Cardinal at Niagra

Hey guys, this is my first time posting any photos here and am looking for your thoughts. I've been dabbling in photography for a few years and have been working on my PP lately. This picture always catches my eye as I'm going through my folders, and am looking for some opinions on it. I think I got the focus down on this one and am happy with the colors, but if you see something I could have done differently, please let me know!

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IMO you missed focus on the eye which is crucial in this, and the reds seem over saturated. the out of focus branches on the right are distracting too me.

Again IMO

I really like the animal and the location of it. However, it would be a lot better if it was a frontal view and like tmoore said if the out of focus branches weren't stretching across the view.

Hey, thanks for taking the time to comment! I'm relatively new to raw editing and I can use the tips. I definitely agree with both of you that the branches on the right are a distraction. I can also see that the reds are a bit over saturated. Here's another shot from the set with the little fella facing the camera. Different shot, different crop, and brought the reds back a bit. Better? Worse? Do I need to meet somewhere in the middle saturation-wise?

IMAGE LINK: http://thesomewherebet​ween.smugmug.com/Fly-and-Ride/i-58ZCKgG/A

jkdwings wrote in post #16497321
Hey, thanks for taking the time to comment! I'm relatively new to raw editing and I can use the tips. I definitely agree with both of you that the branches on the right are a distraction. I can also see that the reds are a bit over saturated. Here's another shot from the set with the little fella facing the camera. Different shot, different crop, and brought the reds back a bit. Better? Worse? Do I need to meet somewhere in the middle saturation-wise?

IMAGE LINK: http://thesomewherebet​ween.smugmug.com/Fly-and-Ride/i-58ZCKgG/A

I'm no expert but in my opinion, the saturation is perfect in this second photo. I like this shot more but I wish you could see the eyes a little better.

PT95 wrote in post #16497336
I'm no expert but in my opinion, the saturation is perfect in this second photo. I like this shot more but I wish you could see the eyes a little better.

I was thinking I prefer the bird looking to the side in the first one for that reason - you see the eye better, as well as get the profile of the head that is typical of the cardinal. I do like the bird looking straight at the camera too, though. I think I'll play with them both some more and see if I can bring the eyes out and maybe get rid of some branches.

Or how about this guy cropped from the first, and unsaturated a bit.

IMAGE LINK: http://thesomewherebet​ween.smugmug.com/Fly-and-Ride/i-JK429vV/A

jkdwings wrote in post #16497421
Or how about this guy cropped from the first, and unsaturated a bit.

IMAGE LINK: http://thesomewherebet​ween.smugmug.com/Fly-and-Ride/i-JK429vV/A

I like the last one...