Lynx

[thisbejonas]

I think one of my better shots with my new 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. It was actually shot thru a window at a zoo. Still I dont know if it is because I dont do any editing to my photos with software (dont have any thing good except Gimp and have yet to learn how to use it) but my photos just dont seem to "pop" like alot of photos I have seen especially considering the lens I am using.

[FrankenPengie]

A slight movement to adjust glow to a more even edge framing the face instead of the chin would help this. Though it seems a shame to crop left, that would help.

[stockphotojourney]

Nice shot! It needs some more light on the side facing the camera. It is begging for a little fill flash although I know that is next to impossible at the zoo. Nice DOF and I love the highlights on his ear tufts. I agree the crop could be a bit tighter. This crop would have worked well if the lynx was in motion (left to right) but with the animal sitting still all the extra space detracts from the animal.

Good work, keep it up!

[Digidave]

I think one of my better shots with my new 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. It was actually shot thru a window at a zoo. Still I dont know if it is because I dont do any editing to my photos with software (dont have any thing good except Gimp and have yet to learn how to use it) but my photos just dont seem to "pop" like alot of photos I have seen especially considering the lens I am using.

I think this does have the potential to be an excellent photo. If you want an excellent picture straight out of the camera, it's all about the lighting & composition. This shot needs to be cropped on the left side a touch & then needs some fill lighting. Your subject is a bit dark. You don't want your subject to be dead center. It should be more to left & leave room to the right, so it has space to look into, so to speak. Now, that's all easier said than done. So having some software for post-production is essential for us beginners. With digital photography you almost always need to do some sharpening for a really good shot.

[thisbejonas]

Originally Posted by Digidave

With digital photography you almost always need to do some sharpening for a really good shot.

There in lies my problem. Everytime I "try" to do some touch up it always seems to me that I make it worse than the original.

[thisbejonas]

Based off of what yall said and with my horrible editing skills here is what I come up with.

[Digidave]

Big improvement!! Sharpening can be tricky. It can be overdone easily. What I try to do is, do my editing & then get away from it for a day if possible. When I come back to that edited picture the next day, quite often I won't be happy with what I have done so I'll tweak it a little bit. It just takes practice & figuring out what you really like. When you get the art of post-production perfected, you be sure to let us know. I think you would be the first!!

[xxpinballxx]

Now thats a great retouch and saved a flat image! Good job Jonas. Now I would only suggest one thing. I find when the subject is darker than the background the viewers eyes seem to roll off the frame. I like to add a very slight bit of vignetting around the edges or even just to burn the edges a bit. Give your eyes a definite border to keep your eyes in frame.

[thisbejonas]

Originally Posted by xxpinballxx

Now thats a great retouch and saved a flat image!

By saved flat image I assume you are talking about if the editing was done with multiple layers then merging the layers back down to 1 layer creating a "flat" image? I cant figure out how to work with layers, everytime I try it seems like whatever I do to the layer I create edits the original layer as well. Which I believe is due to not knowing how to make the top layer opaqe so that the bottom layer shows thru.

I like to add a very slight bit of vignetting around the edges or even just to burn the edges a bit. Give your eyes a definite border to keep your eyes in frame.

Vignetting hmmm gonna have to look that one up as I have not learned all the terms or what they mean yet. But by "burn edges" I assume you are saying take a brush with a darker color and go around the edge? Would you go around the edge where the cats back goes off frame as well?


Thanks for the help and that is why DPS rules!!

[FocalFrenzy]

Vignetting is like using the "Soft-Focus" option on the Picasa Effects tab. Picasa is a free photo editing and internet uploading program from Google. I use Picasa only for its' editing, as I have a Flickr account for uploading my images to the internet. Picasa editing is much more limited than GIMP, but it's very easy to master. I hope this helps. BTW, that's an excellent shot. You did a great job of improving it.