Good Morning Jessica, I love the smile on the young mans face. I would have probably tried a lower the Fstop in order to keep the picture “cleaner” less distractions in the back ground. The color of the birds photographed nicely.

Those birds are so pretty! I would have probably lowered the fstop and bumped up the ISO a bit so that I didn’t have to use flash and to blur the background a bit more. The color is gorgeous in the picture!

What a fun photo! I agree with Pam – I just wish the Fstop was lower and it had a bit more bokeh in the background. I think I also would have tried to pull back a bit more so you didn’t clip the tail of the bird in his hands. Good flash though, not too bright – looks pretty natural!

What a cute photo! I love how he is cradling the bird. I, too, find the background a bit distracting. A shallower depth of field would help with that.Also I would have probably pulled back a bit more so you see the whole bird (not such a close crop). I’m impressed there is no motion blur, given the low shutter speed. It looks like the photo was taken in low light and there is very little noise. Looks like a fun memory was captured here!

I love the way the green of his t-shirt and the color of the birds really stand out. I also might have tried a wider aperture to blur the background a little more. Nice picture that shows the rapport between him and the parrots! Thanks for sharing.

I like how you’ve captured a fun moment here. I also realize that those moments can be the ones that make it hard to get your settings right or you’ll miss it altogether. The limitations of the low light make it hard, too. I know there was already a suggestion about the ISO…I know my camera will only go up to 1600, so it looks like you already maxed that out if you’re in the same situation. Well done there! In a situation like this I might try to alter the composition and have him hold the bird up (if possible) and maybe do a really super close shot of him nose to beak with the bird, maybe shot from a little below. That might help with there being fewer colors/less distraction because you could shoot nearly wide open with the aperture, which could also eliminate the stark nature of the flash. Well done capturing this cute moment….this is definitely a picture that makes me want to hear about the story behind it!

What a colourful picture! I like the suggestions already put forward. If the picture wasn’t spur-of-the-moment, I’d probably use a tripod. Then the shutter could be slowed down to let in a little more background light, and the flash could be dialled down slightly for a more natural look. The composition is nice, I like the two parrots balancing out the young man’s face.

I love the pop of color the birds and his shirt brings to this picture! I like how my eye goes from one bird to the other to him. I would of widened my f-stop too, probably as low as it could go, knowing it can be scary to bump up your ISO…sometimes it’s easier to convert pictures like this to black and white, but I like how you kept it so colorful, it fits the mood, it feels warm, inviting, and fun! :)

Thanks for all the comments!
In response to them, on my camera the ISO was as high as it could go and I did lower the f-stop as far as it would go but it does give me some important ideas for future night photography.
Thanks again!

I am new to the photo critique and new to working my camera in M mode. Thank you for being brave enough to share a photo. I appreciate the comments from the others as I have learned a few things just from reading them, which I suppose is the point.

I love the catch light in his eyes. That’s what I saw first. Because of that, and knowing that you couldn’t blur the background to lessen the distraction, I might crop the photo, taking the bird out that is in his hands, just focusing on his face and the bird on his shoulder. Using the rule of thirds, I think you would end up with a beautiful photograph.

Thanks for sharing! There’s so much personality captured in this picture between the subject’s smile and the bird placement! I love the color but would have changed the composition: I would like to see the picture taken landscape (other orientation), and with the lines between the guy and birds on the thirds line. To clarify: the subjects (guy and two birds) would be situated in the bottom left corner with more background showing (or empty space, more or less) in the upper and right of the photo. Since the background is wonderfully blurred, adding more of it would only change the composition, not distract from your subject.

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