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:On the front yard of my brother-in-law's farm. Fog, YES! Tree fort and swing, YES! Childhood memories, YES! What I don't like in the picture:Unbalanced composition. I have several variations and they all fail for the same reason. I simply couldn't bring myself to crop out the tree fort on the far right. Until I did, and then it worked. What I learned:Letting go is hard to do. Looking at the finished image on the left, I now don't think the tree fort adds anything that we don't already get from the swing. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextI already did; the first version of the finished image was warmtone and the fog looked a bit like smog. These tones are much better, I think. |
