Beach Bird

[GiGi]

Hi all... I'm new to this Photography forum... and excited to be here! I have tough skin and can take (& appreciate!) some good constructive criticism
... Thanks in advance

Here's a recent one... Taken with my Canon XSi and a 75-300mm lens... It was around sundown, and my ISO was probably 800... Please comment & critique... How's the comp? does the WB seem off? Tell me what you see!!



TIA

[Charles Hess]

Hi GiGi... the composition and exposure aren't bad, and you've got some nice detail on the gull and in the surf. The WB has given this a kind of bluish tint overall...note how the white suds in the surf and the white feathers on the gull are pale blue. I'd take this back to re-work the color or even look at this in b&w. Keep at it. :-)

[GiGi]

Yes, the blue tint is very noticeable... I'm kicking myself for not shooting this in RAW, because the WB would be easier fixed. Good idea on the B&W... Going to try that now!

[Hexnut]

I like the picture but agree it looks a little blueish. Several birds in the photo whould be cool also.

[GiGi]

Allright... I have two different edits... Any better? Which do you prefer...
... or are neither of them cutting it??

#1 - I'm not going to get the white back completely... unfortunately...



#2 - B&W

[Lori11]

Good edit, I personally like the color shot, shows a lot more detail, still a tad blue but I like it. Oh and Welcome

[jetrim]

Allright... I have two different edits... Any better? Which do you prefer...
... or are neither of them cutting it??

#1 - I'm not going to get the white back completely... unfortunately...

I'm curious why you think you can't get the white back...
Which program are you using for Post Processing?

I've copied your original, and using PaintShopPro was able to get the white back in about 3 clicks with a pleasant byproduct being the introduction of some of the sunset yellows and oranges into the calmer parts of the water. There is still just a hint of blue in the sea foam.

I went to effects>automatic color balance>checked remove color cast and set the temperature to 5500 (kelvin-half way between daylight and fluorescent ). Done.

I can post the result here, but won't without your permission.

[draymorton]

I like both edits. What do you mean that you're not going to get the white back? In the sea foam?

[GB1]

Hi Gigi.

I agree with Jetrim, this shot's bluish tint could easily be corrected. The auto settings sometimes don't do a very good job but this is one case where I am betting they would, so you wouldn't even have to manual edit it.

I like the shot's overall composition but feel it would be better if the wake wasn't catching up to the bird's tail like it is. I would prefer the wake to be just to the left. I might also lighten the shadows a bit to bring out more detail.

-GB

[GiGi]

Thanks everyone!

Jetrim you may post your edit... Thank you.. Oh and I'm using Photoshop Cs2...

The reason why I assumed I wouldn't be able to restore the white completely is because I shot this in jpg... and have personally never found a way unless it's RAW... in which case works fantastically on WB... I definitely could be wrong though, I'm still learning to edit correctly.

[draymorton]

Try image > adjustments > selective color > whites and bring down the cyan levels.

[GB1]

GiGi - This is what I just did in Corel PhotoPaint in about 30 sec. I just auto adjusted, then did a selective color adjustment (blue only) and desaturated it by about 1/2. Then I lightened the shadows a bit and warmed up the image just a very little .... At least the blue is mostly gone. GB

[jetrim]

My edit, using settings posted earlier:

[susaan]

The second to last is the best,for me-I really like the shot warmed up.

Its a nice capture,look forward to seeing some more of yours-and welcome to the forums !

[GiGi]

I'm impressed at those last 2 edits! Thanks for taking the time to do that.... I'm happy to be proven wrong about the WB

[jetrim]

No trouble at all. In fact it's really interesting to see that two of us came up with very similar results using totally different methods

[DrRoebuck]

Allright... I have two different edits... Any better? Which do you prefer...
... or are neither of them cutting it??

#1 - I'm not going to get the white back completely... unfortunately...

Do you have Photoshop? If so, maybe you can try applying a Warming Filter to lose the blue tint.