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:At the Shisendo Poetry Hall in Kyoto. I was sitting in the back, leaning up against the wall, looking out at the gardens. This woman sat down off to my right and I loved the combination of her distant stare and the hair bun. What I don't like in the picture:In the first version above, the background is too distracting, the light too flat, the angles all wrong. What I learned:Fortunately, when the people in front of her left, she moved up a little closer to the edge of the viewing platform. A minute or two of patience sometimes pays off. Background improved, dappled sunlight a plus, and her expression is more emotive. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextHere's an odd thought: I wonder if I could do a project of candid portraits in combination with poems that are reflected in the subject's expression? Hmmm . . . |
