house finch

[jamn4ex]

These birds are regulars in my yard, they seem to be wearing a little more color. I wonder is that due to mating season?







I went different ways pp these 2 pics 1 was more noise reduced, and 2 was more attention to sharpening. which is preferred?

[Steve S]

I went different ways pp these 2 pics 1 was more noise reduced, and 2 was more attention to sharpening. which is preferred?

Why not both? I think you should sharpen and reduce noise. Nice pose in the first image.

[Bobobird]

Why not both? I think you should sharpen and reduce noise. Nice pose in the first image.

Ditto.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Agreed, do NR and sharpening. If I may, IMO you have over-sharpened the photo (#2). Notice the artifacting lines around the edges (most noticeable at the beak area and around the body). Also, I think #1 could use a bit more contrast or LCE adjustment. One way to deal with oversharpening, if you have software that can do layer masks, is to make a duplicate layer, sharpen the first layer lightly, then sharpen the 2nd layer a bit more. Then where the 2nd layer looks oversharpened, use a layer mask to paint out the artifacts and dark lines, revealing the more conservatively sharpened layer beneath.