overly self critical?

sineadw

So I've just spent the last hour looking over my pixie profile and my most popular shots, and I love them all. And I don't think one of them has been taken in the last year. Or not the ones I like anyway.

I find the more l learn about photography the less confident I am about just sticking shots up there for all to see - myself included. I've become my own worst (really worst) critic. I wonder is this a universal trend? My recent shots have been doing well in competition. I just feel.. meh.. about them...

I'm about to (hopefully!) start into 3rd year of a photography degree having never taken a formal class in my life, and I'm worried this will only get worse - to the point where it just won't be fun anymore.

I'd appreciate any insight.

thebaz

you are your own most important critic - we all are - and I know you have a great eye - the whole competition thing ain't doing it for me - I think we know deep down when we have taken a good shot, we shouldn't have to rely on others - but its nice to know others do get where we're coming from --

having said all that, for what its worth, everyday I plan stopping, and wonder what I'm doing

From what I've seen it's a completely natural reaction for most photographers.When most of us started photography we were happy with the basic shots we took,but... as we got more experienced we found out how much we had yet to learn.The best way for us to improve is to become overly critical,looking at our own work in a much harsher way,learning what works and what doesn't.When we spend a lot of our free time doing something it's natural to want to become accomplished at it and this overly critical analysis is the best solution in many cases.

Doing this as you say,you become your own worst critic, which if you go overboard means it can really take the joy out of photography.But in my opinion it's a vital process for photographers if they want to improve.I guess the important thing is that you don't let it take the fun out of your photography,make sure you listen to other peoples opinions aswell and take them on board.If most people on the forum like one of your photos and it wins a competition,the chances are you're being far too over critical! What's important to find is a good balance between your own and other people's analysis,if that makes sense!

AnimalRights

The more you know the more you realise you don't know!

I had a feeling you either posted late or very early Sinead... these self awareness posts are often expressed at those times.
I am different to you that while I do vet my work I definitely am not as critical as yourself and more gets through my own quality control, then again you're taking photographs longer than me.
I am quite confident in what I do let through and if I like something I like something irrespective of others opinions....then again I've always had confidence in anything I do.

Morrisseeee

confidence

....thats the KEY word. If you're not confident in what you are doing, you won't have the desire to do it !
You could probably write a book on how you are feeling right now, but my advice is to shift your focus to something else, photograph something else, take on another challenge, don't get bogged down in one area ! or take a kit-kat ie. a break !!

Anouilh

sineadw wrote: »

...

I'm about to (hopefully!) start into 3rd year of a photography degree having never taken a formal class in my life, and I'm worried this will only get worse - to the point where it just won't be fun anymore.

I'd appreciate any insight.

I would look more closely at the changes doing a degree course have brought to your perception. Considering why you made a choice to study and what themes you chose to photograph for the past year could help you see more clearly.

Every trade has this crucial moment. I studied French and English and had the good fortune to have an excellent teacher who knew that all students go through a phase where they lose perspective and try to find formulae and systems to help them find their own path. Your photography is now so good that you are probably looking at how to make it truly individual and, if the vast body of photography on the Internet, all of excellent standard is anything to go by, you will probably need some guidance, which your new teachers will offer. I take photos as a hobby but I'm now much more fussy than I was a few years ago.


Perhaps you just need to take a break before setting in to a full year of work?

Being critical is not a flaw. It will mean that you will continue to improve for many years to come.

As for the "fun" element, perhaps you could help out with this photo quiz? Even if you do not know where this photo was taken I would be grateful if you could send it round among your photographer friends to solve the puzzle. Otherwise the thread will die...

http://shortsights.blogspot.com/2009/06/photo-quiz.html#links

(One of my friends has just explained that they feel the way you do all the time about everything... We all have our temperaments and the trick is to work with them, not against.)

AnCatDubh

Sinead - Any online service can be misleading when it comes to popularity. Popular does not necessarily equal good or of particular merit. I love pix.ie by comparison to flickr or other sharing services but its ranking system (based on secret pix.ie algorithm) while probably better than most i've come across is reflective in the generality of things of longevity rather than how good or otherwise the images may be.

It's not pix.ie's fault - if i upload an image today and upload an image in six months, and all things being equal - the image which i upload today being found through google crawls, etc., will be more popular assuming similar keywords etc..

My most popular image on pix.ie is one that I don't give an awful lot of credence to. To be truthful, it was a throw away shot that I did a little processing on but wasn't particularly happy with. I only uploaded it as I was not placing family stuff in public and at the time hadn't much else. I've grown to like it over time but again in truth it might never have seen the light of day.

The fact that some killer images don't get to the top of the pix.ie pile is a product of many factors but views is a big one. Post it to a popular site or if its 'digged' and the popularity goes up but it can be somewhat contrived.

I think its a problem for photographer. Robert Capa produced amazing photographs before his untimely death. I suspect had he lived, he might have been haunted by "the moment of death" - is it as good as it gets for him. If he had a pix.ie account - no doubt it would have been his most popular thoughout his career, and would he personally think that he had taken as good if not better images in more recent times.

Musicians often suffer from having 'their most popular' haunting them and never appear to be able to shake it. Popularity is probably not the best measure of whether you are doing it right or not. Sometimes your best is a product of circumstance, experience and often luck - often this mix cannot be called upon on demand.

If you want to see serious critical appraisals check out burn magazine and the emerging photographer fund. No prisoners taken to the point of being scary. I don't know even if i ever thought i was good enough to be featured on the site, if I would be comfortable with that level of critique. And I thought I was my own worst critic too.

melekalikimaka

i'd agree with you sinead. we had an exibit in college, we could submit images for a a show... I refused to submit anything as I don't feel I have anything in my portfolio that I'm truely confident in presenting, I'm confident technically, and i know if i take a good photo or a bad one... but theres a whole other level of confidence to be confident enough to put forward a piece... it kinda says 'here ya go this one image imo sums me up as a photographer, look at this photo and from it you will see my skill, standard and abilty' i dont have anything close in all my flickr that i think i'd be happy with people judging like that

Anouilh

melekalikimaka wrote: »

...i dont have anything close in all my flickr that i think i'd be happy with people judging like that

Sinead's question in relation to self criticism is what will direct her work for some time to come, I think. Other people's critiques, or the fear thereof, are a very different area.

I have always consoled myself when putting any piece of work into a public sphere that, once I have done the best possible at that time and within the circumstances, other people's judgements seem very distant indeed.

I started this this thread

http://members.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=60663018#post60663018

in order to share photos taken in galleries and on streets over the past year.

The question in relation to white balance made me look at one of the photos again and wonder why the question was asked. It did not affect how I see the photo myself.

I would be delighted if posters here took time to add their favourite pieces to that thread. Music gigs are pure art.

Confidence is a key ingredient in putting anything up on the Internet. It seems that 9 out of 10 internet users are content to surf and never upload anything.

Worth thinking about...

melekalikimaka

Anouilh wrote: »

Confidence is a key ingredient in putting anything up on the Internet. It seems that 9 out of 10 internet users are content to surf and never upload anything.

Worth thinking about...

i'd think the utter opposite, you can hide behind your computer totally