Grey Butcherbird

Grey Butcherbird (Image ID 47881)
Photographed byMiriam Smith on Sun 5th Sep, 2021 and uploaded on same date.
Resolution1800x1350
Viewed419
ID47881
CommentThe reason I would like feedback on this photo is around composition. I tidied it up in Lightroom by cropping, sharpening, adjusting exposure and slightly saturating the green. I'm hoping to enter competitions in future, and I realise composition is important in competitions, but up until recently I have not given it much thought, I've just enjoyed taking photos of birds. Any other critiques of any aspect of this photo would also be gratefully received.
EquipmentOlympus OMD E-M1 Mark III. Olympus M.Zuiko 75-300mm lens. ISO 500, f/6.7, shutter speed 1/250
LocationMullum Mullum reserve, Donvale, Victoria
Keywordsfeeding/with prey, adult
This image is not available for download.
Con Boekel2021-09-10 10:23:21Hi Miriam,
This image has several strong points: the bird is engaged with the viewer, the bird has something in its beak and this adds interest, the bird is placed around a third of the way along the picture space and the rule of thirds usually works and finally the bird is sort of facing into the bulk of the picture space. The bokeh works quite well as well.
I suggest that most of the issues with this image in terms of competitions have to do with capture. Our eyes will follow lines and there are plenty of confusing lines in this image. The trick is to move around when you are taking pictures and checking that there is not a tangle of vegetation in the picture frame. I would suggest that you start practising this with birds which are used to humans - usually in urban parks. The second big issue is that the bird is soft. This can generally only be fixed by three things: increasing depth of field, not moving the camera when you are taking a picture and making sure that the focus is on the bird. You could practice a couple of things here: using a higher shutter speed (1/250 is on the low side), increasing the depth of field by changing your fstop and putting your camera on a tripod.
Best wishes with your photography. I am sure that if you build on your strong points and experiment with different settings and approaches your photos will improve.
kind regards
Con Boekel
Miriam Smith2021-09-12 13:48:04--Thanks very much, Con! I will endeavor to improve based on your suggestions. Personally, I like the tangle of vegetation, so it's useful to know that that is not generally a good thing.
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