Can this image be helped? How far can retouching go?

[KristinLauman]

<p>I have a decent working knowledge of how far I can go with USM and color correction, but beyond that I am not sure. In this image, I like the composition of the subject, but the DOF is too great and the birds in the background too distracting. Can it be saved or is it destined for the recycle bin?</p>

<p><img src="http://inlinethumb60.webshots.com/47291/2287484410000212734S600x600Q85.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[sattler123]

<p>It certainly could be improved - create a new layer and blue the back ground and use a mask to paint back the foreground you want in sharp focus. Start with just some blur and keep adding addtl. layers with gradually increasing blur for the back ground. It looks like you also need to brighten the image.</p>

<p>Here's a link to an informative article about DOF masks: http://digital-photography-school.com/creating-depth-of-field-with-filters-and-masks</p>

[KristinLauman]

<p>Thanks so much! The image above is wholly untouched since I wasn't sure if it was worth saving, so the exposure and color still needs to be fixed. </p>

<p>Your advice and that link will give me a fabulous start. I always find its easiest to learn a new skill when I have a something practical to work on. I have never played around with masks before and only very basically played with layers such as duotones and some softening effects. This will be fun.</p>

<p> </p>

[manrique_molina1]

<p>I like this picture. Maybe you can do a center crop so that heads are not chopped off or popping in. I would blur the background and desaturate it a little to emphisize the main subject.</p>

[StuartMoxham]

<p>I don't know if this is what you are looking for.</p><div></div>

[ben_s2]

<p>Responses in this thread seem to have the right of it. Reduce depth of field behind the subject in order to bring your attention to the subject. This adjustment took me three minutes in CS3 and it's awful because I did it super fast, and with my laptop's touchpad. But, you get the general idea.</p>

<p>First, levels and USM to bring out brightness, detail and local contrast. Then, I blurred everything (using the Lens Blur filter) behind the subject while retaining the details in the bird and his rock. I slightly desaturated the birds in the background; they were far too distracting.</p>

<p>You can take these suggestions and practice with whatever blurs and adjustments suit your tastes. It would have benefited from a shallower DoF to begin with (i.e., wider aperture during the shot), but it's easy to make the adjustments with software.</p><div></div>

[KristinLauman]

<p>This is awesome, thanks so much. I'm glad that there are some things that I can do to make this shot better and not have to destroy it.</p>

<p>Here is some info to help explain the choice in depth of field, and perhaps encourage other newbies like myself. I took this on the 4th of July at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. where I was relegated to a position about 60 feet from the birds and being jostled by tourists and midgets carrying the remnants of cotton candy on every appendage and orifice.</p>

<p>It was shot at 300mm (effectively 480mm) with no IS, hand held. I shot it at the max Av of 5.6, but at that distance it makes very little difference. </p>

<p>Still, I am glad I took the shot since the subject is rather pleasant and it sounds like with some decent post processing skills it can be made into workable image. I used to simply not take pictures under these conditions. I look forward to winning the lottery and purchasing the Canon 400mm L 4.0 IS USM.</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>Kristin, although it's been requested there currently is no Canon 400mm f4. There's the super expensive f2.8, and the affordable f5.6, at $1,200, which is a fastastic lens.</p>

<p>Almost all of these were taken at the National Zoo with the 400m f5.6</p>

<p>http://brettcole.photoshelter.com/gallery/Zoos-Aquariums/G0000Mz6mjzFWrAk/</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>-</p>

[KristinLauman]

<p>Brett, your images are fabulous. I just posted a picture of the same lion in the critique forum. I'm sure he's been photographed more than Tyra Banks--not that I'm making any comparisons. :)</p>

<p><br />Just an aside, while at the zoo, we saw some bull frogs in the cheetah's habitat kill a baby starling (bird). It was a bit chilling to observe and until that day I had no ideas about this behavior. At first we thought they were eating the bird, but later I was able to learn that bull frogs protect their tadpoles and will tag team birds that come near. Too bad I wasn't on the ready with my camera. Very interesting stuff.</p>