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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RandyDSok" data-source="post: 180511" data-attributes="member: 201">[USER=6154]Rob Lancaster[/USER] You've got some really nice shots already there... good going.I'm going to use one for examples for the subject of composition... These are NOT criticisms they just present a situation that I can use to showcase some concepts I use when I'm post processing. I'm picking the baby birds on this... one I like the shot but it also is very similar to one I took long ago but had issues I couldn't address and ended up not using it as a final...I had mentioned previously that I will often use a much wider shot than what I'm planning on in the end. This helps when it comes to leveling the shot if needed and also composing where my main subject or subjects ends up being centered at. So in my post processing of your shot... first I leveled what I thought the nest would be leveled at in real life ( I could be wrong, remember this is just a example of that concept only ). Next I tried to center the birds where I would want them, this time considering the rule of thirds. If the shot had been wider or taken from a little further back... I probably would have raised the nest a little bit higher towards the top... but I did get the birds on the left third so it still worked for an example. I often run into the situation where once a shot is straightened where I'd want it, I can't place the subject exactly where I'd like because when straightening you are limited to the height and width of the whole shot and turning it always makes the selection smaller.I'm also showcasing a couple features I have using my ON1 Photo Raw software but not much of it. I lowered what is often called "haze" and this often improves the contrast slightly as well as makes the colors a little more pure so they pop just a bit more. It has the effect much like what a polarizing filter on a lens has but slightly different and usually more subtle than a software polarizer. If the shot had bright reflective surfaces that were blowing out those areas, I'd probably selected a polarizer but this shot didn't so I selected to use the haze filter instead because it is more subtle. I also used ON1's Tack Sharp AI filter on the shot. This teases out the details in the shot but unlike most sharpening filters, it doesn't put halos around the sharpened areas... or it tends to not do it. I did lower the amount of sharpening that this applied typically because I did see some slight haloing happening and I do still see some of it... but still wanted to show what it is capable of. ON1 is about to release an update to this sometime next month that even further improves this filter. To summarize... I first leveled the shot using the nest as what I was trying to level, next I composed the birds taking into account the rule of thirds for their placement in the shot... I dropped the "haze" colors to increase contrast slightly and pop the colors up a little... and then used the tack sharp AI filter for some sharpening. Note that the rule of thirds is NOT a rule... for example your heli, if that rule was used would not look the same and that concept wouldn't be the right one for the shot. Still it is something to consider when framing a subject in some cases.  What it does bring up is thinking about where do you want your subject in the final shot to achieve the feel that you are after. If you have a program with a haze filter in it... The color of haze is sort of like the exhaust of a vehicle with a slight oil leak... sort of a bluish - whitish color... say as apposed to an overly rich exhaust color of sooty white... or gray. Again, not something you want all of the time but certainly handy when you need it... a time you would NOT use it is say you want to see the fog in a shot and do not want to diminish the effect of the fog any. Sharpening is a great effect but must be used sparingly or it makes the shots look odd if over used. I will often have to re-edit a shot if I've used too much but didn't notice it until later. The photo editors I rely on the most are called non-destructive editors, they don't alter the original but use copies instead and they also keep the history of the changes so I can go back in time ( so to speak ) of the edits I make and do them differently if I need to. Ok... here is your shot redone with the things I wanted to use as examples to consider when you are shooting the photos, post processing them and editing. I'll also try to find my own shot of the bird nest I took and share it if I find it. I always like finding when someone else has taken a similar shot to one I've also taken.</blockquote>

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