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
Panorama Week
For the last couple of weeks, I've been discussing square format images. This week I visit the opposite end of the format spectrum by concentrating on the panorama format. There is no consensus on the "correct" aspect ratio for panorama images, but I find I tend to use my personal favorite most often — a ratio of 2.15:1. I have no logic for this ratio, I just like it!
What I saw that I liked:
This image is more about the light than it is the subject.
What I don't like in the picture:
Here again, when I was in the field I wasn't thinking panorama format at all. I composed and shot in 4:3 because I thought that would be the aspect ratio I would use. Until I got back and really looked at the image.
What I learned:
I find I have to consciously think in terms of panorama aspect ratios when I'm in the field. That is, I don't see panorama compositions naturally. Maybe occasionally, but not often. Far more often I find I crop to a panorama format after I've worked with an image for a while. It always surprises me when I suddenly realize an image should be a pano — and wonder how I could have missed that obvious compositional choice when I snapped the shutter.
2nd Chances: What I might try next
The only thing I regret in this image is that the panorama crop lost the long shadow of the boulder. |
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