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:Lovely dappled light What I don't like in the picture:The one above is not the right white balance. What I learned:Auto white balance is not always something the camera nails perfectly. I adjust the white balance of my images probably a third of the time. The image at left was from the same area, slightly different composition, and also you can see how I warmed the white balance. I've come to feel that there is no such thing as the perfectly accurate white balance, but we can strive for the white balance that expresses our inner feelings and mood. In other words, white balance is no different than dodging or burning — it's just another tool we can used to express ourselves. |
