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:For reasons unknown, I like photographing chairs — especially unusual ones like the above. What I don't like in the picture:Unfortunately, I know what makes these three unusual, but I'll bet you can't see it. These are tiny, tiny chairs which I've found are very common in rural China. There is nothing in the picture above that would give you a clear sense of scale. What I learned:The image at left, however, makes the story of the tiny chair completely clear. We see the chair in the context of the old man at work. This is actually a pretty good lesson when traveling to exotic locations. Things can be so strange that we can't understand them within the context of our experience. 2nd Chances: What I might try nextI've thought about cropping this image the just the lower left quadrant so that it draws more attention to his slipper shoes. Not sure I have enough resolution on this early 12 megapixel camera to crop that much, but it might be worth a try. |
