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
How did I miss this one? Week
Sometimes while working my Lightroom catalog, I'll completely miss an image that shouldn't be ignored. This week will be examples of images I unburied from the depths of my archives to discover a gem I'd been overlooking for years.
What I saw that I liked:
This window shape is common in Japan.
What I don't like in the picture:
The green in the background is overpowering and that rock in the lower left is out of focus.
What I learned:
A good example of why we should never delete a digital file from our archives. Using the new Generative Remove, the rock is gone. Using the Color Mixer tool, I toned down the green. Then a slight color balance shift to warm it up and we arrive at the image at left. Not an A+++ image, but one I could see using now that I've discovered it buried under processing problems I've now fixed.
2nd Chances: What I might try next
Maybe I can figure out a way to blur that green in the background even more. The Lens Blur tool? |
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