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:That burst of yellow leaves against the green of the evergreen trees. What I don't like in the picture:The first version was the top image above. The second version was the one below that. Both of these are at best, just okay. What I learned:I looked at this scene for about 20 minutes before I realized it needed to be a panorama. This is a great example of slowing down, stopping the runaround searching for new scenes, and instead just allowing the subject to sink in and tell you how it wants to be photographed. In retrospect, I realized that the second version above was my mind's eye trying to tell me to make this a pano, but I wasn't listening yet. The early bird may get the worm, but the patient photographer often gets the shot. |
