I like the subject matter of this image and the expression on his face, the texture of his fur and the scars on his face.

In my opinion, the final image feels too cool. I also find the highlights in the upper and lower right corners, the dark area beneath his chin and the stick in the lion's mane to be distracting.

I have added my version of an edited image that was done in Lightroom. The crop was changed slightly to provide some additional space on the left side moving the subject out of the center of the image. I removed the stick from his mane, darkened the right corners and opened the shadows under his chin some.

I made the following adjustments: contrast +19; highlights -26; shadows +45; blacks -10; texture +5; dehaze +7; post-crop vignette -31.   Posted: 12/13/2019 09:38:51

I really like your subject Pauline. He looks to have a great story going on with his mane, scratches and scars. I feel Walters version with the wider crop and warmer colours improves the image. On my monitor he looks almost fake in your post (may be my monitor). Great subject and you have done well with the sharpness of the image   Posted: 12/16/2019 22:03:05

The lion's face is clear and fun, composition is fine, but lens @300mm, you'd need be very close to the subject.   Posted: 12/22/2019 23:25:59

I think that the image could be improved by sharpening which would give more depth to the subject. Other than that the subject was very good and I liked the cropping. It centered the subject very well. See the attached sharpened image.   Posted: 12/27/2019 13:58:26

Thank you all for your feedback. I was initially interested in submitting this image for an exhibition and wanted feedback to improve upon what I have. I have never entered an exhibition before and am a bit intimidated by the prospect. In the end this is what I decided on.   Posted: 12/29/2019 13:11:42