heron in florida

[bearcat]

Hi, on a wildlife photo like this does it matter how you crop , like using the rule of thirds. Thanks for any thoughts in this.
Camera Info
Device: Nikon D40X
Lens: 70-300mm F/4-5.6G
Focal Length: 300mm
Focus Mode: AF-A
AF-Area Mode: Closest Subject
VR:
AF Fine Tune:
Exposure
Aperture: F/10
Shutter Speed: 1/400s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Exposure Tuning:
Metering: Spot
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 100
Flash
Flash Sync Mode:
Flash Mode:
Flash Exposure Comp.:

[isfppoet]

First of all, I think you probably provided a little too much EXIF data, haha. Most people only post maybe 5-6 lines at most, but more is better I suppose! You might space your text out from the EXIF data to make it easier to read too.

The rule of thirds can be broken any time any where, as rules are meant to be broken, but I would say it's applicable (if not necessary) no matter what you're capturing.

On a photo like this, since you included some of the roof or whatever the bird is perched upon, if possible I would have included enough to tell what it was, simply because (to me) it's distracting when it's only partially pictured. So, I might have tried a slightly wider angle, assuming it wouldn't compromise too much detail in the bird.

Try not having your subject perfectly centered, and give them some "breathing room" in the frame, even if it's just a simple background with nothing special to look at. Also, when your subject is looking in a particular direction (rather than right at the camera), it looks nicer if you give them space to look into in the frame. In other words, if the bird is looking to the left of the frame, position the bird to the right more and let him look into the left of the frame.

Also, the image looks pretty underexposed, but that's easily corrected (to a point) with software.

Try what I said, and check out some of the photography tutorials on the site. I've learned a lot in a very short time just from this site alone. It takes practice to put the knowledge to good use, but as somebody who still has a lot to learn, I have to say this site has helped a ton.

[BEGM83]

is this a cropped version? What is the original like - sometimes its easier to gauge the crop with the whole image in front of you.

I personally think that with animals you can get away with centering them but only if they take up the bulk of the frame.

I think with yours you could either tighten it up a bit - crop it closer - or shift birdy to one side if you want to make more of that lovely blue sky.

[bearcat]

Originally Posted by BEGM83

is this a cropped version? What is the original like - sometimes its easier to gauge the crop with the whole image in front of you.

I personally think that with animals you can get away with centering them but only if they take up the bulk of the frame.

I think with yours you could either tighten it up a bit - crop it closer - or shift birdy to one side if you want to make more of that lovely blue sky.

Thanks for the comments. This is the original photo as is. I think I'll tighting the crop a bit and go from there. I didn't have a lot of time to compose the shot as I was at a restaurant and this heron just flew in landed on a building next door, as I learn more about composing my shots sometimes everything I learn gets all mixed up. In time with more practice the whole process will get easier, But again thanks for taking time to look at my photo and giving me your advice.

[Chip]

A vertical (portrait) camera orientation can often times work well when the subject is more vertical than horizontal, as is this one.

[bearcat]

Hi everyone, I've recroped the photo and went to a vertical orientation, what do you think

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearcat...7623650749923/

[Chip]

The new crop looks much better to me - the roof runs across the entire frame, and the bird just fits better in a vertical crop. Good job.

The next trick will be to learn how your camera handles white birds in the full sun. For my camera, spot metering with the EV turned down 1/3 or 2/3 of a stop often does a good job of not blowing out the whites. But, experimentation to find something that works for you and your camera will be key. Harsh side lighting like this is always tough, though.