Cheetah

[hermes129]

Hi all,

I went to the zoo over two weekends ago with my colleagues. Managed to capture a shot of the cheetah 'yawning' or opening its mouth. Will like some comments and critique on the shot.

Post-processing in computer for shadow/highlights.

Details:

Exposure: 1/160 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 200 mm (DX equivalent)
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
ISO Speed: 200
Metering: center weighted average
White balance: Auto

Thanks alot in advance!

Regards,

[night86mare]

hi, this is a great moment - but there are still a few things to take note of

firstly, i'm not sure why but the cheetah's profile does seem to look slightly "bulgy" or rather, distorted. this could be because the framing here is much too tight when using a 200mm lens (you get distortion too, when the subject is much too close than optimal). can't really explain it but that's something that struck me right away.

exposure looks great to me, though the picture is lacking slightly in sharpness - if it is perceivable at this size then i would think it is quite an issue. this is not to say that every photograph you take has to be sharp, but here, because of the nature of the photograph it is probably better that it is so. could be due to a number of things, from lens softness to handholding technique resulting in handshake. couldn't say for sure.

the colors here are a tad too cool as well - consider warming it up.. not sure why this is so, i tried to play with it to correct but couldn't get a natural looking set of palette.

lastly, maybe you can consider converting this to bnw, here the subject is literally fighting for attention with the vibrant greens (grass in the background) and conversion might solve this a little.

it's a very nice effort though, and i 'm quite partial to it despite the above. cheers!

[hermes129]

Originally Posted by night86mare hi, this is a great moment - but there are still a few things to take note of firstly, i'm not sure why but the cheetah's profile does seem to look slightly "bulgy" or rather, distorted. this could be because the framing here is much too tight when using a 200mm lens (you get distortion too, when the subject is much too close than optimal). can't really explain it but that's something that struck me right away. exposure looks great to me, though the picture is lacking slightly in sharpness - if it is perceivable at this size then i would think it is quite an issue. this is not to say that every photograph you take has to be sharp, but here, because of the nature of the photograph it is probably better that it is so. could be due to a number of things, from lens softness to handholding technique resulting in handshake. couldn't say for sure. the colors here are a tad too cool as well - consider warming it up.. not sure why this is so, i tried to play with it to correct but couldn't get a natural looking set of palette. lastly, maybe you can consider converting this to bnw, here the subject is literally fighting for attention with the vibrant greens (grass in the background) and conversion might solve this a little. it's a very nice effort though, and i 'm quite partial to it despite the above. cheers!

Hi night86mare,

Very much thanks for your comments! Its true, I think the sharpness of the photo is not there. Will strive to improve...

Thanks alot for your time to reply! Really appreciate it!

Regards,