I know editing is very subjective. Any suggestions on how I could have/should have edited this photo differently is greatly appreciated. The lighting was bad, and I had to blow out some of the background to get a better exposure on the owls. Raw file attached.
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I don’t know if it is any better. I went for a tighter crop to bring the focus onto the owls. I also added a vignette, for the same reason. And I reduced exposure on the leaves, to try to bring attention to the owls… I added a little contrast to the owls to try to liven them up a bit. I removed the distracting element behind the owls in Affinity Photo 2. (Rather crudely). I prefer your colours on the owls.
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Sorry Beth but that is a JPEG exported from PL.
Sorry Joanna, here is the Raw file. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ukfvayjwl7rmjg5b5f5nx/BAP_2062.CR3?rlkey=3y5631tf7lm5h1n1qz8fvxnmv&st=p770enzi&dl=0
Thanks for your suggestions! This was such a once in a lifetime sighting, that I am trying to get the best out of the photos I shot.
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This is just a quick adjustment. I used an Auto Mask to select the owls, then inverted it and darkened the non-owl portion. Cropped and used DeepPRIME XD/XD2 to reduce image noise. I also set the color balance to ‘Cloudy’ to warm up the image. There are some very out-of-focus leaves that give a green tint to the top owl; this could probably be reduced with some careful masking and color tweaking. I’ve attached the .dop file so you can see what I did. Great to see shots like this.
BAP_2062.CR3.dop (110.1 KB)
Thank you! I will continue to work on this photo and definitely use some of your suggestions.
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Just downloaded your shot. Going to try PL 8 first. I also use Affinity Photo & Nik collection. Thanks for sharing.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ukfvayjwl7rmjg5b5f5nx/BAP_2062.CR3?rlkey=3y5631tf7lm5h1n1qz8fvxnmv&st=2tnscteu&dl=0 Thanks! Here is the Raw file.
I took the liberty (because your photo didn’t include any personally identifying information) of asking OpenAI (via my DAM, IMatch) to create a description and identify the species. Here’s what it came up with:
AI Description: This image was taken in a wooded area, featuring an Eastern Screech Owl perched on a tree, blending seamlessly into the bark with its camouflage coloration. The photograph highlights the bird’s remarkable ability to remain concealed in its natural habitat, surrounded by lush green leaves.
AI Keywords: wildlife; nature; bird; forest; owl; eastern screech owl; tree; camouflage; green foliage; nocturnal animal
AI Scientific Name: Megascops asio
If you track the critters you photograph, you may want to check out https://www.inaturalist.org/.
Thanks! I don’t often see Eastern Screech Owls - I often wonder how many I have walked right by without even noticing. It’s usually the Black-capped Chickadees that have pointed out Screech Owls to me in the past. I got very lucky with this sighting, 2 adults and 3 owlets (one adult was further down on the tree and I couldn’t get it in a photo with the rest of the family) - that doubled the number of Screech Owls I have seen prior to that. I went back about 10 days later to see if I could spot them and didn’t see one. They are very good at hiding, and hopefully the 3 owlets will survive until they are completely independent.
Beth Phillips. I used PL7 to reduce the Luminosity of the green to allow and up the contrast a bit so the eye can see the subjects vs the leaves. Then exported to Affinity Photo as a Tiff so I could work on the highlights. I could not mask it properly in PL7. I used the flood tools to set the sky color and some clone work for the smaller foliage breaks. This is not a full resolution due to the compression on the site. Let me know and we will work out a way to send the full image to you.
Wow, that’s great! Yes, if we could work out a way for you to send the full image, that would be great.
Beth,
Here is the link to the dropbox folder. There are 2 files the JPG edit and the dop file should you want it. I would suggest not to bother as I played around quite a bit. Let me know if you want the Affinity Photo file. It is 680 Mb in size. Again thanks for sharing and then asking for help. It was a challenge but we all know what a special shot it was.
Thank you so much Carl! I appreciate the time you took to work on this!
Thank you! Everyone’s input has helped me greatly!
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You are welcome. I did a 8.5 X 11 print and it looks fine. I did spot a couple of places where a bit of blue or green could be added. Then again I knew where to look. I have a Epson ET-8550 to play with.
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From my current point of view:
WB, spot weighted SmartLighting, SelTones, to my surprise CVP=75 (never used more than 50 before), contrasts, HSL to tame the greens, and two local control points for exposure (rarely use LA). Maybe I was a bit lazy, should have worked with tone curve too, but this was just good enough for me. Perhaps too flat – you may raise CVP to 90 (???).
BAP_2062.CR3.dop (13.7 KB)
Thank you so much and you weren’t lazy! You took the time to help me and that is much appreciated.