| Author | Thread |
|
|
03/29/2006 04:30:23 PM · #1 |
The obvious answer is yes or none of us would be doing it, but I wonder how many of you are your own worst critic.
I am such a person. Many, many, many of my shots I show to people and get oohs and aahs from while in my head I am saying, "are you kidding, can't you see all the problems with this shot?"
I'm trying to put together a portfolio to show to potential galleries if I ever want to pursue such an avenue, but I can hardly get one shot into it. Right now I think I have perhaps two shots I would include (my two blue ribbons), but even those have issues I wish I could change and don't like. Plus, once I latch onto a defect, I can see nothing else.
Just wondered how many other people were like this and whether there was a support group... |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 04:31:50 PM · #2 |
You sound like an artist to me Doc!
I think there is a club!
Message edited by author 2006-03-29 16:32:15.
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 04:34:07 PM · #3 |
Yes, exactly!
And if you find a support group, let me know :)
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 04:41:21 PM · #4 |
I am the same :( I am now at the point where I havent entered many challenges lately because I am so critical of my shots!
I beleive, for myself it is a plateau on the learning curve.
At work, I am much the same. If I complete a cake, or plated dessert or whatever, I have this odd little test. I have to leave it and walk away, upon returning, if it is not immediately recognizable as my own work, it passes the test. It is almost like, I look at it and go "wow" instead of "Thats mine" then I am happy.
That said....it happens very rarely..I am highly critical, too :)) |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 04:42:38 PM · #5 |
Yeah, ditto what wazoo said.
My problem is that the ones I think are pretty cruddy are the ones people gush over the most.
I'm the same - I focus on a problem or defect and can't hardly see anything else.
I've taken photos for at least a dozen challenges and even done the post processing work, but I'm so focused on the problems that I can't make myself upload them, heh. |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 04:46:00 PM · #6 |
You have to be your own worst critic. If your not, when you get a hold of someone who actually knows about the craft like a photo editor or gallery owner, you'll get ripped to shredds.
SO oooh's & ahh's arte great for the ego from the layperson, but you want those oooh's & ahhhh's from the people who know about photography even more.
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 04:51:16 PM · #7 |
I especially enjoy the activity of taking pictures. For me, the journey is the reward!
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 04:58:12 PM · #8 |
Yep, you're describing me pretty accurately. I've had two offers of free space to display my work for sale and I can't come up with any worthy enough to suit me. When I receive compliments, I have to force myself to say thank you and smile sweetly and not point out all the imperfections that I see. I think I'm doomed. Did someone say support group? I could use one!
On the other hand, I do have some photos that I absolutely love regardless of their imperfections...but...I still don't think that someone else would value them in print format.
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 04:59:59 PM · #9 |
| Check out "Art & Fear" by David Bayles and Ted Orland...it's a quick read and it's only $9.97 at Amazon...I think you'll find a lot of insight about how you're feeling about your own work at the moment...a really decent book. |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:02:08 PM · #10 |
I hate every single photo I've ever taken... really. I always find something in every single photo I wish I had done differently.
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:04:51 PM · #11 |
we are all sick !
/me runs :-)
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:08:07 PM · #12 |
our photos are the fruits of our love to photography, our "children" if you will. We should try to learn to love them with all their flaws :)
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:08:40 PM · #13 |
I don't like my photos. It's very hard not to hold one's efforts up to the people here
who really know their stuff. Although it's uplifting to see what people can do and where photography can be taken, for someone like me, it's a tad discouraging to wonder if one can ever really get that good, especially considering that some of them are quite young and don't even have that great equipment.
On the other hand, there's nothing like peer reviewing, and I've found the few comments I've received on a recent submission I made to be really, really helpful. With guidance like that, there is hope! :) |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:09:55 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
I hate every single photo I've ever taken... really. I always find something in every single photo I wish I had done differently. |
Me too.
But (thankfully for my sanity) I've learned (thanks to the kind folks here) that the trick to dealing with it is to figure out what exactly I don't like, how I can change it, and then go out and re-do the shot (if possible) so that it at least is better, even if it's not perfect.
That being said... Leroy, I'm going to try to reshoot those low-key shots this weekend. Interested in critiquing them for me when I get them uploaded?
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:11:01 PM · #15 |
I really like maybe 5 or 6 of my images and the rest I think are...ok to whatever.
I could shred many of them to smithereens, with ease.
Message edited by author 2006-03-29 17:12:03.
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:11:36 PM · #16 |
Reminds me of these lines by Robinson Jeffers;
I hate my verses, every line, every word ΓΆ€”
Oh, pale and brittle pencils, ever to try
One grass-blade's curve, or the throat of one bird
That clings to twig, ruffled against grey sky!
It's a universal condition of the artist. It is difficult to let go of a creation and turn it loose. It's somethign you have to learn how to do.
Robt.
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:13:25 PM · #17 |
Yes and No because there are different buckets to me.
No -> I have a lot of photos of the kids and places I have been that I like because of the memories not the photo itself (if I step back they are full of technical issues to me but not family). I guess these type of photos are really just a reminder of memories and while I see bad stuff in the image, it's not important.
Yes -> The images I really like - outside of the memories - I am much much more critical of. I guess I have had an SLR for 15 or so years and there is really only maybe less than a dozen images I really like just because of the image itself (obviously memory is part of this but much smaller). In hindsight there are ways to improve them but at that point in time, I could not have got a better image with another 100 frames. |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:16:02 PM · #18 |
I admire the work of many photographers, mostly dead ones. The game is to make better images than they did. It's not a game I will win, but it's good enough for the blood to rush. The photo I love best, is always the next one I'll take, of course.
There are so many factors at play in the making of a decent image, many of which have nothing to do with me. I feel grateful to those miracles (light, people, objects, land, circumstances etc.) that keep me sharp and creative enough to partake. I believe that it is this gratitude that keeps me happy and unencumbered by frustrations and feelings of insufficiency. |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:16:40 PM · #19 |
| I am a perfectionist to a point, then I say screw it good enough. Its gets to that time versus enjoyment factor. I don't use photography to make money, besides I need alot more practice and talent to get to that level. A photo is like life, you havta enjoy it with all its little imperfections. |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:23:21 PM · #20 |
A favorite way voters here at DPC have of venting their disatisfaction with their own images is to score other people's pictures even lower than their own. LOL!
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:33:43 PM · #21 |
Sites like DPC often make us too critical of our own work. We feel better about ourselves if we are overly critical of our work. I think it may also be that we like to maintain some amount of modesty for whatever the reason. There are probalby all sorts of psychological reasons why we do things the way we do.
As for the question, yes, I do enjoy my own photos. I'm not overly critical of my own work. I can enjoy something for what it is rather than worrying too much about how it could be better. There are times when perfection is required and others where it isn't. Being aware of that is also very useful.
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:34:04 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by stdavidson:
A favorite way voters here at DPC have of venting their disatisfaction with their own images is to score other people's pictures even lower than their own. LOL! |
That's good! A critical attitude combined with self-confidence makes for better pitchers than those that come with self-doubt clad in flattery.
Message edited by author 2006-03-29 17:35:05. |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:35:26 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by zeuszen:
There are so many factors at play in the making of a decent image, many of which have nothing to do with me. I feel grateful to those miracles (light, people, objects, land, circumstances etc.) that keep me sharp and creative enough to partake. I believe that it is this gratitude that keeps me happy and unencumbered by frustrations and feelings of insufficiency. |
I need to write that down...
|
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:40:47 PM · #24 |
To me, it goes both ways - I can pick apart my shots better than anyone, but at the same time I can see a hint of something magical in a shot that is mostly crap!
This is simply because it was my brain "seeing" the shot that I took, not someone else's. I and only I truly know what I meant to get and whether I got it, didn't get it, or by happy accident got something else entirely. |
|
|
|
03/29/2006 05:41:25 PM · #25 |
A very good question.. I don't know about anyone else but as my experience grows so does my critical side,I find myself looking back at what I thought was, for me a great shot and shoot holes in it!
I find myself giving lower scores than when I first joined, is this a good thing?
Example. Elsapo's recent ribbon win, regarding the picture only, obviously the voters loved it and it is a great shot, but as he said himself,
"Editing may be a little off because it was done on an "old" laptop"
I agree with him and would never have given the image top score, the flaws, in my opinion are there in the editing,now 2 years ago I would have voted this image top score.
My own recent win, has flaws,which were well pointed out, but due to the editing restriction I couldn't cure, but again 2 years ago I wouldn't have even seen them.
Anyone else feel this way..hope so.
Maybe I shall have to be less critical ?
Paul.
|
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 06/22/2025 04:17:12 PM EDT.
