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:These pools are found at all Japanese temples so people can pour water over their hands to cleanse them before worshiping. What I don't like in the picture:These two images illustrate a fundamental divide in photographic strategy. Same subject, but different captures entirely. What I learned:The one above is a picture of a THING. The one at left is a picture of a MOMENT. Moments are more powerful, more alive, more engaging than things. I find this a universal truth in spite of the fact that my Lightroom catalog is filled with captures of things. I wish I'd have learned this photographic truth in my youth. |
