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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When Processing Is the Key

Being out in the world with our camera is fun, but processing is what makes an image rise to the level of personal expression. This week will concentrate on processed images — some subtly, some radically.

What I saw that I liked:

I liked the formalized simplicity of this setting in the Shaker Village.

What I don't like in the picture:

An obvious high dynamic range problem. I could have done and HDR treatment, but this image also uses a focus stack. That's a complexity I was resistant to using.

What I learned:

Instead, I decided to gamble that I could pull enough out of the shadows to make it work. It did, but got very noisy. A quick AI DeNoise took care of that much more easily than the multiple steps necessary for a focus-stacked HDR.