I just want to go on record as a foil to TwistedThrottle's composition idea. I like the ducks off-center to the left as I see motion in the photo (by the ripples) and you always need to leave extra space in the composition for the subject to move into empty space in frame (or at least give a place in our minds for them to move to).
I see a cold (blue) color tone, it could use some warming-up in the white balance. But overall I like the photo and personally would not mess with it other than warming up the white balance.
That IS interesting. It really seemed to make a difference, didn't it?
I think I'm in the minority here in prefering to see that back duck's eyes/face as sharp as the duck in the foreground. They're just not separated enough for me to think that blur on back duck places more emphasis on the front one. If there was more distance between them AND much more obvious blur on the back duck, then I could see that working. But my own aesthetic tastes - again, just my own - lean towards prefering both subjects sharp in this setting. So for me, this treatment you gave the photo was effective.
Just curious - do you have any of the AI programs, like Topaz?
(Thanks for posting this update. I was curious what you'd tweak on it :encouragement: )
That IS interesting. It really seemed to make a difference, didn't it?
I think I'm in the minority here in prefering to see that back duck's eyes/face as sharp as the duck in the foreground.
Needa, do you remember where you focused for this? There is a little more area in focus behind a focus point rather than in front of it. I wonder if you had focused on the second duck's neck (where the brown and white meet), if that would have allowed you a tad more focus overall.
This app doesn't offer 230mm specifically so I chose the closest option - and I guessed at the distance. If you look on the left side of the graphic, it shows you have less than 4" in focus behind the focus point. So if you had moved the focus point back a little (that's assuming you focused on the closest part of the duck facing the camera), it might have helped bring both ducks into better focus without even changing your aperture.
This app is called Simple DoF. It's a paid app but only requires paying once. This is my go-to app when I need to know depth of field for a subject. However, I don't see any Nikon Z cameras listed. Just DX and FX options for Nikon DSLR's.
View attachment 381096
Thanks for your input everyone.
So what do you think now?
@Dangerspouse
Interestingly some dehaze seems helped the second duck.
@nikonpup
Brought the eyes up one ev, the color is the same in the unprocessed file.
@TwistedThrottle
This is what it looks like a little closer to the edge.
@Clovishound
Just outlined eyes +1 EV. Thanks for the example.
@BF Hammer
Warmed it a bit think I like it better. The actual scene was close to the stack blue / white contrast in the first image The white is the reflection of the clouds off the water midday. The ripples and the clouds on the water are what got my attention, the space to move into was the reason for the composition, that and the ripples from the upper left of frame.
@blackstar
Thanks
I really like it. Only thing is I would be tempted to remove the blades of grass at the front.