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
Gilded Age Week
I've been working on a long-term project photographing in historic Gilded Age homes here in upstate New York. Just getting started, but the project is finding its direction. Here are a few examples. BTW, all handheld at high ISO, then processed with AI Noise Reduction.
What I saw that I liked:
I often like to compose to a diagonal.
What I don't like in the picture:
The composition of the above is awful. It should have been HDR and the vase should not be so close to the edge of the frame. That what happens when I get in too much of a hurry.
What I learned:
Fortunately, I found a better angle in the image at left that still includes the vase in the lower right but eliminates that window. Not quite a perfect diagonal, but close enough to work
2nd Chances: What I might try next
Another selective color image? Keep the blossoms in color and desaturate the rest to b/w? |
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