Subtle Isn't Synonomous With Weak

If an image is not dramatic, it's very tempting to file it away as weak. If someone says your image is subtle, it's all too easy to equate that with 'nice try', with the emphasis on 'try'.

So: it seems to me we need to define subtle as it relates to images. A subtle hint is one which you might well miss if not paying attention. Subtle music takes careful and repeated listening to get it. A subtle outfit is one which doesn't draw attention to itself yet all the pieces, ordinary in themselves, somehow come together in harmony.

Here's what Wiki has as a definition of subtle:

sub·tle (stl)
adj. sub·tler, sub·tlest
1.
a. So slight as to be difficult to detect or describe; elusive: a subtle smile.
b. Difficult to understand; abstruse: an argument whose subtle point was lost on her opponent.
2. Able to make fine distinctions: a subtle mind.
3.
a. Characterized by skill or ingenuity; clever.
b. Crafty or sly; devious.
c. Operating in a hidden, usually injurious way; insidious: a subtle poison.

I think we can now say some things about a subtle photograph.

a) not everyone is going to 'get' it
b) even those who do, are probably going to have to work at it - no freebees here
c) it's likely to take time - you are going to have to live with the image - for minutes, hours, possibly even years
d) it's meaning is probably hidden in complexity
e) there's a good chance the image works in a number of different ways - ie. the more you study it, the more you 'get'
f) subtle doesn't necessarily mean peaceful - a subtle image can make you very uncomfortable in time - it just doesn't slap you on the face
g) subtle images are going to be damn hard to make and it would be very easy to kid ourselves that a weak image is a subtle one.
h) this makes life really complicated - what if it isn't subtle, what if it truly is just as bad as you first thought?
i) it's possible for an image to be both subtle and dramatic - the former hidden under the latter.

Think of it as being like playing chess. To be successful, it's necessary to plan several moves ahead - I'd like to do this but I have to watch out for that, and I have to block the other...

I'd like to think that the images which I strongly like and which receive very little acclaim, do so because they are subtle. Of course, there's no real way to know for sure - I guess I have to wait till after I'm dead to find out - and even then, if I'm lucky enough to be remembered for images, it isn't likely to be the subtle ones anyway.

If anyone has a sure fire way to identify subtle images from 'nice try's' please 'to tell us' how.