Hello,

please could I have some feedback on this warthog, photographed in the garden of Joy and George Adamson (Born Free) in Kenya.

Thank you! Sophie.

Sophie,

A nice portrait of the warthog.  The creature looks 'prehistoric'.  It's interesting to see a photo like this of an unusual animal.

I'm curious why you chose black and white.  There's little separation between subject and background in monochrome. 

As usual I have suggestions for more editing.  Ready?   First the subject was selected with Photoshop's 'Select>Subject', then that selection was inverted with 'Select>Inverse' so that the background  could be blurred with 'Filter>Blur Gallery>Field Blur'.  Some of Photoshop's  Blur tools will leave a smudged transition between blurred and unblurred areas.  Field blur seems to be better at making clean transitions.   Inverting the selection again the warthog can be edited independently from the background.  Some Texture and Clarity were added with the sliders in 'Filter>Camera Raw Filter>Effects'. 

Another approach to blurring the background is 'Filter>Neural Filter>Depth Blur'.  That might have been a better choice. 

I thought cropping closer would add to the 'confrontational' pose and expression of the animal.  If it could talk I imagine it would  be saying "Hey you - with the Nikon - that's close enough!"    It's a beautiful animal in its own way, and you've made a good portrait of it. 

Just for fun I used 'Filter>Neural Filter>Colorize' to add colour.  I've no idea if this is realistic colour for the warthog, but Photoshop thought it was.  It's good to try out these new tools and playing with them is a good way to learn. 

Thanks for sharing  the photo with us.  I enjoyed seeing it and trying out the editing ideas.  Remember we only give suggestions here.  You're the photographer who created the image, so you should be making composition and editing decisions for the photo's theme and purpose. 

. . . .  Steven, senior critic

Hi Steven,

Thanks for your comments. I chose black and white because of the contrast between the warthog's coat and the slightly blurred background but I'll put it back in colour and see what I think.

I've ramped up the texture and clarity of the subject but I can't do some of your other suggestions unfortunately as I only have PS for iPad, not desktop.

Thanks though,

Sophie.