Which crow picture do you like best? (1 Viewer)

[MaxesTaxes]

Hi everyone,
I'm not sure whether this is the right subforum to post this in (or whether posts like this are allowed/encouraged), so if not then the mods can feel free to take whatever action is necessary.
Anyways I'm looking for some feedback on these crow photos that I took recently. All of them were taken using my LUMIX DMC-G80 last Tuesday on the Zandmotor (Netherlands), the beach where I go fossil hunting. They're all of the same carrion crow. I really like all 6, but they are all somewhat similar and I'm hoping to only keep 1 or 2 for my personal 'Favorites' album. Note that these photos are completely unedited and I'm happy to rotate/crop any of them. I could also consider editing the lighting/colors/contrast etc, but I am very inexperienced with that kind of editing (and also hold a small personal preference for untampered photos).
Each photo has a slightly different pose, giving a slightly different character to the crow.
So, your turn to tell me what you think: which one (or two) do you like best, and why?
Looking forward to your responses!
Best,
Max

 

[ignicapilla]

My favourites are P1010076 and P1010084.

 

[MaxesTaxes]

I've just made some quick crops as well of all of them, just in case someone would like to see the closeups (although the in-built Zoom In option here seems to be quite good)

 

[MaxesTaxes]

My favourites are P1010076 and P1010084.

Thanks! Can I ask why you like these more than the rest (if there is a specific reason)? I'm still quite new to photography and therefore find it a bit difficult sometimes to determine what constitutes a more enjoyable photo.

 

[MikeInPA]

P1010076 by far. It's sharp, well exposed it has a great pose. The shell is a nice additional touch and the fact that it's calling all make this the best in my opinion.

I think you've cropped them too tight. Leave more space in the direction the bird is looking.

 

[jmepler]

P1010076 by far. It's sharp, well exposed it has a great pose. The shell is a nice additional touch and the fact that it's calling all make this the best in my opinion.

I think you've cropped them too tight. Leave more space in the direction the bird is looking.

P1010076 is my favorite too, and I want to second your opinion on cropping. This is one of the biggest mistakes that I see in bird photography. Trying to maximize the size of the subject often results in a picture that looks like a bird in a box. Pictures like that make me feel claustrophobic.

 

[delia todd]

I like 76 too, but my other favourite is 79.... there just seems to be a 'story' there with that pose.... like 'this is mine' LOL. There's a little more action about it.

Leave more space in the direction the bird is looking

I agree with this comment too. Give some space in front of the bird for him to 'move' into.

 

[MaxesTaxes]

@MikeInPA @jmepler @delia todd
Thank you all for your great feedback, much appreciated and very helpful!
About the cropping, I agree it was way too tight. I had cropped them very roughly and quickly just to make it easier to see the actual detail on the bird to help you guys choose, in case the forum's zoom-in option was bad (which isn't the case luckily, I'm very impressed!).
I have now cropped the photos (76 and 79), and I quite like how they look now. What do you think?

76: purposefully very off-center, to give a better idea of the surroundings (and like you recommended, to show where he is looking). This way I also include a good amount of the blue seawater, which I think gives more color and life to the photo. The one thing I'm not certain about is that the bird does seem quite small like this and perhaps almost a bit 'lost' in the photo.


79: I agree with Delia that the pose on this one is very special, and I really like the crow's 'facial expression', so I think it's important to put that a bit more in value here which is why I cropped this one more tightly. The head is centered into the middle column. However I think that in terms of colors this is not the most interesting photo.


Looking forward to hearing your thoughts again, and sorry that I'm being so naggy about this! 😜

 

[MaxesTaxes]

(Here they are in big)

 

[pianoman]

79 is my favourite too. You have the "shellfish action" but I prefer the closed bill. Great photos!

 

[MaxesTaxes]

79 is my favourite too. You have the "shellfish action" but I prefer the closed bill. Great photos!

Thank you!