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:This island of trees in the rocks on a snowy hillside. What I don't like in the picture:The version above was my attempt to avoid bulls-eye composition. I moved the camera slightly to the right, but that ends up looking like a mistake, not a composition. What I learned:I moved the "island" to the center and suddenly felt that it was floating in an ethereal sky. This was totally accidentally discovered and I had no intentions of creating that mood. Sometimes you just have to go with your intuition and accept the lucky circumstance. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextBoth the left and right are just touching the edge of the frame. Maybe I should fix that. Would it make it more floating in the sky? |
