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:
Here again, this picture should not be about the blue in the clouds. Another easy choice to convert to b/w
What I don't like in the picture:
Picture are of things, but as artwork they are about feelings.
What I learned:
Some photographers are uncomfortable with the verbiage "photographs are about feelings." If feelings is too much for you, try moods. Photographs attempt to capture a mood. The dark and foreboding mood of the image at left is much closer to the feeling I had when I saw the above with all that blue. If you struggle with mood, then pull out your thesaurus and search for a term you prefer. No where will you find in the list of your thesaurus the term "thing" as a candidate to replace and emotional word. |
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