It’s Not That Simple: Why There Are No Absolutes in Photography

Friday, July 7, 2023

Pressing the shutter button is the easy part. Everything else—the knowledge, the timing, the experience—takes effort.

Most of what you read, watch, or hear in workshops suggests a "do this to get better" approach. But in photography, there are no absolutes; there are only guides. To truly improve, you have to get out there, take the shots, and honestly analyze your results.

If I had to name the only "absolutes," they would be composition, focus, and what Matt Kloskowski calls "The Why." Why did you take the photo in the first place? Beyond that, everything is a choice. You might know the "rules" of composition, but which one fits this specific moment?

Here is why every "rule" comes with a "but..."

The Great "Buts" of Photography

• "Use Aperture Priority for landscapes..." BUT if anything is moving—the wind in the trees or people walking by—you have to consider shutter speed. If your ISO is fixed, the camera will chase a "proper" exposure by adjusting your shutter speed. If it drops too low, you’ll lose that sharpness. (A good rule of thumb: keep your shutter speed at least 1/focal length for handheld shots).

• "Use Shutter Priority for motion..." BUT remember that your camera will adjust the aperture to compensate. If you’re shooting a landscape at 1/600s on a windy day, your camera might open up to f/4.0. Is your background still sharp? Maybe, maybe not.

• "Use a low ISO for a clean photo..." BUT don't be afraid of the dark. Modern sensors and AI software handle noise beautifully. I’d rather have a sharp, well-exposed shot with some noise than a "clean" shot that is blurry because the ISO was too low. Get the shot first.

• "Never use AUTO..." BUT it’s a great tool to find a baseline or to use when you’re handing your camera to a friend. Often, the result is perfectly acceptable.

• "Use JPEG..." BUT remember that a JPEG is like a wrapped deli ham sandwich. You can unwrap it and add some mustard, but it’s always going to be a ham sandwich. It’s fine for immediate posting, but your editing options are limited.

• "Use RAW..." BUT know that it might look a bit "flat" on your LCD screen. The magic is in the post-processing—where you can turn that basic ham sandwich into a toasted turkey and ham panini.

• "Use a fast shutter speed to stop blur..." BUT is that what you actually want? Photography is an artistic choice. Do you want to freeze a bird in flight, or do you want to show the beautiful motion of the wings through a bit of blur?

• "Aperture controls Depth of Field (DoF)..." BUT it isn't the only factor. Your sensor size, your distance from the subject, and your focal length often matter more than your f-stop.

• "Use Evaluative Metering..." BUT remember that your camera is just trying to turn everything into 18% gray. Whether you use evaluative, center-weighted, or spot metering, the camera is just doing math to find that middle gray. You have to decide if that's actually the look you want.

• "A new camera will improve my photography..." NO, it won't. If you’re taking bad photos now, a more expensive camera will just take high-resolution bad photos. New gear might have better autofocus or cooler menus, but it won’t make you a better artist. Learn your current gear to its absolute limit first.

The Bottom Line

There is no single "secret" to being a better photographer. It’s a combination of all these variables and, most importantly, knowing your tool. Whether you’re using a cell phone or the latest high-end mirrorless, you need to know which button does what without thinking about it. If you don't know your camera, you can't use it to its full potential.

To paraphrase President Kennedy: We choose to become better photographers not because it is easy, but because it is hard.

The only way to get there is to keep shooting and keep analyzing.

The Subtractive Canvas: Is Photography Just Painting with Pixels?

In the art world, we often pit photography and painting against one another. One is seen as a "capture" of reality, the other a "creation" from nothing. But as we move deeper into the digital age, the line between a brushstroke and a pixel is blurring.

If we look closely at the mechanics of the craft, we find that a photographer is essentially a painter—just one who works in reverse.

### Drawing with Light

The word **photography** literally means "drawing with light." While a painter uses a brush to apply pigment to a linen canvas, a photographer uses a lens to "brush" photons onto a digital sensor.

In this metaphor:

* **The Sensor is the Canvas:** A grid of millions of photosites (pixels) waiting to be filled.

* **Aperture and Shutter Speed are the Brushes:** A wide aperture creates a broad, soft stroke (bokeh), while a fast shutter speed captures a sharp, precise dab of detail.

* **The RAW file is the Palette:** A digital space where we mix colors, push shadows, and pull highlights to match our vision.

### The Great Inversion: Additive vs. Subtractive

The most profound difference between these two mediums isn't the tools, but the **philosophical starting point.**

Traditional painting is **additive**. You start with a white void—a blank canvas. Every mountain, tree, or stray hair must be intentionally placed there. If there is a distraction in a painting, it’s because the artist chose to put it there.

Photography, however, is **subtractive**.

A photographer starts with the entire world—a chaotic, messy, and unorganized reality. The artist’s job is to "remove" the noise. When you look through a viewfinder, you aren't just deciding what to include; you are deciding what to kill. You move your body to hide a trash can behind a tree; you use a shallow depth of field to blur out a distracting crowd; you crop the frame to isolate a single soul in a city of millions.

> *"A photographer will remove a distraction when a traditional artist would not add a distraction in the first place."*

### The Physics of the Pixel

Even the physics of the two mediums are inverted. In traditional painting, you work with **subtractive color** (RYB)—mix enough pigments together, and you get a dark, muddy black.

Digital photography relies on **additive color** (RGB). Because you are painting with light, the more "paint" you add to a pixel, the closer you get to pure, brilliant white. This relationship is governed by the intensity of light hitting the sensor, often measured by the **Inverse Square Law**:

This formula reminds us that the "thickness" of our light-paint depends entirely on our distance from the source.

### Conclusion: Two Paths to the Same Peak

Whether you are building a world one brushstroke at a time or carving a masterpiece out of the chaos of reality, the goal remains the same: to translate a feeling into a visual language.

The painter starts with nothing and adds until the work is finished. The photographer starts with everything and subtracts until only the truth remains. Both, in the end, are simply masters of the pixel and the pigment.

Larry's Photography Hangout

I plan to increase the use of my Discord server called Larry's Photography Hangout.

What's Discord 

 

Those that wish to join the discussion following the information below.

Here are the steps to create your Discord account and join Larry's Photography Discussion.

Phase 1: Create Your Discord Account

1. Go to the registration page: https://discord.com/register

2. Fill in your Email, Username, Password, and Date of Birth.

3. Click "Continue" and check your email inbox to verify your account.

Phase 2: Join the Server

1. Once your account is verified, click the server invite link: https://discord.gg/dGmqZdHAmm

2. Click Accept Invite.

3. When you land in the server, look for a #rules or #start-here channel and read the guidelines to gain full access.

Let me know if you run into any trouble!

Flash or Not

Since I'm not an expert in flash photography I asked chatGPT for help

IMHO many of you started with a pop-up flash. When you try to use it very frequently the photo of terrible. Many just give up. We are thin about the inverse square rule for light. As I said I'm not an expert. We talk about it but seldom is any demonstration to reinforce the information. Basically it's left to an exercise for the students.

So read all the information. Create your own experiments.

Year or so I purchased "The Digital photography book" by Scott Kelby. Starting Pg 105 "Using Your flash like a pro".

The short answer is no TTL, Manual only, don't use flash unit on your camera. Use RF remote trigger, use a flash compatible with the trigger. Practice, practice, practice and more practice. Use modifiers.

 Youngunuo or Godox are lower price and frequently used.

So I asked chatGPT 

​The Hidden Story: Why Context Changes Everything in Photography Critique

Once I was told the photo didn't know The Why. Only look at the story. I disagreed and was shouted down.

I still firmly believe you need to know the WHY.

​You hit on one of the most profound truths in visual arts: A critique that only looks at the technical aspects (the "how") is incomplete. The real insight comes when you understand the **context (**the "why" and "what").

​I saw this perfectly demonstrated with our conversation about the photograph of the massive rock against the sunset.

​💡 From Flaw to Feature

​Without context, an objective critique would mark certain choices as flaws:

• ​"The foreground is a pure silhouette; you lost all shadow detail."
• ​"The sky’s color is muted, lacking the punch of a normal sunset."

​But when you provided the context, the entire reading flips:

1. ​Context: It was a massive rock.
   • ​New Critique: The choice of a telephoto lens (300mm–600mm equivalent) was brilliant. It compresses the perspective, isolating the massive subject and making the far-off sun appear close, which emphasizes the rock's immense scale.
2. ​Context: The sun was obscured by wildfire smoke.
   • ​New Critique: The "flaw" of muted color and the silhouette were intentional choices and a successful documentary capture of a specific atmospheric event. The smoke naturally filtered the light, dimming the sun enough to capture its perfect shape—an effect nearly impossible on a clear day. The hazy color is unique and perfectly sets the mood.

​✅ The True Goal of Critique

​The ultimate goal of a critique isn't to judge technical perfection, but to answer this question:

​Did the photographer successfully achieve their intended goal, given the circumstances and tools?

​In your case, the answer is a resounding yes. The technical "weakness" of losing shadow detail became the intended strength—a powerful, moody silhouette that successfully captured a unique moment in a unique atmosphere.

​The lesson is clear: Always look past the exposure settings. The real story—the environment, the reason for the shot, the choice of lens—is what transforms a good photo into a powerful one.

"Why does my phone picture look better?"

I asked Gemini.

the short answer is "Your phone is a computer that edits the photo for you instantly. Your dedicated camera is a precision instrument that captures raw data for you to edit later."

Yes JPG is an edited image on you dedicated camera.

The long answer with all the detail is in this link https://gemini.google.com/share/04cde1912381

However Olympus/OM System offer Compotational Photography on many models. This video has more detail.

High Shutter speed?

Many photography instructors emphasize using a high shutter speed to freeze motion.

Ok it's a good goal to learn your camera.

But do you want your photos to look every motion stuck. 

Is it more impactful to allowing slight blur in the ball, wing and similar.  That slight blur shows motion. Things moving are moving and not stuck.

It's an artistic choice.  

There are no rules.

Lightroom Desktop AI Culling

My AI Culling and Image Organization Workflow

I start by using the Local tab to Import my images directly into my storage unit. The next step is leveraging AI Culling to organize the shoot.

Culling and Initial Sorting

First, I define my specific culling criteria.

Once the AI has done the initial cullig, the images are split into two "buckets": Selects and Rejects.

Working in grid view, I click into the Selects bucket, use Select All, and then move Selects to a subfolder in the parent folder. I choose "create a folder in..." and select "use all selected images" to create a new subfolder named Selects.

I repeat this exact process for the Rejects bucket, creating a separate subfolder named Rejects.

Review and Final Tagging

At this point both subfolders are Unflagged.

I now review the images in each subfolder (Selects and Rejects) to confirm they are correctly categorized. I use flags to ensure this verification is complete.

In the subfolder Selects I use the Pick or Reject flags. All flaged Reject are moved to the Reject subfolder.

In the subfolder Rejects I select the Unflagged photo. Review each and apply a Pick or Reject flag. All flaged as Pick are moved to the Select subfolder.

Once editing is finished for a batch, I mark those images with 5 stars.

Finally, I move the 5-star rating (representing completed editing) up to the parent folder for easy tracking.

Sharing

To share the final images, I create JPG files and upload them to the Adobe Cloud.

Photo Challenge Opinion

Many groups have monthly photo challenges. I believe it is a good thing. 

But IMHO the purpose is for to take a new photo(s) that meet's the challenge. If the challenge is something like re editing an older photo to improve...

Dumpster diving to find an existing photo that fits the challenge does nothing to improve your camera craft, composition. The only thing it does is increase your searching abilities.

So STOP IT!

What is Discord?

I have a Discord server, what is a Discord server you ask.

 "A Discord server is a private or public online space where people can chat, share media, and join voice or video calls, organized into topic-based channels."

My Discord server invationion link -Larry's Photography Hangout

Discord organize types of Channels each channel is demoted by #.  Members can comment on the channel or create a new channel.

What is a voice channel?

"A voice channel in Discord is a space where members can talk in real time using voice (and optionally video or screen sharing) instead of text.

A guest link lets non-members join temporarily, but they usually can’t see all channels, change settings, or stay after the link expires unless they join the server."

Discord voice channel link for guests https://discord.gg/5TpaZ9R5zB

Guests can not initiate a voice channel but can join a conversation 

At the time I created my sèver I just blindly created it. I deleted many of the channels and renamed several.

Now with chatGPT you can a guide here https://chatgpt.com/share/689d113c-9904-8009-b460-f1e0060a32fb

--

Larry Kurfis 

Settings and processing Milky Way

I wanted to compare my milky way shoot settings and how to post process. So I asked AI for assistance,  

https://chatgpt.com/share/6886d697-3eac-8009-aadc-cc83d1f05c98

Planning a Shoot with AI

I and a few others have joined  https://www.skool.com/photography-community/about?ref=d5cf1785f1c740c38fa5b124973dc4bc

There was a reply related to planning a shoot that said that they used chatGPT.

So I wanted to plan a shoot of moonrise that includes Lowell turbines. Following is my and chatGPT; https://chatgpt.com/share/6886bcf8-b07c-8009-9aaa-d48c1eae7806

Comments?

Follow Me By eMail

 Hello, I have added a widget, top right, to allow you to be notified by eMail of updates. It uses the follow.it app. I believe the setup for follow.it is simple for you. 

Hopefully this works for subscribers.

Thanks, Larry