Bighorn Sheep, Badlands N.P.

[noahx1]

Got lucky and caught a few Bighorn Sheep the other week in South Dakota. Criticism is welcome! Thanks!

 

[FITBMX]

I like this shot, but the sheep are underexposed, and since they are the subject they should be the proper exposure.
What I try to do (and this doesn't always work) is shoot the subject at the proper exposure, and then use the brush tool in LightRoom to bring down the exposure of the sky. The second thing I would try would be to take a "plate" shot, this is where you take a second photo in the exact same location, exposing for the sky. Then you put the photos together in Photoshop. This is harder than Lightroom, but if done properly, will give you great results.

 

[noahx1]

I like this shot, but the sheep are underexposed, and since they are the subject they should be the proper exposure.
What I try to do (and this doesn't always work) is shoot the subject at the proper exposure, and then use the brush tool in LightRoom to bring down the exposure of the sky. The second thing I would try would be to take a "plate" shot, this is where you take a second photo in the exact same location, exposing for the sky. Then you put the photos together in Photoshop. This is harder than Lightroom, but if done properly, will give you great results.

Thank you for the advice! I am a complete noob at photoshop and lightroom, and only use GIMP now, but i am definitely looking into getting a real package. I purposefully underexposed the sheep a little when editing, because I liked how they looked as silhouettes, but do you think that I should have skipped that and darkened the sky and retouched the grass a little and kept it so the sheep have more detail? Thanks again!

 

[FITBMX]

I like this shot, but the sheep are underexposed, and since they are the subject they should be the proper exposure.
What I try to do (and this doesn't always work) is shoot the subject at the proper exposure, and then use the brush tool in LightRoom to bring down the exposure of the sky. The second thing I would try would be to take a "plate" shot, this is where you take a second photo in the exact same location, exposing for the sky. Then you put the photos together in Photoshop. This is harder than Lightroom, but if done properly, will give you great results.

Thank you for the advice! I am a complete noob at photoshop and lightroom, and only use GIMP now, but i am definitely looking into getting a real package. I purposefully underexposed the sheep a little when editing, because I liked how they looked as silhouettes, but do you think that I should have skipped that and darkened the sky and retouched the grass a little and kept it so the sheep have more detail? Thanks again!

Silhouetting is fine, but when the foreground is not silhouetted, it looks unnatural. Even if it isn't completely blacked out, but it needs to be significantly darker.
do you shoot in RAW? If not you need to.
I have never used GIMP, but I am sure it is fine. No need to have a monthly bill for photoshop, if GIMP is working for you.
Would you mind posting the original photo?

 

[noahx1]

I like this shot, but the sheep are underexposed, and since they are the subject they should be the proper exposure.
What I try to do (and this doesn't always work) is shoot the subject at the proper exposure, and then use the brush tool in LightRoom to bring down the exposure of the sky. The second thing I would try would be to take a "plate" shot, this is where you take a second photo in the exact same location, exposing for the sky. Then you put the photos together in Photoshop. This is harder than Lightroom, but if done properly, will give you great results.

Thank you for the advice! I am a complete noob at photoshop and lightroom, and only use GIMP now, but i am definitely looking into getting a real package. I purposefully underexposed the sheep a little when editing, because I liked how they looked as silhouettes, but do you think that I should have skipped that and darkened the sky and retouched the grass a little and kept it so the sheep have more detail? Thanks again!

Silhouetting is fine, but when the foreground is not silhouetted, it looks unnatural. Even if it isn't completely blacked out, but it needs to be significantly darker.
do you shoot in RAW? If not you need to.
I have never used GIMP, but I am sure it is fine. No need to have a monthly bill for photoshop, if GIMP is working for you.
Would you mind posting the original photo?

Gotcha, thanks for more advice! I did not shoot in RAW the last trip I was on, because I did not have access to my computer and did not want to run out of space. Also, one of the weaknesses of GIMP is that it does not take RAW photos, which is a real bummer.

 

[FITBMX]

Gotcha, thanks for more advice! I did not shoot in RAW the last trip I was on, because I did not have access to my computer and did not want to run out of space. Also, one of the weaknesses of GIMP is that it does not take RAW photos, which is a real bummer.

That is a real problem for photos like this. I know you have No editing your photos marked, but would you mind I did a quick edit to show you what I mean?

 

[noahx1]

Gotcha, thanks for more advice! I did not shoot in RAW the last trip I was on, because I did not have access to my computer and did not want to run out of space. Also, one of the weaknesses of GIMP is that it does not take RAW photos, which is a real bummer.

That is a real problem for photos like this. I know you have No editing your photos marked, but would you mind I did a quick edit to show you what I mean?

Of course! That would be much appreciated!

 

[FITBMX]

Of course! That would be much appreciated!

These are really sloppy 5 minute edits, but it gives you the idea.
And low res Jpegs are hard to make look good.

I recropped this edit, removing part of the foreground. The focus of this photo to me is the sheep and the sky, and there isn't much happening in the foreground.

 

[noahx1]

Of course! That would be much appreciated!

These are really sloppy 5 minute edits, but it gives you the idea.
And low res Jpegs are hard to make look good.

I recropped this edit, removing part of the foreground. The focus of this photo to me is the sheep and the sky, and there isn't much happening in the foreground.
View attachment 127851


View attachment 127852

Thank you for sharing these! I love the top edit, I think the detail in the sheep is great, and taking away part of the foreground was definitely a good idea. I really appreciate all of your feedback!