The problem with a lot of images taken at the zoo is the unnatural surroundings that can spoil the shot, leaving them as simple snapshots. Take for example the original image below of this Sumatran Tiger.

The tiger itself stands out and the blurred background appears somewhat natural, but the blue barrel is hardly something you’d come across in the wild. The tiger’s direct stare at me opens it up though for a strong portrait image.

The final image is obviously cropped, then I’ve increased saturation to highlight the contrasting colours of the tiger. From there I have a little process that applies a vignette which in this case I’ve applied pretty strongly to give it an almost black background. Add a frame for presentation and here you have the final image. From zoo snapshot to portrait…

Before:

After: