Swans... up close and personal

[jopu]

He came to pose to me and didn't mind the flash at all...

#1

#2

#3

C&C appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[sabbath999]

Can I have your permission to show you what just a tinsy bit of teaking in post can do?

You have the "not OK to edit" tag on.

 

[jopu]

You have my permission
What are you going to do?

 

[sabbath999]

Well, this is #2... I just wanted to show you a couple tricks visually that take virtually no time (give or take the software you use). I PP in Capture NX.

I took the swan, which is a very nice shot. I put a control point on its head and increased the contrast just a bit, and brigtened it up just a tad.

I put another control point on the bill, where the orange fades to red and increased the saturation of that area just a bit.

I put another control point right above the head of the swan and increased the brightness some, to kind of give it a "glowy halo" and put the water into the background...

I put another control point on the tip of each wing, and totally desaturated them (eliminating the blue tint), lightening them up some and increasing the contrast to pop the feathers JUST a bit.

Lastly, I took another control point and put it in the flash shadow under the bill... If I were really going to PP it instead of just doing a quicky job I would blend that shadow with the rest o the wing so it wasn't there at all... but this is just a quick demo.

Total processing time start to finish was 4 minutes (I looked at the clock before I started).

Nice shot. I just thought it could be "popped" a bit from a couple of very quick tweaks...

 

[JimmyO]

Great shot jopu
Great PP Sabath

I love how the feathers repel the water.

 

[crystal_lynn]

Love the water droplets, great job.

 

[jopu]

Thanks Sabbat999! Yes, I see where you are going. Especially with the shadow I fully agree. Thanks a lot for the quick tips... appreciated