Blue Jay - C&C please

[Brownbear]

A photo of a blue jay that I like for the subdued colours,the detail in the feathers and sense of motion even though the background is busy.

I also realize that my focus was not quite there (and the DOF is insufficient), so i tried local contrast enhancement and added a vignette to place more focus on the bird.



Does it work, or do I need to learn to scrap photos like this?

Thank you.

[Digital]

Your idea of composition is good; however your subject is soft.

Bruce

[Brownbear]

Thank you Bruce. That is just what I needed to hear. Appreciated.

[FootLoose]

Christina, it is your decision whether to scrap it or not. I keep a lot of my failures and re-view them periodically to remind me of what I need to work on etc.

I think this shot is 'almost there'... the background can't always be ideal with nature shots (and you could blur this one more in pp). It is just a little soft....

[NorthernFocus]

Well the bird didn't help by being all scruffy. Though it did offer a nice pose. It's a fairly messy image. Not a bad keeper if it's first of the species. IMO the contrast needs to kicked up a bit and I think the comp would be stronger if the bird was looking into the frame.

It's a Steller's Jay.

[FlyingSquirrel]

I also realize that my focus was not quite there (and the DOF is insufficient), so i tried local contrast enhancement and added a vignette to place more focus on the bird.

Christina, as always, I hope you don't mind be being honest about how I see things:

Firstly, I wanted to say that I think the shot IS in proper focus, however the shutter speed was too slow, so you have motion blur. I believe there is very good reason to clarify the difference in those two things.

Second, and I mean this in a positive and good way, not in a negative way, I recommend not spending time editing shots that you know in your heart are not up to your potential. In other words, you and I both know you are quite capable of producing very nice images; your best option IMO is to recognize shots like this one and possibly keep it temporarily until you get a better shot of the species. I do this, and I call them "placeholder" images. I keep them so I feel like I have something and am making progress, and can feel good about deleting them when I get a nicer shot, however I do not spend time editing them. Just my opinion, and I don't mean to be rude at all; I hope it is encouraging to hear this to some extent

[Brownbear]

Thank you to all for your replies.

Greg... Thanks but I have what some might call a problem with "too, many almost there photos" taking up space on my computer. I've been saving them for the day that I learned how to edit, so I'm now testing out my editing skills to see what is editable and what is not. I'm learning that editing is a lot of work, and likely not something I will ever enjoy spending a lot of time on (but I'm truly appreciative of finally knowing the basics of the how to's) And with this particular photo I was testing to see if I could make it sharp enough.

Dan.... Thank you for identifying the bird for me. It is my first shot of a Canadian jay. This one was shaking its' tail and fluffing up all its' feathers and that is what I was trying to capture. I hope to be able to do so one day with the bird looking into the frame. Good to know about the need for more contrast. Very helpful.

James... Thank you so much for your honesty and taking the time to let me know. This type of feedback is exactly what I need right now. I find it hard to differentiate between out of focus and motion blur. I like the term "placeholder" images. Not rude at all, very helpful because I'm learning what can be edited or not. Please keep giving me feedback like this.

Here is another shot of the jay, likely a better shot (except for the messy background) but I prefer the soft shot I was trying for because if I had managed to capture that, it would have been special.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Christina, no problem, I'm glad I can help, and it's nice to know you appreciate my honesty.

You will eventually develop an intuition for what shots can be saved or not saved in post processing, when first viewing the image after loading it onto your computer. That will save you some frustration since you'll instantly know when to hit the delete key and not spend time editing something that is beyond rescue. You mention editing is not something you will probably enjoy; I'd like to say that I somewhat agree with you to an extent (taking photos is funner than editing them), but I've personally found that as the shots I'm getting improve, I'm enjoying editing more at the same time.

Also, I realize you are testing and learning, but I can tell you right now, if a shot is not sharp, you cannot make it sharp in post processing. Maybe if the photo is downsized and sharpened it will pass, but it will really never be sharp at full size.

With your new knowledge about all this, I recommend you focus most of your energy in the field taking as many shots as you can, as well as researching/reading/learning/looking at other peoples photos, etc.

This newer shot of the jay is MUCH better than the first as you know. There might be a microscopic amount of motion blur, or it is possible that the lens you have is just soft. But this is an immense improvement and I really like the shot. We have these Stellers jays around here too, they are such beautiful birds. I haven't yet got a good shot of them.

[Brownbear]

Matt, yes, I truly do appreciate your honesty. Thank you so much.

And yes, taking photos is a lot more fun than editing them, great to know that I may come to enjoy the process a little more one day.

Good to know. I want them to be sharp at full size. Thanks for letting me know that editing will not fix this.

Will do.

Thank you. They are very pretty birds with unique faces... And this one seems comfortable enough with me hanging around so no doubt I will be trying for some more shots of him/her.

Thanks Matt...