I need some advice with this picture! (I included both the edited and the original)
I got this Pika perched on a rock and did some edits that I'll list below. And when I first looked at it I liked it, but now I feel like it has the wrong vibe. It looks kinda drab and gives me a feeling of death or something like that. Im not really sure how I would make it a little happier and cuter (I mean pikas are crazy cute).
Shot with Nikon 300mm f4
Basic lightroom exposure adjustments,
small crop
decrease saturation in the greens
increase saturations on reds
radial filter around the pika to make the pika lighter than the background (to help the pika stand out from the background)
Cute little guy! The following are my thoughts on this photo...
I ran some noise reduction, softened the image, warmed up the image, brought out a pinch more detail in him, and did some minor dodging and burning on his face and eye.
So cute, wish I had them in my area - I did get a pretty savage chipmunk shot the other day though. :)
Thanks for the input! I love shooting chipmunks too, they are so underrated.
Excellent choice in subject matter ..... Pikas are awesome!
I actually like the colors in the unedited image more than those in the edited one. Why? Because there is a very slight magenta overtone in the edited version, and I find magenta color casts to be very unappealing. I e=do everything I can to get any hints of magenta out of my images whenever possible.
I am curious to know if you plan to get up into Pika country again any time soon? I've spent a lot of wonderful days up above timberline where these guys live. A day with Pikas is a great day indeed!
Thanks for the input! Im not sure when the next time i'll be in pika country again though to be honest. I love shooting them but I just moved to Durango CO and am still trying to figure out where to find all my fury subjects!
I don't like the branch and leaves on the left, and think that a little gardening or a change in angle might have helped, but afterwards, it's just too late. But a crop is obviously possible. I feel that that branch and brown leaves create the impression that bothers you. The rocks, and their color, is just the normal environment. It's a good shot, and a re-edit should help. I hope you shoot raw, so that the original is unedited.
It seems that you have done global picture colour adjustements. Try to do it using masks, enhancing colour as you have done just in the animal and blurring a bit more the branch at the left.
Not sure what you are trying to achieve with this cute lil one, but, I would recommend removing the branch. You might have issues doing that in LR, but, should be quite simple with PS and content-aware fills.
Might be tricky beyond that with the whiskers, but, they seem to have a clear enough colour contrast to select those as well...
I have a few videos on cleanup, primarily birds, but, the techniques would work for this...
https://youtu.be/ygFPKaUi5wQ