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:That's the problem. I like both versions from this RAW file for entirely different reasons. What I don't like in the picture:The above overemphasizes the blue and diminishes the sheen of the wet leaves. The version at left emphasizes the sheen, but at the expense of the lovely blue. Which to choose? What I learned:What I learned is that "Which to choose?" is a false dichotomy. For unknown reasons, in my early days of photography I somewhere picked up the idea that there is one and only one best way to process and image. That's simply not true. The same scene can be interpreted in many different ways. Artmaking is our response to the world, and we can easily have more than one response to a scene. The above is bright and light, I'd even say a happy image. The version at left is moody, dark, with the leaves feeling trapped. Which is correct? What a silly question! |
