C & C please - trying to improve composition

[Namibia]

I decided to stick to the "sitting ducks" and concentrate on focus and composition. How am I doing?


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[BekahAura]

The major issue I see in all three of these photos is the black and white background. You should try and change the angle of you and/or the bird (I'm assuming it's a pet) so that the background is all black or all white. I really like some of the poses of the bird you captured.

If you're trying to improve your composition, you need to get the bird out of the middle of the frame. #2 & #3 I would have shot portrait orientation and I would have gotten closer/zoomed in. The focus seems fine to me.

Keep Shooting =)

 

[spacefuzz]

I agree with Bekah, remove the bird from the middle of the frame

 

[reznap]

The major issue I see in all three of these photos is the black and white background. You should try and change the angle of you and/or the bird (I'm assuming it's a pet) so that the background is all black or all white.

^ THIS!

You asked about focus too, OP. Focus looks good.

 

[tirediron]

In addition to the above, try and capture the bird coming into the frame rather than leaving it.

 

[thierry]

research the rule of thirds

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

2 things that jump out at me....

1) The random and sort of awkward positioning of the bird and its wings ( which sort of ties into composition ). I know these are just examples, but to me it looks like you just fired in hopes of catching something. I think with birds, you either want them sitting normally or with wings extended. Otherwise you need it to be clear what is going on. To me I can't tell if the bird just landed, if its about to fly off, if its cleaning itself ( well #2 obviously looks that way ), or whatever. They are just really uneventful which to me, makes them appear more amature or snapshot like. Birds can be a pain. Sometimes it take 100 shots just to keep one.

2) ( the biggest problem ) is the lighting. If you are not using flash, you need to always recognize your light source, how it is hitting your subject, and how to maximize that to your advantage. If this is a captive bird, move the cage, the light source, or use a reflector. If its a bird in the wild, move yourself so that the birds face and eye is being lit. Backlighting can work especially if using flash, or when used sparingly for a specific intended effect.

Focus seems pretty good to me, but its very hard to really be nit picky with that when its small sized low-res images.

Also, as others said, check out the rule of thirds. The birds body can still be centrally located in the frame, but ideally the head and eye ( or whatever you want to draw the eye to ) you would probably want closer to a rule of thirds ( not in all case, but in many )

 

[Namibia]

Thanks to all - I will try a different crop and repost - this is a wild bird and I used some food as bait and had hoped he would turn around.

 

[tygr1]

Yeah, watch the background and try not to center the subject so much.