I've been working on this photo for a club competition where the subject is eyes. I wanted to see if I could bring out the impact of the eyes in this shot of a lion that I took in February in Tanzania. He was actually walking toward our vehicle and I like the straight on look of supreme confidence he has. It seems he has earned that confidence, judging from his scars. I shot this at 223 mm. My ISO was 1600, with shutter speed of 1/1600. My f stop was 5.6, for some reason. I did remove some of the distracting flies that were on his face. I also wanted no green in the background, so I used the remove tool in photoshop to get rid of some green in the lower right corner. I worked quite hard at getting his face perfectly centered. Much of my attention was working on the eyes to make them pop. Suggestions are welcome, as always.
3 comments posted
Mike Cohen
My favorite subject. You did well to bring out the intensity of that stare. Very powerful. I wanted to add to that effect and put a radial tradient around the face and darkened the border. Posted: 07/06/2026 10:42:59
Tracy Kaminer
Good idea! I didn't think of that. Thank you. Posted: 07/07/2026 20:42:44
Pamela Hoaglund
WOW! I think you accomplished your goal. The eyes of the lion just draw the viewer in and makes one wonder what is on his mind. By the scars on his nose and slightly crooked nose I suspect he is the patriarch defending his kingdom. Mike's suggestion of a vignette has merit in keeping the viewer's focus centered on the eyes. Posted: 07/13/2026 02:17:36
