Every Picture Is a Compromise
Lessons from the Also-rans
Most photography websites show the photographer's very best work. Wonderful. But that's not the full story of a creative life. If we want to learn, we'd better pay attention to the images that aren't "greatest hits" and see what lessons they have to offer. Every picture is a compromise — the sum of its parts, optical, technical, visual, emotional, and even cosmic – well, maybe not cosmic, but sometimes spiritual. Success on all fronts is rare. It's ok to learn from those that are not our best.
This is a series about my also-rans, some of which I've been able to improve at bit (i.e., "best effort"), none of which I would consider my best. With each there are lessons worth sharing, so I will.
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Original digital capture
What I saw that I liked:At the Met in New York. Loved the repetition of the ancient calligraphy on the wall showing up on her iPad tablet. This was a very quick grab shot I hurried before she moved. What I don't like in the picture:She is slightly out of focus. It was far too dark to use a smaller aperture, so it is what it is. Fortunately, I was able to simply crop out the other folks. This also tightens up the view so we can see more of her iPad screen. What I learned:Truth be told, the image you see at the left wasn't wasn't the image I was making at the time. The one I wanted to make is the one seen below.
Then, just before I was going to click the shutter, she walked in and positioned herself excacly in my composition. Why not take the lucky ones? Click. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextThis was shot at ISO 1600 with a camera that really shouldn't be used above 800. Nonetheless, a little noise reduction made it ok — not great, but maybe useable. I'd like to keep working with this one to see if I can do an even better job with the noise reduction. Maybe some selective area aggressive noise reduction, e.g., on her arms. |
