Feedback needed for a photo rejected due to quality issue?

[Gentle.Cam]

I have two rejected pictures and it would be great if I could hear your feedback. 

For Picture #1 I am not sure what the issue is. If I zoom at 200% the eye is still fine. A little grainy but this farm cow is covering the whole frame and the present quality seems to be fine to my eyes. 

For Picture #2, I suspect it is a focus issue (my shutter was not fast enough for the low light conditions).  Since I know I won't get a chance to shoot a similar photo of a wolf, Would there be any way to fix this photo?

[ClaudePhoto]

Je pense que pour les deux images, c'est un problème de mise au point. J'ai aussi parfois ce problème. Il faut être intransigant sur ce point lorsque l'on soumet des images. Par ailleurs je dirais que la sévérité desejets nous permets aussi de s'améliorer.

[Gentle.Cam]

Thank you. Could you please clarify why you think the first image has focus issues? To my eyes, the face and eyes look in focus. 

[ClaudePhoto]

Je me bas sur la finesse des détails des poils, principalement sur la tête

[Nancy OShea]

Open images in Photoshop's Histogram panel.  Both images are underexposed. In low light conditions, you should have external light sources or use a tripod.  Adjustment levels in post-editing can only do so much. 

Also check your white balance. Images should be neither too cool nor too warm. 

https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography/discover/white-balance.html

You might benefit from enrolling in structured photography courses and joining a local photography club for feedback. 

[Gentle.Cam]

Thank you Nancy for the feedback. I agree with you about the tripod however for wildlife photography honestly an animal like a wolf in the second picture won't stick around so I get their portrait. Some of these photos are taken with above 800mm focal length from far away not just to not scare the animals away but to save my life from actual predators in case they chase after me. 

About the exposure, I agree that they are both underexposed especially the second one. I may try processing them one more time in lightroom/photoshop and see if there will be any improvement. 

[Ricky336 · Accepted solution]

Hello,

It's focus problems which you won't be able to correct as well as exposure and white balance. You can correct exposure and white balance etc, but not focus. They are both suffering from camera shake. Your shutter speed was too slow and this becomes more apparent when you use a longer focal length.

[Gentle.Cam]

Thank you. Could you clarify the white balance issue? If you are referring to the one with the cow's skin having a cold temperature and bluish, this is what its skin looks like. 

[Ricky336]

@Nancy OShea gave a link about white balance. The colour and tone are rather dark and cold. It needs to be adjusted a bit.

This is after a quick adjustment:

[Gentle.Cam]

I am very thankful for your time. I will try to do more adjustments based on the feedback I received and I will resubmit the photo. 

[George_F]

In addition to the focus, white balance, and exposure issues that have been mentioned, I believe the composition of the cow photo to be a factor as well.  The cow appears to be in a very unnatural position with the framing of this photo.  I looked through the first few pages of Adobe Stock search results for comparison.

[Gentle.Cam]

Thank you for the feedback. I took the picture with a low angle as there was a lot of clutter around. 

I didn't quite understand what you mean by the "I looked through the first few pages of Adobe Stock search results for comparison". Did you mean the same exact type of cow or general photos of the cows? Do you have a specific photo ID for what you mean?

[Nancy OShea]

Adobe Stock has 2.6 million cow images. 

[Gentle.Cam]

Holy Cow!

[George_F]

A general search of cows on Adobe stock is what I was referring to.  See Nancy's link.