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:I am posting this image to make a point about diagonals in composition. What I don't like in the picture:The first shot above is not quite a vertical snow chute, but it is not nearly the angle we see in the image at left. Which composition exudes more movement? What I learned:Diagonals are very powerful in adding a sense of movement to a still photograph. In the version at left, we can almost see the rocks sliding down and piling up near the bottom edge of the image. In fact, I default to diagonals so automatically, I had to search for an example for the above image — and it has a little tilt to it. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextThe version at left was created to print on matte paper, so I've aggressively sharpened it with considerable Clarity. To my eye, that's a bit too much in the on-screen version here. Sharpening is a function of the output medium. |
