Zoo pics for C&C

[sabbath999]

I would sharpen it some, and pop the colors a bit more... it does work better than the original.

I found the branch on the left distracting, while I like the branch in its mouth.

 

[robertwsimpson]

ok thanks for the tip

 

[robertwsimpson]

how about this?

 

[Josh220]

There's a lot of issues with them being underexposed/overexposed. The other hard thing about shooting at the zoo, is making it look like it wasn't taken at the zoo.

The last one may have still worked if the fence wasn't cutting across it's eye.

 

[robertwsimpson]

There's a lot of issues with them being underexposed/overexposed. The other hard thing about shooting at the zoo, is making it look like it wasn't taken at the zoo.

The last one may have still worked if the fence wasn't cutting across it's eye.

you should probably read a thread before commenting in it... if you had, you would have noticed that the over/under exposed thing has already been mentioned.

I was trying to be mindful of making the pictures not look like they were at the zoo, but some of them were just impossible. I liked the moment captured enough to keep them anyway. I dunno... I'm a newbie, what can I say?

 

[itznfb]

There's a lot of issues with them being underexposed/overexposed. The other hard thing about shooting at the zoo, is making it look like it wasn't taken at the zoo.

The last one may have still worked if the fence wasn't cutting across it's eye.

Yep. That's a good point that I totally ignored for some reason :meh:
However if I'm at a zoo I may only get to visit once or every few years that is probably the last thing I'll worry about. Getting the correct exposure I think is top priority. Once you've mastered that or at least gained a comfortable level on how to manage lighting at the zoo; then you can work on composition technique trying to make the animals look like they are in the wild. That's the fun part

I liked the moment captured enough to keep them anyway. I dunno... I'm a newbie, what can I say?

Sometimes you just have to deal with the fact that it is indeed a zoo and the animal may be doing something that will still make the shot worth it. In those situation it's best to try and make it look like a zoo. Make sure you encapsulate the exhibit, or maybe a child's reaction. Obviously these aren't rules but might help make the shot more interesting.

 

[robertwsimpson]

yeah to be honest, I was more worried about lighting and exposure. clearly, as mentioned 11 times in this thread, I still need to work on this.

 

[Josh220]

There's a lot of issues with them being underexposed/overexposed. The other hard thing about shooting at the zoo, is making it look like it wasn't taken at the zoo.

The last one may have still worked if the fence wasn't cutting across it's eye.

you should probably read a thread before commenting in it... if you had, you would have noticed that the over/under exposed thing has already been mentioned.

I was trying to be mindful of making the pictures not look like they were at the zoo, but some of them were just impossible. I liked the moment captured enough to keep them anyway. I dunno... I'm a newbie, what can I say?

I saw it had already been mentioned, but I also noticed that you made excuses for it. If you don't want the errors pointed out, or you get too defensive over it, then don't post the pictures that you already know have such errors.

No point in getting defensive in a C&C thread. That's why so many people don't bother critiquing others' pictures anymore. Everyone thinks their picture is an exception regardless of its flaws.

 

[robertwsimpson]

here are some more pictures that I took:

 

[Overread]

I'm so tempted to nominate that 3rd shot in your second series! (where is Chris with Septembers nominations thread!)
as for the last shot in that second series you might think about opening up a saturation layer in editing - then go to the section at the top where it says master and scroll down through the list to Cyans - then desaturate the cyans in the shot. It will lose you that bluey colouring on the shadowed legs

 

[robertwsimpson]

yeah I have a TON to learn in post processing. thanks for the tip. I will give it a try.

the only thing that bothers me about #3 is that you can see the bokeh of the fence against the rocks. it looks weird.

 

[robertwsimpson]

also, thanks for the compliments!

 

[Overread]

Chances are you can probably remove that fence effect quite easily - its not too bad and is not standing out much against the rocks (often you get a white hazy line from the fencing which is at best hard and at worst impossible to lose).
Check out this site here: Ron Bigelow Articles
and give layer editing a read.

As for removing the bars you could try a range of things - I would start with the heal tool myself and see if that works. Or you could try the smudge/blur effect. Experiment and see what works but I am sure it can be lost.
You might also do a little selective brightening to the eye area of the cat looking at the viewer just to bring it out a little more (not too much so that it stands out harshly, just to give it a little lift).

 

[sabbath999]

yeah I have a TON to learn in post processing. thanks for the tip. I will give it a try.

the only thing that bothers me about #3 is that you can see the bokeh of the fence against the rocks. it looks weird.

I would like to encourage you to start working on this (fixing your stuff in post) as time and money permits... it is an ongoing process, I am still learning tons every time I open up my favorite editor...

Here, let me show you something...

I opened your pic up in Capture NX (you can use any program for PP, I just like Capture NX best) and simply painted in some better bokeh with gaussian blur. I also added a touch of saturation and lightened the kittys up just a bit, and sharpened them just a bit.

Total time spent, one minute twenty eight seconds.

Also, I resized it to 800 wide, simply because this forum uses automatic resizing to that size anyway. I would suggest everybody make their images no larger than 800 on the widest size for web posting anyway, if for no other reason than to discourage image theft.

Nice shot, btw, I really like it.

 

[sabbath999]

BTW totally beside the point, but this post illustrates why I don't do C&C...

I personally would rather SHOW somebody some thoughts about what I would do with an image or a situation than to tell somebody.

I think all too often C&C means too much different to too many people... and, with all due respect to all posters, I personally have no idea what many people's own skill levels are because I haven't seen their work...

If somebody like Overread says something about one of my pictures, I pay attention and try to look at it through new eyes... because I KNOW the excellent quality of Overread's stuff.

Personally, I want to see the work of somebody who is offering advice so I can get an idea if that person actually knows what they are talking about (again, meaning no disrespect to ANYBODY here, I haven't checked out your stuff, y'all may be the second coming of Ansel Adams for all I know... this is a GENERAL statement).

Additionally, I like it when people who DO ask for C&C make it OK for their photos to be edited, simply because it makes it easier to SHOW a point (like what I have been doing in this thread).

But that's me.