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:Yet another craggy, old tree. What is it about these trees that is so fascinating? You'd think that after about a million of them I'd get bored. I don't. What I don't like in the picture:Notice in the above that there are some other bushes in the lower edge. That pulls my eye away from the tree. What I learned:It's easy to be lazy in the field and just crop it in processing. It's almost always better to compose it right in the field if you can. A subject like this one can be ruined by cutting off the tiny tips of the branches at the edge of the frame. This looks deceptively simple, but in three-dimensions, it's not. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextNot sure I have the blue of the sky correct yet. |
