Brooks Jensen Arts - Every Picture Is a Compromise

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Every Picture is a Compromise
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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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Reasons to Crop an Image #3
Distill to the essence

There are those who insist that cropping is a cheat for not composing accurately in the camera. I disagree. Never feel guilty about cropping if it makes the picture better. This week will offer examples.

What I saw that I liked:

Quintessential western landscape image.

What I don't like in the picture:

I wanted to have the skull centered on the pole, but I simply mis-aimed the camera.

What I learned:

Centering the skull was easily accomplished by a crop. In this example, the essence of the image is sky, cloud, skull, pole. All four elements are included in both the original and the cropped version, but the cropped version includes a formality by having the skull centered. All the rest of the pole that was cropped out isn't needed.