My Hummingbird and Owl photo

[raphael1047]

Hey there, this is my first ever post and I am relativly new to Photography. In fact I have only had my camera for less than 30 days. I would like for someone to critique these photo that I took in my Neighborhood of this hummingbird and owl. I want to know what I can do better for next time. Thank you!

 

[The_Traveler]

Raphael,

These are decent shots of wildlife but would definitely profit from some post-processing.
If you change your profile to allow editing, I can give you an example.

The basic issue here is really that the birds don't stand out well against their background, The hummingbird is against a brighter background, which pulls the viewer's eye away and the owl is blending in, what he is made to do. Assuming you couldn't instantly change your position without frightening them away, that's nothing you could have done with the exposure.

Good start.

Lew

 

[grafxman]

You use photobucket so I can't tell what your EXIF info is. Generally speaking, when shooting wildlife you want to use an open aperture so as to set the critter apart from the background and foreground. Then use some contrast in the software as well as sharpening to make the critter stand out against the scenery. Here's an example:

IMG_9972 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The lens was wide open. Note how the foreground and background are blurred. Unfortunately the light is not ideal.

I had to stop down to f8 for this photo to get a little depth of field because there are 2 birds with one behind the other:

IMG_7940 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I've found the Sigma 50-500mm to be the best all round lens for wildlife photography. I came to this conclusion after trying other lenses that didn't focus close or were too powerful at the lower end of their zoom range. It's expensive but well worth it.

 

[raphael1047]

Raphael,

These are decent shots of wildlife but would definitely profit from some post-processing.
If you change your profile to allow editing, I can give you an example.

The basic issue here is really that the birds don't stand out well against their background, The hummingbird is against a brighter background, which pulls the viewer's eye away and the owl is blending in, what he is made to do. Assuming you couldn't instantly change your position without frightening them away, that's nothing you could have done with the exposure.

Good start.

Lew

I tried editing them with Lightroom five, but again I am fairly new at this so i do not know how to use it that well/at all. I allowed editing to my photos.
I am interested in to see the the end result. Btw can i attach a raw file so it is easier for you to edit my photo? If so How?

You use photobucket so I can't tell what your EXIF info is. Generally speaking, when shooting wildlife you want to use an open aperture so as to set the critter apart from the background and foreground. Then use some contrast in the software as well as sharpening to make the critter stand out against the scenery. Here's an example:

IMG_9972 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The lens was wide open. Note how the foreground and background are blurred. Unfortunately the light is not ideal.

I had to stop down to f8 for this photo to get a little depth of field because there are 2 birds with one behind the other:

IMG_7940 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I've found the Sigma 50-500mm to be the best all round lens for wildlife photography. I came to this conclusion after trying other lenses that didn't focus close or were too powerful at the lower end of their zoom range. It's expensive but well worth it.

Thanks for the advice. How do you recommend I attach photos? I am guessing your prefer through Flickr? I do plan to get a lens for wildlife photography, but I am not ready to invest that much in to a lens. When i do though I will be sure to look at the sigma 50-500mm. Seems like a great lens!

 

[The_Traveler]

Raphael,
Btw can i attach a raw file so it is easier for you to edit my photo? If so How?

You can host it somewhere (like dropbox) and post a link to it.
You have large jpegs on the web and I will make a try with those.

 

[grafxman]

I just started out with flickr years ago. I have tried a few other sites but they don't seem to have the features that flickr has. I just prefer to use hyperlinks however most people here post photos.

 

[raphael1047]

Here is the raw file links for your edit https://www.dropbox.com/s/iq6o6xh5hyg0iro/IMG_3030.dng https://www.dropbox.com/s/18xblv7hrr1pnxa/IMG_2876.dng Thanks!

 

[The_Traveler]

Just dealing with the owl.
You need to fill the frame as much as possible with the subject. Leave enough around it to set the environment but reserve as many pixels as you can for the actual object of interest.
If you have a single object in a field of everything else, meter for that object so that you get a good exposure for that. Later on you can learn to manage exposures to handle dynamic range.
Try to get the subject against a darker background so it is 'bright' and pulls the eye.

Take more pictures and then you can learn about color temperature, saturation, etc and editing.

 

[Bryan Pereira]

great first shots!, a hummingbird image like this was my first published shot almost 40 years ago so this brings back memories, thank you for sharing!

 

[raphael1047]

I just started out with flickr years ago. I have tried a few other sites but they don't seem to have the features that flickr has. I just prefer to use hyperlinks however most people here post photos.

Okay thanks I will look into my options and see which one i prefer.

great first shots!, a hummingbird image like this was my first published shot almost 40 years ago so this brings back memories, thank you for sharing!

Thanks! If you can find that hummingbird picture you should post it, I would love to see it.

Just dealing with the owl.
You need to fill the frame as much as possible with the subject. Leave enough around it to set the environment but reserve as many pixels as you can for the actual object of interest.
If you have a single object in a field of everything else, meter for that object so that you get a good exposure for that. Later on you can learn to manage exposures to handle dynamic range.
Try to get the subject against a darker background so it is 'bright' and pulls the eye.

Take more pictures and then you can learn about color temperature, saturation, etc and editing.

Thank you! I appreciate the advice.

 

[LarryLomona]

Great shots.