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:A beautiful tree with new snow. I photographed the tree and felt great about its potential and then these crows settled on it and wow. What I don't like in the picture:If you've been following LensWork for a while, you know I'm fond of warm-toned prints. We use warm-tone in LensWork and almost all my personal project are warm-toned. What I learned:Warm-tone may be ideal for lots of images but clearly feels odd in the context of a cold subject. The image at left uses my favorite split tone that works so well for winter images. The dark tones are warm, but the mid and highlights are toned blue — hence "split-toned.) 2nd Chances: What I might try nextI'm still undecided as to whether I should try to eliminate the corner vignetting on this one. |
