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:Some things just want to be photographed. Others, not so much. What I don't like in the picture:The above picture of the tied rope is a natural that lots of photographers would be drawn to. To my eye, it's a "composition" rather than a photograph of emotion. What I learned:The image at left is more emotional to my eye, but not too much. It' more of a "graphic" than it is a photograph. Reminds me a bit of a Jasper Johns poster I once saw. Do photographs have to be of things? Can they just be a sort of vague amalgamation of responses? 2nd Chances: What I might try nextI thought about taking out the bits of red, but then I realized they are an important spot of color in the mostly monochromatic image. |
