The buck stops here!

[BuddhaPi]

Looking for tips ideas on how you would process this image. Frankly I suck at PP, hence looking for thought/opinions.I have made several attempts, but am not happy with any results thus far.. As he was on the move I did not have time to make camera adjustments, and only managed to get 2 shots.

Thankx in advance




Sony A100 ( soon to be replaced by the Nikon D7000 )
exposure: 1/250
aperture: 5.6
ISO: 800
Focal Lenght: 300mm
Flash: N/A

Here is the second shot

[SusanH1970]

What software do you use? I'd like to play, but if I'm using something totally different than you, it won't help you out much. Very cool shots, btw.

[BuddhaPi]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

What software do you use? I'd like to play, but if I'm using something totally different than you, it won't help you out much. Very cool shots, btw.

Old version of photshop...7.0 also have GIMP, but not real familiar with it.

[Krusty79]

Is this better? I used a Levels tutorial by LeeR to try to give it more pop, then did some slight adjustments on the Curves screen (all I did was pull the line up to lighten the image). Starting to get some noise, though. I used GIMP, but I am nowhere near being an expert.

Levels: Getting the Professional 'Pop'

BTW, it's usually better not to center your subject in the photo.

[IABoomer]

Using GIMP.

Adjust levels:
Pushed the black up a little (10-15)
Pulled the white down (235-240)
Adjusted the Gamma (1.2-1.4)
Set the gray point to a spot of white under the buck's chin to adjust the white balance.

High-pass sharpen:
Duplicate layer.
Set layer blending to grain merge.
Gausian blur 5px.
New layer from visible
Desaturate.
Set blending mode to grain merge.
Hide blurred duplicate color layer.

Crop:
Rectangular select
Set aspect ratio
Set highlight
Set guidelines to "rule of thirds"
Drag from upper left corner until right third line goes over buck's face
Drag selection to taste
Crop to selection.

End result: attached image (will remove on request)

[Krusty79]

I knew someone with more PP experience could do a better job than me. Do you have tips for finding the gray point? For me, that is waaaay harder than finding the black and white points.

[edbayani]

i like the green background and the spots of sunlight on it. the nearest deer is very dark.
i used cs2. selected the dark deer using quick mask wit a sharp brush, varying the size and sharpness according to the edge i'm selecting. exit quick mask to select the deer and put it in another layer. adjusted the deer using levels and hue and saturation, fine tuned with dodge and burn. on the lower layer, added cloned some of the sunlit grass near the foot of the deer.
duplicated the deer and applied high pass filter then set it to overlay, increasing edge sharpness and a bit of contrast.

[BuddhaPi]

Thanks Krusty & Boomer! I edited the second shot based on what Booomer did to the first and I may have a keeper.. The park where i go regualary, the buck is usually not seen, but I think it's that time of year and on a good day i can easily count and approach over 40 doe, so i'm thinking I have a preety good cahnce of catching him for the next couple of weeks, while he does his....bucking as it were ...again thanx for the tips!

[BuddhaPi]

Originally Posted by edbayani

i like the green background and the spots of sunlight on it. the nearest deer is very dark.
i used cs2. selected the dark deer using quick mask wit a sharp brush, varying the size and sharpness according to the edge i'm selecting. exit quick mask to select the deer and put it in another layer. adjusted the deer using levels and hue and saturation, fine tuned with dodge and burn. on the lower layer, added cloned some of the sunlit grass near the foot of the deer.
duplicated the deer and applied high pass filter then set it to overlay, increasing edge sharpness and a bit of contrast.

Thanks! the buck was in the shade for about 3 seconds, then he was bounding across a small stream into the thich woods.

[IABoomer]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

I knew someone with more PP experience could do a better job than me. Do you have tips for finding the gray point? For me, that is waaaay harder than finding the black and white points.

I just zoomed in and kind of hit-and-miss clicked points. You should see the results in real-time when you click the points. I kept experimenting until I found a spot that took the blueish tint out and warmed up the image a bit.