Note the wing intruding on the bottom right of the picture.
I have been talking about going to work to find that last two percent of every photograph that can be improved. In today’s simple illustration I’ll show you two images.
The first is un-retouched. It features a cormorant and if you look closely at the bottom right of the image, you’ll see another bird extended his wing into the shot at the last second.
In the retouched image you’ll see that I have removed the intruder by using the clone stamp and the patch tool.
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) note the retouched image missing the intruding wing.
It’s important to scan the edges of the frame in every photo you make. Look for tree limbs, telephone polls, wires, or in this case – bird wings and make sure they don’t creep in and intrude on the real subject of your photograph.
Sometimes, as was the case here, the intruder happens at the last second. In that situation your only recourse is to fix it in post. But if you take an extra second right before you press the shutter to look up, down and all around the frame (LUDA – Look Up Down All Around) you might spot these intruders in time to recompose and improve the shot in camera.
Give it a try.
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Filed under: Photography, Shooting Tagged: composition, Scott Bourne 
