A few Ducks at Lake Andrews

I would appreciate some criticism with my photos. All of these were shot with a Canon T3i and a 50mm f/1.8 II. Because of the 50mm focal length, I was only a few feet away from them at the time, so it was hard to get good ones. Here are two of my favorites.
Is it just me, but does a 150KB file size seem ridiculous for a photo forum? I had to export these photos at a tiny size and high compression to get them to upload, so I apologize about the quality.

The first is 50mm, f/5, 1/160, ISO 100, cropped to around half size of original
The second is 50mm, f/1.8, 1/250, ISO 100, no crop

Nice capture of a moment with the female mallard. I would have waited for better positioning with the male in order to get rid of the distracting twigs and the part of the breast of the other bird. If you have an interest in bird photography, you will quickly grow impatient with your 50mm lens. Also, look into the principles of composition. Both of these critters are facing to the side of the frame. It's better to give them more room on that side.

joedlh wrote in post #15061688
Nice capture of a moment with the female mallard. I would have waited for better positioning with the male in order to get rid of the distracting twigs and the part of the breast of the other bird. If you have an interest in bird photography, you will quickly grow impatient with your 50mm lens. Also, look into the principles of composition. Both of these critters are facing to the side of the frame. It's better to give them more room on that side.

The reason I like the first one is because it is stretching its right leg, something I've never seen a duck do. I have others of ducks standing around, but these ones caught my interest because of their uniqueness. I am surfing eBay to get a good deal on a 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM f/2.8 for longer stuff as I am also interested in Macro. I would also like something like a 70-200 zoom, but I don't have the money for that now as I am a college student. I'm trying to keep this hobby as inexpensive as I can.

Thank you for the critique.

Maybe a crop more like this one?

I'd crop it even more from the top left. There is lots of head room that isn't helping the subject at all. I also think they are under exposed. The mottled light coming through the trees will be an issue with exposure - if you get the duck right you could have some blown areas in the sun. Along with an exposure boost a slight boost in contrast would help.

I think you'll find even the 100/2.8 macro to be on the short side for birds. The 70-200 is also a bit short IMO. But at the end of the day dollars rule so you shoot what you can afford/justify. I certainly understand that.

Titus213 wrote in post #15061822
I'd crop it even more from the top left. There is lots of head room that isn't helping the subject at all. I also think they are under exposed. The mottled light coming through the trees will be an issue with exposure - if you get the duck right you could have some blown areas in the sun. Along with an exposure boost a slight boost in contrast would help.

I think you'll find even the 100/2.8 macro to be on the short side for birds. The 70-200 is also a bit short IMO. But at the end of the day dollars rule so you shoot what you can afford/justify. I certainly understand that.

Something along these lines? I increased the exposure and contrast the same on both but cropped slightly differently. Which do you prefer?

Generally speaking, ducks usually photograph better when they're swimming...just be aware of the light/glare on the water and, get a longer lens as Joe suggested.

They look much better to me but chauncey is right - either swimming or taking off/landing.

What is he eating? Looks like a nut of some kind.

It's an Acorn without the top. It was quite funny to watch. It kept popping out of her mouth, but she was able to catch it almost every time. I was disappointed that I only had three keepers from that moment, but this one was fairly good.