Brooks Jensen Arts - Every Picture Is a Compromise

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Every Picture is a Compromise
A Series About Keepers, Also-rans, and Learning from Mistakes

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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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Saturated Colors Week

I'm generally not a fan of hyper-real colors. Then again, sometimes a super saturated color is just the thing that's needed to jump start our imagination. This week will feature 5 images where truth and true color flew out the window in favor of exaggerated colors that fit the content and intent of the images.

What I saw that I liked:

Strange water patterns on a cement wall.

What I don't like in the picture:

First, I think the image works better upside down. The water seems to be falling rather than rising.

What I learned:

After I rotated the image, the cool colors just didn't seem to portray the sort of post-apocalyptic feeling I wanted. The "sky" needed to be on fire or at least a dense smoky haze. A shift of color with intense saturation gave me what I wanted.