Constructive Criticism Welcome

[Brundo]

Here are a few photos I would like to show to you all and get some general feedback on.

Bull Elk by Brandon Brunswick, on Flickr

Bull Moose by Brandon Brunswick, on Flickr

 

[Designer]

Unfortunately both are suffering from not showing the entire animal (or at least most of it).

Elk shot is cropped too closely, and moose shot is framed too far to the left. Also moose near side is in shade, so we can't see much detail there.

 

[JacaRanda]

Hi Brundo.

I see you were using the 400 prime lens. How much did you crop #1? It's tough for me to tell where the focus point is. You probably should have used a faster shutter speed and focus right on it's face (how many focus points did you use?).

As Designer mentioned, too much shadow on the moose because it was not shot at the best time of day.

 

[GeorgianBayBoy]

The Elk is a very nice shot, I would have cropped, framing the head and horns, cool expression. The moose is a very nice shot as well. I would have stretched the shadows in lightroom to bring out more detail. Love the velvet on the antlers!

 

[Brundo]

Thanks all.

(how many focus points did you use?).

I can't recall how many focus points I used.

For the elk: I was planning on shooting landscapes, not wildlife. I happened to have my digital and 400mm in my car when I passed this bull and his herd. Sadly since I went out to shoot landscapes on film I didn't put any of my other digital gear in my car. Hence I did not have my medium telephoto lens. That being said I decided to get out and see what I could do with what I had. I knew from the get go that the final photos would be sort of tight. So the above shot was not cropped at all in post.