Scaly Breasted Munia on pearl millet

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Was happy to get this Scaly Breasted Munia feasting on a pearl millet on a road side farm in warm early morning light.

Canon R5, 600 f4 II, 1.4x, Tripod
1/3200, f 7.1, ISO 2500. Manual

ACR + PS.
Minor spot healing on the bill.

Thanks!

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Sid, you are nailing these subjects on millet, and a killer backdrop, all in sympathy to the subject.

Techs looks good, the subject is sharp, (perhaps a sliver more USM, personal choice, but it just crispens things up when viewed actual size) but everything else is nicely OOF.

Overall it is bright still and I think its the screen, if I drop the HL's and Whites, tweak the Parametric curve in Lr/ACR and just pop a few Exp filters on, it all comes nicely into place IMHO.

TFS
Steve

 

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Hi Steve, please do repost, if you did try those tweaks and still have the file handy. Thanks!

 

[Steve Kaluski]

• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.0.1 (Macintosh)

if you did try those tweaks and still have the file handy.

Hi Sid, all comments are based on application, but then the file is deleted after 8 hrs.

Obviously these all very 'subjective', and what additional tweaks you feel are required later to get it closer to what you saw, can only be applied, if my thinking is correct. Hope it helps, BTW added +5 to Via & Sat.

 

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Sid,

Lovely sharp capture and nice image design/ composition.

I like what steve has done with the gradients around the four sides - it seems to add intimacy to the image - more enclosed and keeping the eye on the subject.

Thanks for sharing,

Gerald

 

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Thanks for the feedback, and for the repost.
Steve, I skipped sharpening the image after resizing and exporting to JPG. I'm still tentative on what the right way to resize and sharpen is.
Do you recommend Smart Sharpen? Or Unsharp mask?
Via + Sat changes also look good.

I've been admiring Jan Wegener's photography lately, and am in this bright background phase inspired by his photos
But can certainly see the rationale behind the background changes you're recommending.

Thanks again.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Steve, I skipped sharpening the image after resizing and exporting to JPG. I'm still tentative on what the right way to resize and sharpen is.
Do you recommend Smart Sharpen? Or Unsharp mask?

Hi Sid, it's very simple, you have worked in Lr or ACR with your Raw file and exported to PS as 16 bitt Tiff with the correct resolution ie 300. Then in PS you make the required adjustments and enhancements that you could not make in Lr or ACR and then Save. This becomes your Master file which you have saved with all its workings & layers (it's your 16bit Tiff but known as a PSD), this means you can always go back and make further adjustments. I save it back to Lr and Export, you may save it elsewhere, then just crop and Save As, if you crop and Save, this will mean loosing all your adjustments and more importantly, it is permanently saved at that cropped size!!!! Once cropped to the desired size ie 1920px long and you sharpen that, I prefer USM. I would suggest small amounts and keep the Radius way below 1, never 1 its too much and threshold at 0, you may need more so you can apply more, this is called perceptual sharpening, basically does the sharpening look right at that size. Use the window that pops up in USM to gauge, you can more the area indicated in the widow so you can see an eye, been foot etc.

I've been admiring Jan Wegener's photography

He's OK but his PP leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Thanks for that write-up, Steve. Will try that sharpening workflow.
So, if I understood you correctly, exporting to JPEG is your last step? You never sharpen the exported JPEG, correct?

Many moons ago, if memory serves me right, it was Arash who had mentioned that Smart Sharpen is the way to go, and that USM is a relatively simplistic algorithm. There are so many algorithms/options within smart sharpen currently that I couldn't tell which one does what without reading a big PS book.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

So, if I understood you correctly, exporting to JPEG is your last step? You never sharpen the exported JPEG, correct?

From the hi res Master file > Crop, flatten, Save as > Sharpen > Save for Web. Save for web will create an sRGB JPEG file, but you need to check/tick the relevant boxes to ensure the file is fit for purpose.

Things have come a long way since then Sid, folk will now add sharpening during NR, I prefer not too, Smart sharpen tended to be rather aggressive years back, now it has improved, plus you need to open the window and go advance and address those extra boxes, I personally prefer USM and have always used it. When I print I use the sharpening in Lr for print and what is specified for the printer and output from the hi res master file. This is why I like Lr & PS as everything is all under one roof and no need to search.

Sid, my advice would be get the basic building blocks right, and keep a simple workflow, once Mastered then explore. The Web is full of good stuff, it is also full of incorrect stuff, you just need to know what is correct and distill. PP is a constant leaning curve, as software develops. My Workflow is simple, but follows a logical pattern. If you start lurching from Pillar to Post, with Dave says this, Mary says that, you will become like a deer caught in the headlights, not knowing which direction to run to.

 

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Once cropped to the desired size ie 1920px long and you sharpen that, I prefer USM.

You meant resize to desired size (vs crop), right?
You likely know this already, but whether you resize an image, or export it to JPG, PS uses those same algorithms offered by Smart Sharpen (Bicubic Sharper etc.) to resample the image.
i.e. those algorithms are at work behind the scenes.
Doesn't seem unreasonable to learn which of those is the best option, either to sharpen, or to resize/export.

Agree with keeping things simple. Definitely not interested in NIK filters or Topaz or any of those add-ons.
ACR + PS will do it for me for the foreseeable future.

 

[William Dickson]

Plenty to learn on this post. A very nice image Sidharth. The pose on the bird looks good and I like the blurred millet in the BG. On first look I thought it was a wee bit over exposed, especially the whites on the perch. Steve's repost looks better for me here on the iMac.

Will

 

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Sid, really nice image, as Steve wrote "you are really nailing these images on the millet. I am not familiar with this bird but like it a lot, I wish I had a chance to photograph it. Nice image, thank you for sharing.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

You meant resize to desired size (vs crop), right?

Sid, now we are getting into semantics, they both mean the same, just different jargon. :S3:

Doesn't seem unreasonable to learn which of those is the best option, either to sharpen, or to resize/export.

Sid, both 'do' the same job, whichever works for you, but ultimately delivers the right result, you choose.

Definitely not interested in NIK filters or Topaz or any of those add-ons. ACR + PS will do it for me for the foreseeable future.

Nik filters, yes the are OK, but have limitations, works well in part as a Layer adjustment, with Blend modes and Opacities. Topaz AI DN, I wouldn't dismiss it, as it can depending on the file work better than Enhance, it all depends. Personally I wouldn't buy Topaz Photo AI, as there seems little advancement to the previous version and I don't think the benefits are worth the price tag.