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
Choosing Between Variants
So often, the measure of an artist is the sum total of the decisions made along the way to the final production. In essence, choosing between the variants is the core of doing artwork. A or B, color or b/w, vertical or horizontal, X or Y. This week will be an exploration of these choices.
Thoughts on these two variants:
These two illustrate an important distinction in how viewers can interpret images in ways we don't intend. The version above can be a statement about this individual. She is identifiable and specific. We might almost be tempted to give her a name as an individual. Compare that to the version at left where we can't see her face. She becomes a symbolic representation of something less individual and more universal. The above picture is about her in a moment of worship. The picture at left is a more universal statement about moment worshiping itself. She is a "stand-in" that represents us all. This element of universality makes the image at left more accessible than the one above that is so about that specific persona.
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