Looking to see what people’s thoughts are on HSL sliders/white balance. Just started getting into wildlife/birding. I’d like to keep my editing to competition standards, so keep it as true as I can with minimal editing, but how much HSL/WB is too much?
Image I have linked is both raw out of camera and my edited version. No manipulation done outside of crop, HSL/WB exposure highlights shadows, the usual. But is that much warmth too much? It was taken 40ish minutes before sunset, so I tried to give it the dreamy sunset vibe, but maybe it’s overdone.
I enjoy how the final edit turned out, but is it not “pure” enough for say photo competition standards? I’d like to stay on those standards as I keep getting into it and get pictures I’d like to submit at some point.
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Lovely shot, I don’t think it’s too much. You could have cranked up the wb in camera as well, so I don’t see a problem. Saying that I have never entered a photo competition, so I don’t know what their general opinion is.
I agree with @Krob I think the warmth is great and captures the dreamy sunset vibe you mentioned. The orange/yellow of the trees in the background distracts a little in my opinion. Maybe desaturating that area or a gradient to tone it down a little would help the cute little bird stand out a bit better. However, my non-photographer SO disagrees and likes the orange! Also I’m not at all familiar with any photo competition rules so selective editing may be out of the question.
Do you have any more info on the bird? I’m just curious. I saw a Cooper’s Hawk land right in front of me today at work. It was AWESOME.
Thanks! The bird is an eastern phoebe, their call actually sounds like they’re saying “phoebe” a little bit. The hawk is a good catch!
