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
On Second Thought . . .
When I'm out photographing, I'm "gathering assets" for future projects that will be developed back in my studio. That means that field work is often just responding to what I see and feel. I've learned, however, that my first response is not always my best. This week will be examples where I had second thoughts in the field — and am so glad that I did.
What I saw that I liked:
I almost didn't photograph this stalk of grass because of that diagonal one in the middle of the image.
What I don't like in the picture:
That diagonal one in the middle of the image. If I could have reached with without having to jump into the pond, I would have. I almost walked away from this one . . .
What I learned:
. . . and then I remembered Content-Aware fill. I figured I could remove that distraction with cloning or better yet, Content-Aware fill. I made the exposure knowing that I'd have to deal with it later.
And then Adobe introduced Generative Fill. It did a perfect job of salvaging this image — which it obviously could not have done had I followed my first instinct to walk away without photographing. This is another reason to never delete an image because you don't like it. Someday, unexpectedly, a solution might be developed that solves whatever isn't working in the image. |
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