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:What a lovely idea! A quaint farmer in rural China with his hoe and his pipe. Love it. What I don't like in the picture:Perfectly focused on the bamboo trees. The farmer is out of focus. A camera before "face detection" technology . . . or an incompetent photographer. Or both. Also, nicely cropped except for the part where I cut off his right heel. What I learned:This is what happens when you are not prepared and ready to capture the unexpected. By the time I turned on the camera, brought it to my eye and focused, just too many things could go wrong — and did. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextAlways be ready . . . which I was by the time he had passed me. Unfortunately, all I was left with was the dreaded "butt shot." Yuck. |
