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:Every since I did a project about a forest burn in Eastern Washington, I've been fascinated with the power of recovery and the visuals of destruction. What I don't like in the picture:Again, I'll ask about the emotional content of these two candidates. Which feels more devastated? What I learned:To my eye, the version at left is more personal, more broken, more shattered. In the above version, the shadows are a stronger part of the composition, but that weakens the emotion content for me. |
