GBH please C&C

I am new at this and would like to know how I could have improved this shot.
Canon Xsi and old canon 70-210 zoom.

Thanks
Tom

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I think this is an ok shot but you chopped off the birds feet and it's a bit grainy. I think that short of getting in -real- close and getting a shot of the birds head and neck, I probably would have pulled back a bit to get the whole bird in the frame. Most of the time I do like tight head shots with most critters but with herons, shots seem to work better when you have a little "environment" there too. I would also run this thru some noise reduction software and I'd probably bump up the saturation a bit too.

Just my $.02 worth,
Jim

It just looks a little soft to me, but nothing a little sharpening with a Layer Mask applied wouldn't fix.

Hey Tom, I do like the photo, though at first glance appears to be too 'normal' level of view, get down lower, move around it, to not get a flat angle, just because the shape of the animal is wide don't be afraid to try shooting vertically, the water tonally matches the bird so perhaps consider keeping the bottom as is and fill the top with water, and boost the contrast.

I was actually sitting on the ground when I shot that and the birds were down in the dead stalks that you see him in.
Thanks for the comments. I wish I knew how to do the stuff you guys suggested, just getting started with this business.

Thanks again
Tom