I was recently having a discussion with a well known natural history photographer from India, we went on to discuss what makes a solid portrait ? On the basis of the discussions two things came out, one was that do we need to see a portrait in absolute sharpness ? He thought the eyes need to be very sharp which I could not agree to, I simply feel that a portrait is based on connecting the true character of the subject to the mind of the viewer, it might be with the help of it's environment, some activity or even it's gaze. Not necessary that the eyes need to be included even if some other part of the subject is conveying the message. Secondly, I was in a dilemma after seeing several images shown to me. I felt that if the subject becomes curious about the camera and either exhibits signs of fear or surprise or curiosity which happens mostly due to the flash, how much can we say is the subject is in its natural element to exhibit its true character ? It's a difficult situation to handle, every single bird or animal will react to the presence of the camera, even if it is well camouflaged, the light from the flash to which it is not used to will steal away the show. It is perhaps for the same reason that even after capturing some never seen before visuals of large animals moving in very agitatedly towards the camera have been considered to have less impact. It was an induced aggression. I am too caught in two minds here Ganesh
, can't think of a solution. Do you think trap camera settings are a better choice to show behavior not seen before than showing portraits where most of the times the animal would respond with curiosity, shock or related expressions ? I was hoping an image where we could see the interaction between a cub and the mother inside a cave which otherwise is impossible to capture.....but then again the light from the flash might make both the cub and the bear alarmed. This is indeed a very tough call. Just my thoughts pal....
I think Arati made some matured points, I too would love to see if the colored version connects more....I was just wondering if somehow the light on the eye can be reduced, the bottom eye lid is prominent enough, do you think toning down the flash effect will make it look more natural ? Just looking desperately for a solution buddy....