[HHRC]

This was taken at close range due to lack of zoom on my camera

Exif details are: f/5, 1/640 and ISO 50

Just looking for some constructive critique, which will be much appreciated.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o272/HHRC/1561.jpg

Had to break link as pic was oversized - please keep below 200k. Thanks!
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[HHRC]

I have resized and uploaded again - think it might be too small now!?

[Markulous]

You could make it bigger but wouldn't say it was too small!

You captured some nice detail in those water droplets in a classic swan composition. I guess it might have benefitted from being all black or all swan body as a background, but not a big deal.

[skipper954]

This has the potential to be a good image, but personally I don't like the half black half white background. It removes this gorgeous animal from his natural surroundings. On the other hand, if the bg were all black or all white, it might be ok, too.

I like the water drops and the angles created by his neck and head/bill.

Looking forward to more contributions.

skip

[HHRC]

Thanks Skip. I Thought if the BG was all black it would look too unnatural, and if it was all white it the over all image would be too white!

I wanted to try and make the head and neck stand out as much as possible so opted for the half and half look. Do you think it would look better if the dark area was lighter (but not too white?)

[skipper954]

Ya never know until you try. So the answer is a definite maybe

[HHRC]

Thanks for the feedback

[bonniedidit]

I had to think about this and then come back to it. I LOVE the image! I don't think it is too small. I even like the black/white background. But there was something buggin me. Looking again I realize that what bothers me is that the white in the background appears to be "whiter" or a cleaner white than the swan's head.

I don't have the technical expertise to suggest something to do about it, just telling you what I see when I look at the image. I still think it is a lovely image.

[HHRC]

I must say ive not noticed the difference before, but now you mention it, it is quite obvious! I guess its from the sun on its back or something as ive not edited the colours in the shot.

[Rob Barron]

Swans are probably the most photographed bird on the planet as they have an inherent grace and beauty so taking a photo that lifts above the masses is very hard. I think you have done a reasonable effort here and the lighting is fine. The problem is in the focusing which is not pin sharp and it really needs to be when taking a photo this close. The problem is, by cgoing this close you exacerbate the DoF situation and make it harder to keep the whole head in focus.

Let me try and explain that and apologies if I am just telling you stuff you already know: maybe it will help someone

The apparent camera point is about 6 inches in front of the bird's face: I know it isn't in reality as you were using a 420mm (equivalent) lens and would be mad to get that close! But you still have to calculate your Depth of Field from the apparent point, not from the real point so let me conitnue....

The swan's head and neck from front (closest point to 'camera') to back is about 3 inches in-depth (estimating here so don't try and measure it )

Ok, so that means the closest point is 6 inches from the lens whilst the back of the head/neck is 9 inches away, 50% further. That is relatively a large area to keep in sharp focus (and before anyone says it, yes I know the actual measurement should be taken from the sensor/film plane but I am just making the point so stop being so picky )

As you only used F5, you were not giving yourself a fighting chance of getting the whole of the head and neck in sharp focus. I think you could have gone to f8/f11 and still got the body in the BG out of focus enough to give the lovely diffeential focus effect.

I hope that makes sense but well done on what you have got here. The body behind the head makes this a far better picture than simply the neck and head in profile with water behind.

Cheers and hope we can see more of your work soon.
Rob

[HHRC]

Thanks Rob, some good advice.

I think im still at that stage in photography where i sumetimes get excited about the shot and don't always think things through properly!

Luckily swans are always abundent and so i will take the advice and try again!

Cheers again

[Rob Barron]

Originally Posted by HHRC

Thanks Rob, some good advice.

I think im still at that stage in photography where i sumetimes get excited about the shot and don't always think things through properly!

Luckily swans are always abundent and so i will take the advice and try again!

Cheers again

Whilst I would of course encourage you to take the time to think about the shot, I am delighted that you get excited about taking photos and I hope strongly that no matter how good you get at the technical side of things, you never lose that excitement and passion for taking pictures

Must say I still get a thrill out of achieving a good picture after 37 years of photography so I am hopeful you will be just the same

Cheers,
Rob