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:This pottery studio was such a neat place to be able to photograph. What I don't like in the picture:When you are at a pottery studio, what are you most drawn to photograph? Safe to say the answer is probably "the pottery." Try as I might, I just couldn't make a composition of the pots that excited me. What I learned:I did, however, find a very fun pile of dried leaves that were just in front of the pot to the left. I guess the lesson here is to not allow ourselves to get hemmed in by what we are supposed to be photographing. Other opportunities might arise that you can't predict, but you can respond to. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextThis is an image I would love to print large. |
