Black tailed deer. That's interesting to me and good capture of the black tail. Also nice to see the young buck on a bit of a hill. I don't think you overdid the contrast and black tone on the deer. What I am distracted by, though, is the background. The grasses would have been ok, I think, but the red and gray grasses behind the deer's head compete for attention. Also, the large plant that is next to the deer's rump can be distracting. All you could hope for is that the deer would move a little and stop again. Thanks for the introduction to the black tailed deer! I enjoyed seeing it.   Posted: 07/02/2026 22:01:29

I don't think you over did it at all. I love the dynamic pose of the deer. I agree with Tracy but only in the area of the deer's head. It's unfortunate that the rock cuts throught the subject's head where it does. I think I would try blurring the top third of thge background to minimize that effect. Otherwise, I like the vegetation which created a very beautiful scene.   Posted: 07/06/2026 10:50:18

I think you captured this young buck at just the right moment. The legs are separated, nice angle of of the head and his ears are up and pointed forward as he is alert to something. I don't think you over did your post processing. I think the crop works well giving space for him to move into and he is not centered in the frame. He is in his natural environment so the vegetation is not distracting to me. I think the only thing I would suggest is removing the white flowers near his right ear.   Posted: 07/13/2026 02:27:11

Bravo for catching the deer looking back toward you. I love the soft treatment of the earth tone colors, and the way in which the deer blends with the tones in the vegetation. I would try opening the crop to include the diagonal line of light tan grass at the top, to include the delicate horizontal line of flowers at the bottom, and to give his legs more room at the bottom. I would crop out the strip of road at the bottom, and some of the right side of the image. I think that an off-center composition works very well here.   Posted: 07/16/2026 15:33:18

To me this is a bit more than just a portrait of a deer, The angle of his gaze and the positon of the legs suggests movement to me. I am glad that you left enough space in front of him to allow the subject to move forward. In looking at the original, the line of colored foliate and the rock still cut through the head of the deer, but are not as distracting because the colors are muted. I see why you wanted to enhance the red in the grasses, but using a global adjustment the red behind the deer becomes a distraction for me. You might try to apply a gradient filter and only saturate the red at the bottom of the image.   Posted: 07/17/2026 18:38:21

Nice catch. I think you did a wonderful job of highlighting the young buck with your editing. I like Pamela's suggestion of cropping your image a little differently as the broader scope tends to lessen the distraction of the brighter red vegetation present. One of my thoughts was to go to Photoshop - Adjustments - Levels - Options - Enhance Monochromatic Contrast. Your thoughts?   Posted: 07/18/2026 17:24:38