dumped into lightroom? or are those settings not transferred? can you unsharpen in lightroom 4? I just fully made the switch to lightroom 4 yesterday so im am a complete noob as far as that is concerned :\

Edit: aha i think upon export it sharpens for the monitor or something i will undo that setting and see if it changes thanks again for helping.