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:After a delicate snowfall of soft, fluffy flakes. What I don't like in the picture:I can't decide is thes is a weed with snow on top of it or Marie Antoinette's head after the guillotine got her. On a pole. With angry peasants just out of the frame. What I learned:Processing helps me get rid of the head of Marie, but that doesn't make it a photograph worth looking at. Or maybe Marie had a very serious problem with skin blemishes that weren't reported in the historical record. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextFind another way to show the build-up of snow crystals. |
