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.
|
Original digital capture
What I saw that I liked:Beautiful fall tree against a clear, blue sky. What I don't like in the picture:To be honest, neither of these images work for me. The one above feels fake — like I hyped up the colors to an extreme amount. I didn't, but it looks like I did. Sometimes the truth looks fake. What I learned:I converted the above to b/w and tried to salvage this image that way. As a b/w, it just screams to be color. Both of these renditions have problems. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextThe only remaining solution I might try is to reduce the color saturation on the one above. Hard to believe in this age of "Vibrance to 11" that a reduced saturation and vibrance might be the answer, but I guess this might be the exception that proves the rule. |
