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
Orchestrating the MoodAn observation: I show these two for a reason. It's not that these two are failures, but rather they are different approaches that create opposite psychological moods. The one above is all chaos — without relief. It's a bit unrelenting. How does that make a viewer feel? The one at left was photographed literally a minute later. Including the corner of blue sky completely changes the psychological feeling of this version. Which is right? Neither — and both. Recognizing the tension in these two implies that each could be used in the appropriate project, or in the appropriate location in a project sequence. As the creator, which psychological feeling do you want impart? These are the kinds of decisions that can make or break a project. In essence, how do you want to orchestrate the mood? |
