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.
|
Original digital capture
What I saw that I liked:I like the three elements of dead tree, lava rock, cumulus cloud. What I don't like in the picture:Awful composition shoots my eye right out the side of the picture. Too much blue sky, not enouth cloud. Yuck. What I learned:Find another place where the three elements combine in a better composition, like at left. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextI need to go back there and work a bit more diligently. I only have a few quickly made images from there. Family was with me. Hard to do intensely serious work with kids in tow. |
