Journal / 文章
照片里没拍到的那一边
同一个路口可以拍得很热闹，也可以只留下一位路人。取景以后，我开始更在意自己省略了什么。
The side that stayed outside the photograph
照片看起来很确定：按下快门的一刻被框住，别人只能看见框里的内容。可我站在现场时知道，左边可能还有一群人，右边也许正有人收拾东西。镜头没有说谎，但它肯定没有说完。
有次拍校园活动，我最先选的是一张台上鼓掌的照片。往后翻，看到结束后有人蹲在地上收线。两张都是真的，可如果只发第一张，别人看到的活动会热闹很多；只发第二张，又像我故意把气氛拍得很累。
现在拍一组内容，我会换几个位置。先拍正在发生的事，再看看周围的人怎么参与，结束后也留两张。发布前会把照片和文字放在一起看，确认标题没有把现场说得比实际更戏剧化。
生活照当然不用每张都承担完整说明。花、晚霞、朋友的一张侧脸，就是我当时喜欢的画面。只是我会记得，那是我从现场里挑出的一小块，不是当天全部的样子。
知道画面外还有东西，并不会让我不敢拍。它只是让我在选择照片时，多问一句：这张单独放出去，会让人怎样理解当时发生的事？
Read the English versionThe same crossing can look crowded or contain only one passerby. Framing has made me pay more attention to what I leave out.
A photograph looks certain: one instant is framed, and other people can only see what is inside it. But when I stood there, I knew a crowd might have been just to the left and someone might have been packing equipment on the right. The camera did not lie, but it certainly did not tell everything.
Once, while photographing a campus event, I first selected an image of applause on stage. Later I found another frame of someone crouching to pack cables after it ended. Both were true. Publish only the first and the event looks much livelier; publish only the second and it seems deliberately tired.
Now, when making a photo set, I change position. I photograph the main action, look at how people around it take part, and keep a couple of frames after the event is over. Before publishing, I check the images beside the caption so the title does not make the scene more dramatic than it was.
A personal photograph does not always need to explain everything. A flower, a sunset, or a friend in profile can simply be the part I liked. I just remember that it is one chosen piece of the scene, not the whole day.
Knowing there is more outside the frame does not make me afraid to photograph. It gives me one extra question while editing: if this image appears alone, what will someone think happened?
