It is just the light
[TIL #4] A reviewer once discarded this image. I had to go back to the file to check whether I had been guilty of the crime of heavy-handed post-processing.
Tales of Ink and Light are short stories and poems told with words (the ink) and photographs (the light). I send the Tales every two weeks. Every other week, I share a photograph and the story behind it, as well as brief thoughts on photography and the creative process. And today’s image is …
It is just the light.
A reviewer once told me that they did not like this image because of the heavy vignette, which in their eyes was tantamount to poor taste. Interestingly, there’s absolutely no such added effect. That day, I was following the Gay Pride parade in Lisbon, moving in and out of the crowd to find interesting angles on the event. The throng had come to a halt and sunlight was falling from a perpendicular street: I liked the way the light sculpted this group and coated them with some statuesque dignity.
There is no doubt that the reviewer only had good intentions: their comments on the other pictures I had submitted were positive and helpful. But I had to go back to the file to check whether I had been guilty of heavy-handed post-processing. It was a relief to find myself innocent of the crime, but the image had been stained by the unfounded accusation. It took a while before i got back to being happy with this photograph.
In this small incident lies an obvious lesson on the diversity of personal tastes — the mark of elegance for some may very well be a sign of lameness for others. On a deeper level, it is an invitation to reflect on who you invest with the authority to judge your work and on the weight you grant to their judgements. It speaks of learning to trust one’s own voice while keeping your ear open to others’ views: i am grateful for your advice and yet i intend to be the captain of my own ship.
Issue 3 of the Tales will be on its way to your mailbox on Saturday 2 December.
Thank you for reading. It’s good to have you here.
P.S.: If the Tales of Ink and Light work on you — that is, if they make you smile, dream or think — would you do me a huge favour and share them with the people around you who you think would love them too?
Being a former reviewer myself, the reviewer who called the vignette poor taste, was clearly tired. Had the reviewer used his awake eyes he would've quickly seen it's the natural light that creates a natural looking vignette while keeping the entire photo uniform, which is far from poor taste.
Personally, I love it. It has great depth, great shadows and good lighting. May not feel like a stock photo to some, but having worked in the market for over a decade myself, it's a stock photo.
Hardly surprised about the review though, reviewers for some sites see thousands of photos every day and they have extremely rigorous standards to follow, so I get it. Every miniscule little thing is an automatic reject, and he'd probably seen hundreds if not thousands of photos that day already when he came to yours. Tired eyes make easy mistakes. Been there myself countless times.
Beautiful work, Pierre!
Who is the best judge? That is the question ... !