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:I almost never make self-portraits. This is a rare occasion where I did. Same FujiFilm S602 6 megapixel camera that I've been looking at this week. What I don't like in the picture:In the above, I was seriously thinking I would remove the camera and tripod in Photoshop, leaving just the expansive wall and the mirror in this abandoned church. What I learned:Looking up at the mirror while I was composing the shot, I saw the potential for a self-portrait. Where is Carl Jung when you need him? 2nd Chances: What I might try nextThat decoration on the mirror could be moved closer to my head. Then I would look more angelic. Twenty-one years later, I still have that photovest. I no longer have those glasses — nor all that hair. |
