Mike Patterson
January 2018 - Portrait of a Llama
About the Image(s)
I recently had to haul some livestock over to a ranch where the owner raises llamas. Llamas are ordinarily very friendly and extremely curious. They’ll get right into your face or look over your shoulder to eavesdrop while you’re having a conversation with someone. I grabbed this shot as this pretty gal was butting into our business. As I’ve mentioned before, shooting livestock is tricky since they are nearly always moving. I didn’t notice the straw hanging out of her mouth until I processed the image. Feel free to disagree, but I personally like the lighter background that seems to blend in with the blondish colors of her fiber. Shot with a Canon Rebel T2i, 18-135 mm lens at 116 mm, f5.6, 1/3200 second at ISO 400.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted
Mike, I have said it before and it is worth repeating, in spite of your limitations when taking animal pictures, you do an excellent job. I love the personal relation of the Llama with the camera and the sharpness and flow of the hair. Two things I can suggest, select and brighten the eyes a bit and clone out the dark distractions on the top right corner. For the future, if possible and if you have time, a lower angle will eliminate more distracting background. Posted: 01/11/2018 09:56:11
It's such a cute llama portrait. I agree with Joe on the eyes. That is one thing that disturbed me because eyes often tell the story. Perhaps lighten and add some detail (or sharpening) - just to the eyes. I like the strand of grass in the mouth. I think it adds to the appeal of the portrait. Nice job. Posted: 01/11/2018 10:26:10
Great suggestions, Joe and Marti. I'll work on the eyes and clone out the dark distractions. I intend to enter this in one of our little ranch magazines. It has a photo contest every year. Posted: 01/11/2018 10:37:07
Another great animal image Mike. I agree with the others about the eyes being a little dark. Lightening might also bring out some of the detail of those beautiful eyelashes that llamas usually have. This should do well in your photo contest. Posted: 01/11/2018 14:28:56
Nice portrait! I agree with the comments about the eyes. I like the lighter background and wonder what the image would look like if you cloned out the sky with the golden background color. i'd like to see her nose a little sharper, but then again having sharp eyes are a must with animals. The piece of grass in her mouth adds a nice touch to the story. Posted: 01/15/2018 08:28:30
Very nice, positive thinking animal. With a straw. Good detail and color. Posted: 01/17/2018 09:19:57
Cute animal portrait Mike. I like the overall golden glow and the Llama seems not so much to be standing in front of the background as emerging from it. Or, if you prefer,
melting into the background, which is an interesting approach. As everyone as hit on, it's always the eyes, but it's not as if you could ask the animal to move around so that the sun was shining on them. The light portion of the image at the top might be OK -- certainly no brighter and perhaps darker. The straw in his mouth is great. Nice texture. Did you have to select out the fine hairs? If so, how did you do it? Posted: 01/18/2018 10:39:28
melting into the background, which is an interesting approach. As everyone as hit on, it's always the eyes, but it's not as if you could ask the animal to move around so that the sun was shining on them. The light portion of the image at the top might be OK -- certainly no brighter and perhaps darker. The straw in his mouth is great. Nice texture. Did you have to select out the fine hairs? If so, how did you do it? Posted: 01/18/2018 10:39:28
Thanks for the comments, Jerry. I was able to lighten the eyes using the adjustment brush in Lightroom. I didn't do anything to the hairs. They were in real life just as they appear in the image. Posted: 01/18/2018 14:07:26