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
Just a Touch of Warming
Color Balance
For (I'm sure) deeply psychological reasons, we humans generally prefer things that are warm. Soup, campfires, bed, beaches come to mind. Seems so with photographs, too. This week will include images improved with a bit of warming in processing.
What I saw that I liked:
Old roof tiles in China. Why do they keep them? Don't know.
What I don't like in the picture:
The version above just sort of blah. No life to it.
What I learned:
Color balance shift from 5100 to 5333. That was a good start, but there were too many issues with this image to stop there. AI Remove in the upper right corner; darkened globally; then lightened a few tile with a masking brush; cranked up the Vibrance just a bit to +7. This is an example where we need to keep working until it feels right. There is no logic to it, just gut feel. |
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