Bobcat

[Dmitri]

This fellow was rolling around having some fun. I got a bunch of snaps on him, but I think these two are the nicest.

#1

#2

c&c always welcome

 

[underOATH2220]

haha awesome photos! i really like the way the fur turned out in number one

 

[audiobomber]

That's a great moment, a bobcat acting like a ***** cat.

 

[Dmitri]

haha awesome photos! i really like the way the fur turned out in number one

Thanks Underoath!

That's a great moment, a bobcat acting like a ***** cat.

lol yeah, as playful as any cat. Except this one might use a dog as a mouse

 

[Overread]

First shot is wonderful, the second though is showing that you were shooting very much in strong light which is leading to those white areas which are rather glaring to the viewer. A way to counter this in field is to underexpose a shot during the day by about one full stop (either select settings to underexpose in manual or use exposure compensation in aperture or shutter priority modes). That will help preserve the white areas more and then you can just add light to the shot in editing to brighten it up.
In editing you can try using the burn tool on the white areas to restore some colour and cut down on the glare - use it at something like 20% exposure and that way you can run the brush over a point several times and build up to the level that works best (if you use a different mouse click for each area and layer you can use the undo command to go back a few layers if you need to).
Overall two very good shots and I really like the selective colouring in both - works well for such a bright and playful cat!

 

[mmcduffie1]

nice shots

 

[Dmitri]

First shot is wonderful, the second though is showing that you were shooting very much in strong light which is leading to those white areas which are rather glaring to the viewer. A way to counter this in field is to underexpose a shot during the day by about one full stop (either select settings to underexpose in manual or use exposure compensation in aperture or shutter priority modes). That will help preserve the white areas more and then you can just add light to the shot in editing to brighten it up.
In editing you can try using the burn tool on the white areas to restore some colour and cut down on the glare - use it at something like 20% exposure and that way you can run the brush over a point several times and build up to the level that works best (if you use a different mouse click for each area and layer you can use the undo command to go back a few layers if you need to).
Overall two very good shots and I really like the selective colouring in both - works well for such a bright and playful cat!

Hey thanks for the tips! The whole time i was shooting him, he kept staying half in bright sun and half in shade. I couldn't figure out what to do so I just shot and hoped for the best. Since I happily shot in raw, I can try to fix it later when I get time. Thanks again for the advice and kind words!

nice shots

Thanks mmc

 

[CameronSmith]

The first one is super cute..

 

[Dmitri]

The first one is super cute..

Thanks

 

[Dmitri]

I applied Overreads advice tonight and I think I got it the best I can. If I burned the areas any more, they started to get very orangy and bad. I think this version is much better than the first one (above). Unfortunately there didn't seem much I could do about the noise. Seems to be just part of the shadow problem

Thank you again for the wonderful tips, Overread!

 

[Overread]

Nice work! Its helped take a lot of the bright edge off the shot

When it comes to covering over areas and ending up very orange you can use the layermask (if you are on elements go here for a free one you can download: http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pselements/qt/layermasktool.htm ) set it up and then use a small brush and zoom in to exclude areas that you don't want burned.

 

[Dmitri]

My final here. After seeing the results of Overreads advice, and using a new trick I found somewhere (copy layer, use screen blending to lighten an image) I came upon an image I am truly happy with the results. I also brightened the eyes a bit (painted in a new layer using overlay blending) and I think it came out pretty good, and I hope doesn't look like it was modified

Also, just for fun, I played around with another shot I had that was suffering from the too dark/too light thing. I know its not th best focus but I thought it was cute

Thanks again

 

[Overread]

I like the results - the second shot actually works well for me - the area where the softness is, is a soft underbelly area, so being a little furry and fuzzy is not bad.
One thing, though is that I think the soft brushes you have used have leaked a little onto the plants surrounding the cat in the first.
You have done really well at blending the lighter and darker areas together - that has left the shot looking more natural than the harsh transitions of before

 

[Dmitri]

Thanks again, man