GBH opinion on crop

Well, unbelievably I was too close to this GBH today, and one of the best shots in terms of head angle was this one.

Maybe I could have got it in portrait, but I shot in landscape and this is cropped from the sides only.

I'm wondering if not getting the legs in, at least to the water completely spoils this shot? I'm inclined to think it does, but wondered what others thought.

ejenner wrote in post #18379584
....I'm wondering if not getting the legs in, at least to the water completely spoils this shot? I'm inclined to think it does, but wondered what others thought.

Since you asked, yes, I do think the legs cutoff spoils it, and the overall composition isn't great, so I'm sure you wish you could go back and get so close again and take more. You have my sympathy.

For wading birds in water I like to include some of the water where it's legs/feet (despite not seeing them in the scene) might be to help balance the image out. Similar to an in-flight shot leaving room ahead of the flight subject.

Thanks, honesty much appreciated. Wanted to make sure I wasn't going insane and overly critical.

Duane, I hadn't though about that, but I think subconsciously that lack of any water at all really puts the nail in the coffin so to speak.

Yea, the silly thing was I could have just not gotten so close. I've been mainly shooting small birds - Avocet and Sandpiper chicks so getting too close never even entered my mind until I realized I couldn't frame the shot (although I might have squeezed it in shooting portrait). And then the rest of them he/she always seemed to be looking slightly away from me. But definitely still learning as far as birding is concerned. Can't really complain though, I got really close to some Avocet chicks the other week which was great.

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I also think that the image would have been much better composed if it had been shot in portrait orientation. . After turning the camera a quarter of the way around for portrait, there was something else that would also need to have been done - changing the focus point so that the active AF point would be placed right on the birds head/eye. . The way it is, the head looks very soft - almost as if you had focused on the body or the neck instead of the head/eye area.

I wonder if you are shooting from a tripod or not. . If you are shooting from a tripod, and a full gimbal head, then it is an easy, quick matter to rotate the camera and lens around via the rotating collar - it almost happens subconsciously once you're used to shooting from such an outfit. . That's one big advantage of using a tripod and a gimbal head - not just the stability that it offers, but the speed, smoothness, and surety with which you can rotate, pan with the subject, and recompose. . This all happens so much better when the weight is being handled by something other than your arms.

If you weren't using a tripod, then I can understand how rotating to portrait orientation would be awkward and slow - causing you to miss the shot.
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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18380386
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I also think that the image would have been much better composed if it had been shot in portrait orientation. . After turning the camera a quarter of the way around for portrait, there was something else that would also need to have been done - changing the focus point so that the active AF point would be placed right on the birds head/eye. . The way it is, the head looks very soft - almost as if you had focused on the body or the neck instead of the head/eye area.

No not using a tripod. Most often a monopod, but I don't think I'd got it out yet for this shot. I got the 400DO specifically to be light. I do not intend to start using a tripod - I would have gotten the 500 f4 if that was my intention.

I always focus on the head, I may have resampled this for upload without adjusting the sharpening. I looked at the original and on closer inspection it is not absolutely tack-sharp, perhaps a small amount of movement, definitely at the end of the beak.


Changing focus points is no issue. I have the camera set up so that BBF is always the top center focus point in any orientation, so it would have been very quick to switch orientations - just twist my arm.