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:Fence line up the hill. What I don't like in the picture:Sloppy framing in the above, especially the dirt road included in the lower left. What I learned:Diagonals are often the best way to arrange the dominant lines in a composition like this. After I shot the above, I rolled the car forward just a bit to create a more diagonal line in the fence. That cleaned up several areas as well as simplifying the content. One strange thing about these two — doesn't the one above look like a narrower aspect ratio? They are both 4:3 identically, but it sure does fool the eye. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextI think I want to try this as a b/w image. |
