Hey Muzza. Thanks for the complements and also dropping by ...
I use 70-300mm at 70mm for the bird picture.
The rest, 180mm AiS. Hence the DOF. I don't use layers
And as for picture editing, I use LR. Here's how ...
- Recovery, Fill Light, Clarity and Blacks to 100%
- You can even use 'Tone Curve' to do minor adjustments.
- Add Vibrance/Saturation, Vignettes to your liking.
- Use 'Noise Reduction' to smoothen faces. But some folks use other methods.
I hope this helps and please do post your sample edited picture ... happy trying ...