Reflection

[JOZBUG]

My dad has been after me to enter this photo in a local competition. Any comments on improving it would be greatly appreciated

Used:
Nikon D90
shutter: 1/320
ap: 5.6
focal length: 300mm
iso: 400
no flash

[MSidPhoto]

Hey JOZBUG.
Hmm....are you looking to improve the photo by shooting it once more or through post processiing?

Well, it seems as if this photo has quite a few distractions. Firstly, I believe your main subject is the duck (below) which is being reflected. The main distractions in this photo is the duck on the top and the focus is mainly on the grass in the background along with the (unwanted) duck. Now, somehow you must have a proper focus on your main subject along with its reflection and at the same time you must be able to blur the background so that it isn't distracting. I would recommend using a wider aperture (lower F number) so the the background blurs. If you manage to improve focus and remove distractions, the photo could definitely be a very good one.

I hope this helps.

[JOZBUG]

Actually I was hoping to improve post processing. It took me weeks to sneak up on these goobers, they are very skittish. I new that there was something bothering me, but wasn't sure quite what it was. I think the background blurred more is what the problem is. As for the focus on the bottom duck, when I printed this out in an 8x10 it came out much clearer than it looks in this thumbnail. These guys are in a pond by my house all the time along with woodducks, so I will keep on plugging along.
Thanks for your help.

[Obijuan]

Agreed with the aperture; however, it seems very centered to me. Try a different crop.

[Vernian]

If you want to you can simulate the DOF that MSid photo was talking about. There are several tutorials (google 'simulate depth of field') out there for whichever pp software you want to use. It comes down to basically

1. Create 2 duplicate layers
2. Apply gausian blur (distortion) to the background one
3. apply a mask that allows the in focus crisp bit of the foreground layer to show through (ie the green duck and the water)

play around with different sizes on the guassian blur. Once you've got something you like you may be able to crop the photo differently because the duck further back is now blurred

Good luck