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
Camera Vision vs Human Vision
Budding fine art photographers are often surprised by the knowledge that cameras don't see the way we humans see. The second phase in becoming a fine art photographer is to learn how to make the picture accurately capture what we think we see. Maturity in fine art photography arrives when the picture expresses in two-dimensions and tones what we feel.
What I saw that I liked:
The badlands (in this case in South Dakota) are a constant challenge in composition. I love it.
What I don't like in the picture:
Unless a digital camera is modified to capture only b/w tones, it will capture color. Every click. RGB. Whether we want color or not.
What I learned:
My practice with color is always to ask myself whether the picture is about the color or not. In this example, the content to my eye is all about the shapes of the eroded hills and the shadows created by the rising sun. Notice in that last sentence that there is nothing about color. If the picture isn't "about the color" then the color can be eliminated to intensify what I want the picture to be about. Of course, a case could be made that this location is all about the colors in the soil — and that would make a lovely image, but not my image. At least not with this location at this moment. |
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