Which one do you like best?

[Ratman667]

I am entering a photo contest on one of the reptile forums that I am a member of. The theme is, "Fall". Since Florida doesn't have one, I had to use a store bought Fall. Since this is for a reptile forum, the photo I submit must contain a reptile.

The props I used are: 2 - 16" tiles for the floor and background, a stem of "Oak" leaves, a stem of "Sunflowers" and two small gourds.

Lighting was one 75w "Daylight" CFL in a 10" reflector.

Which photo do you think is the best? C&C is welcome, but not required.

1.

2.

3.

4.

I did notice that the focus is a bit soft on these. However, seeing that this is an ameture contest, I don't think it will matter. Over the last few months, I have noticed that the winners have always had the, "cutest" animal poses. Last month for example, the the winning shot was badly over exposed.

 

[pbelarge]

#2, it has the best focus on the reptile.

 

[Foxwolfe]

#2 is prolly the best angle (I'm assuming these are a male and female leopard gecko? correct me if I'm wrong) and pose but I also like the composition of #4 and the fact that you can see the animal walking through the scene instead of just standing there.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

#2!

 

[Ratman667]

#2 is prolly the best angle (I'm assuming these are a male and female leopard gecko? correct me if I'm wrong) and pose but I also like the composition of #4 and the fact that you can see the animal walking through the scene instead of just standing there.

They are both female leopard geckos. The gecko in 1 & 2 is a Murphy Patternless and the other is a Hyper-Xanthic.

 

[RobNZ]

What they all said, 2 is the best shot of the gecko.

If its a web comp and your submitting at this exact size, try a high pass sharpen at 0.5 pixels and set the layer to overlay, that will sharpen it quite well. Maybe also a cooling filter (LBB) set at around 17% to cool it slightly.

 

[Olympus E300]

#2 is the winner for me.

 

[Ratman667]

What they all said, 2 is the best shot of the gecko.

If its a web comp and your submitting at this exact size, try a high pass sharpen at 0.5 pixels and set the layer to overlay, that will sharpen it quite well. Maybe also a cooling filter (LBB) set at around 17% to cool it slightly.

Here is #2 with the alterations you suggested. I had to lower the opacity of the second layer, to keep the saturation from being overbearing.

 

[Foxwolfe]

Ah ok gotchya, I used to own one when I was younger but had forgotten about the differences which lead me to assuming maybe the lighter one was the female.

 

[RobNZ]

Looks better, did you sharpen it yet?

Ive compared the one I did, and it doesnt look like it?

 

[Ratman667]

Here it is with exactly what you suggested:

On the previous one, I used Smart Sharpen at 100% and 0.5 px.

Thanks for pointing that tool out too me. I never would have thought to use it. I would have saw the grey screen and hit undo. lol

 

[RobNZ]

Sweet, glad to be of help, just compared them, your's looks better than mine colour and contrast, I got a little more detail on the scales around the mouth area, so you could selectively sharpen a touch more in that area.

Actually, I would probably just selectively sharpen the gecko from the front legs perhaps.

 

[Ratman667]

I will give it a go.