Brooks Jensen Arts - Every Picture Is a Compromise

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Every Picture is a Compromise
A Series About Keepers, Also-rans, and Learning from Mistakes

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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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A Spot of Light

We are advised that a good photo is "well lit." It can be, but there are alternatives to "well lit" like, for example, "spot lit." It's one of my favorite types of light as will be shown this week.

What I saw that I liked:

Light just in the tops of the trees.

What I don't like in the picture:

Here again, the color is distracting from the light.

What I learned:

Of course, photographers who primarily work in color will disagree with me on this, but I think the removal of the color by conversion to a warm-tone b/w enhances the presence of the light.