Color contrasts between your subject and the background can help depict stunning stories. See below a couple of examples with Great White Egret photographs.

Great White Egret - Florida photography workshop

Great White Egret – Fort Desoto, Florida
ISO 2000 | f/5.6 | 1/250 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review) with 1.4x extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III handheld while seated in the water with waders.

The Great White Egret photograph above was created at Fort Desoto, during an overcast day. The white on white effect comes from overexposing to expose properly for the white feathers, resulting in a background a bit overblown. Overcast days are really good situations to create this specific dreamy atmosphere. It is all about properly exposing for the subject and picking a very clean background situation. A white bird in the still water is a very good start.

Great White Egret - Florida photography tour

Great White Egret – Sarasota Bay, Florida
ISO 320 | f/5.6 | 1/6400 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review) with 1.4x extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III handheld.

In the Great White Egret photograph above, I created an opposite recipe than the first one presented. Instead of white on white, a good way to create white on black, is to properly expose for a white subject in the bright sun, while having the background in the shade. The contrast white subject on a dark background will lead to underxposing in order not to blow the highlights. This will make for a background even darker, often almost black! I did not edit the background whatsoever… Understanding proper exposure techniques helps finding creative situations. 🙂

Roseate Spoonbill - Florida Alafia Banks photography workshop

Roseate Spoonbill blur – Alafia Banks, Florida
ISO 250 | f/4 | 1/15 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review), the Canon EOS 5D mark III handheld while on the boat.

The Roseate Spoonbill blur photograph above was created at Alafia Banks during the Spoonbill workshop. One of the rare spots where it is somewhat easier to create Spoonbill in flight blurs is Alafia Banks. Given the fact that you will see a large number of the beautiful pink birds over there, and this from pre-sunrise to sunset.

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Steven

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