3.18.2011

Missing the Text - Focus and OCPD


Sometimes at my job, we edit photos that have a caption given. Before they go live on a website, each photo setup goes through a review process. And thank god!

Yesterday, the photo I was working on needed... well... work. Retouching, lightening and then putting on the graphics. It all took some time.

When it was finally done, I uploaded the image and inserted the text it had been assigned. Then, it went to the proofreader.

He called me over "Umm… This image is great, but you realize this caption has nothing to do with the photo?"

He was right! The client had sent us the wrong text and, after a few emails, we matched the right story.

But I was left thinking about what happened. I spend a good hour on the photo – but didn’t even look at the text! I got so foucsed on one detail, I missed how everything  fit together.

Obsession - with image perfection, or life perfection - does that. We see one little part, and spend all our time on it. And we overlook what matters.

So maybe it’s time to take a step back from any singular focus, and take in the whole picture!