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:Can't resist storm clouds and wild trees. What I don't like in the picture:The horizontal frame of the above tends to deemphasize the storm aspect and draw attention solely to the trees. What I learned:Relationships, how many times in this series have I brought up that photographs are relationships? In this case, the storm clouds and the trees need to have equal say in creating the mood. But silhouetted trees are visually stronger than clouds. If I want equality between the clouds and the trees, the clouds must dominate the area of the composition in order to not be over-powered by the trees. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextThat empty band in the center of the sky is unfortunate. Wonder if I could fix that with some aggressive processing? |
