Hi Chris - echo Jack here, nice pose & comp but the head does look soft to me too.
Did you use a flash on this exposure 'cos it certainly looks 'flashed' to me - big shadow underneath and the bird is 'flat-lit' - if I'm wrong just shoot me now, but if I'm right try moving your flash off camera and lower so it throws shadows back and up a bit into thin air if you can.
The fly in the beak certainly adds to the inrterest but if I'm honest this doesn't quite work for me.
Main reasons are the branches running behind the birds head and beak which tend to confuse the eye a little by drawing your attention away from the main subject.
Also composition looks a little cramped towards the bottom of the frame and the birds head doesn't look critically sharp,probably due to subject movement.
Discussion
3 repliesthe one thing I liked about this shot was the fly in her beak
Did you use a flash on this exposure 'cos it certainly looks 'flashed' to me - big shadow underneath and the bird is 'flat-lit' - if I'm wrong just shoot me now, but if I'm right try moving your flash off camera and lower so it throws shadows back and up a bit into thin air if you can.
Main reasons are the branches running behind the birds head and beak which tend to confuse the eye a little by drawing your attention away from the main subject.
Also composition looks a little cramped towards the bottom of the frame and the birds head doesn't look critically sharp,probably due to subject movement.