Ranmali Kirinde
August 2026 - Huddle
Original
About the Image(s)
Description:
The image is titled huddle. It's a photo of a group of monkeys huddled together in the cold. This image was photographed at Hotron place, Sri Lanka during a visit to the national park. The climate was misty and cold at the time and part of the mist can be seen in the background.
Settings: aperture: f/11, shutter speed: 1/200s, ISO: 200, focal length: 175mm
During the post processing I cropped the image from the left and the bottom to bring more focus to the monkeys. I adjusted the histogram and increased the brightness, contrast and clarity. I reduced the saturation afterwards to tone down the colors. I also reduced the noise in the image using the options available in photoshop.
Thanks and regards,
Ranmali
12 comments posted
Great shot. Looks like a family portrait. Don't see anything that needs improvement. Posted: 08/07/2026 17:31:54
Ranmali Kirinde
Thank you for the feedback! Posted: 08/20/2026 11:51:18
Ranmali,
You definitely caught this family group in an interesting pose. It almost looks like they were posing in a studio. You might consider cropping in a bit on the right to eliminate some of the bright background sky or trying a vignette for the same effect. Posted: 08/08/2026 14:09:55
You definitely caught this family group in an interesting pose. It almost looks like they were posing in a studio. You might consider cropping in a bit on the right to eliminate some of the bright background sky or trying a vignette for the same effect. Posted: 08/08/2026 14:09:55
Ranmali Kirinde
Thank you for the feedback Dean! The brightness on the right is due to the mist. I will try what you suggest. Posted: 08/20/2026 11:53:51
What a shot! I love the way they are all looking the same way and wide eyed. It's almost like they were sitting for a portrait. I also liked how you edited from the original. Posted: 08/08/2026 14:43:50
Ranmali Kirinde
Thank you for the feedback Anne! Posted: 08/20/2026 11:54:15
This is a darling portrait of a monkey family. I commend you for a great capture. Unlike Dean's suggestion to crop from the right, I believe a large crop from the left would be better. I also cropped some off the top and a little off the right. Some may argue that the red flower at the top is distracting, but I left it. These crops allow the subjects to sit more within the rule of thirds and for them to continue looking into the distance. I wanted to restore some of the monkeys' original red coloring and used +22 saturation. The changes in the grass did not bother me so I left them alone. I was also not bothered by the color of the sky. There were some distracting blades of grass left on the right-hand side after the crop that I cloned out. What do you think? Posted: 08/09/2026 19:53:17
Another suggestion I know some in my other photography group would suggest is to flip the whole image horizontally. This way it leaves space on the left to come into the picture. Many people don't like to flip images as they just don't feel right at first. It's something you might try. Posted: 08/09/2026 19:55:43
Ranmali Kirinde
I usually don't like flipping images either. They always look strange to me. Will try it and see how it turns out. Posted: 08/20/2026 12:12:01
Ranmali Kirinde
Hi Lee Ann, thank you for the feedback and sharing the cropped image. The crop brings more focus to the monkey family. Looks good!
I think one of the mistakes I made when photographing the image was using f/11. If I had used a wider aperture I could have got a better bokeh in the background. Posted: 08/20/2026 12:08:43
I think one of the mistakes I made when photographing the image was using f/11. If I had used a wider aperture I could have got a better bokeh in the background. Posted: 08/20/2026 12:08:43
Ranmali, This is a great capture. Your main improved it alot, and I think some cropping on the right might balance it. I think you could use the dodge tool and lighten the eyes of all of them - putting a catch light in each eye. Would help focus on the eyes. Posted: 08/16/2026 16:28:40
Ranmali Kirinde
Thank you for the feedback Rita. Yes, you are right about adding a catch light to the eyes. It always improves portraits. Posted: 08/20/2026 12:16:18