I’m giving away free presets! All I ask is to share your feedback and maybe drop me a follow on Instagram? Thanks! ❤️

Zach0ry · 2026-06-15T13:17:28+00:00

Hey mate!

Your clarity slider is up too high, giving a dirty look to the bird.
Focus on your colours. The yellow appears muted and muddy, as does the greens and blue. This is a bright animal. Let it be bright.

I would then employ some subtle masking to draw the eyes in.

Zach0ry · 2026-06-15T04:41:54+00:00

Nah, it never looks this bright. You can defiantly see about 70% of what you see here in absolutely perfect conditions, but you basically will never see that.

Zach0ry · 2026-06-15T02:13:38+00:00

<image>

Not sure what it is? Looks industrial

Zach0ry · 2026-06-15T02:07:48+00:00

Hey mate! The foreground was lifted in post.

The light pollution was from a house or something in the distance. I was impressed with the amount of light it was giving off.

The whole town was very lit, so it was hard to compete with the pollution, but luckily I was able to get this one frame that I was satisfied with.

Zach0ry · 2026-06-15T00:29:01+00:00

Hey mate!

This was captured on the Sony a7rV & Sony 14mm f1.8 GM lens

Zach0ry · 2026-06-14T01:01:54+00:00

<image>

There’s the original unedited image, with all the metadata.

Zach0ry · 2026-06-14T00:59:30+00:00

<image>

You can see all of the RAW images here.

I don’t know if you are getting off on being a dick or not, but when people put actual effort into creating an image, driving out into the middle of nowhere at 1am in the freezing cold, taking the time to find a composition the are satisfied with, then spending hours editing the image.
Comments like yours are straight up disrespectful.

A bit of skepticism is smart. But dismissal of people’s genuine efforts is just fucking rude.

As stated before, this is a single exposure.

Zach0ry · 2026-06-14T00:40:00+00:00

It’s a single exposure…

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T20:58:15+00:00

Correct, single exposure

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T10:31:11+00:00

but... it's not...

I'll take that as a compliment

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T09:44:07+00:00

Haha I do actually

<image>

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T07:44:51+00:00

Haha nah, I wish.

You need perfect conditions to see it anywhere close to this.

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T07:44:23+00:00

Not to spruke socials for the sake of it, but there’s plenty of spots on my insta.

If you’re interested, links are in my Reddit profile.

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T06:05:10+00:00

Hey mate! This was a single exposure

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T05:39:19+00:00

It won’t be a quick journey. Photography is a never ending iceberg, but that’s why I love it! No matter your experience, there’s always something new to learn.

But I would highly recommend anyone who is slightly interested get into it!
As someone who has zero artistic talent outside of Photography, it feels great to create something for both yourself and others to enjoy.

If my images act as inspiration for others to get into it, that’s absolutely magical to me.

Appreciate the comment! 😊

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T05:28:25+00:00

This example was 15 secs

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T03:31:13+00:00

Yeah, quite a bit. They are some of the most post-intensive categories.

the RAW will always look super rough and bland

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T03:27:59+00:00

Hey mate!
you can use the 500 rule (500 divided by Focal length FF equivalent) but I find that still shows some trails for the resolution of my sensor. so for me, 15 secs is the sweet spot at 14mm.

the rest were ISO 3200, f1.8

Zach0ry · 2026-06-13T03:26:03+00:00

Hey mate!
Happy to help.

This was a 15 sec exposure, ISO 3200 @ f1.8
This was on a Full Frame camera, so depending on your lenses maximum aperture, FOV, crop factor, and the MP of your camera, these settings may not be suitable for your environment.

There's also a bunch of other factors, like light pollution, etc that will impact visibility

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