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:Cute nostalgic scene. What I don't like in the picture:These two were shot from a tripod in exactly the same place. What I learned:Using a zoom lens to crop can be a very precise thing. The difference between these two is exactly 3mm — the one above was shot at 21mm; the one at left shot at 24mm. I also cropped some off the top to get rid of the white wall in the upper left corner of the above. |
