It's Really OK That You Suck

Canon 5DmkII with 100mm f2.8 Macro ISO 100 f9

Let's face it.  You suck as a photographer.  Sure you're better than some, but you're much worse than others.  Don't sweat it though.  We all suck.  Even the great ones among us.

The truth is that no matter how long you've been doing this, you're going to have moments of doubt and uncertainty.  Accepting that is a very important part of getting better.  I have some heroes out there in the industry that I admire very much and I don't love every image they put out there.  Some I actually think are pretty bad.  Nobodies perfect all the time.

I went on a photo walk last week with some friends and we turned it into a little contest where people could vote on the images and decide which one they liked the best.  I'm pretty sure my effort is going to land dead last.  I'm really OK with that.  My photo was kinda boring and a bit of a dead effort.  But I've learned from it.  Personal Note: When on photo walks stop chatting so much and concentrate!

I'm always hearing excuses from photographers about their images and why they aren't perfect.  I do it too.  I didn't have the right lens, I was in a hurry, the subject wouldn't co-operate, it was just a quick snapshot.  Whatever.  But when we do this we rob ourselves of the opportunity to learn and grow.  Robin Wong talked about this recently and I thought he was right on.

You can't trust your mom, your spouse (though my spouse rarely likes my images) or your cat to tell you the truth about your work.  It's important to be self critical (I'm not bad at this, I hate almost every image I've ever done not long after I shoot it) but also to put yourself out there with your peers and hear what they have to say.  Even if it's anonymous.  Kenneth Jarecke had a great blog post up on Wired recently that is worth a read on why we suck.  I hope you take the time to read it.

Last summer in a course I took with Jenn and Steve Bebb we went through an image critique where we submitted our five favourite images to be critiqued live by our peers.  The experience was powerful for a few different reasons.  We, as artists, get attached to our images and sometimes can have a hard time letting go of our love for them.  For me having a couple of my images receive poor reviews was really hard, but also, after I got over it, really helpful.  One image in the end I had to agree was pretty bad.  The other I still love.  And it's OK to disagree with your peers, it's your art after all.

I was also deeply flattered and humbled by the steep praise I received for one of my images, especially since it was one of the experimental ones that I did sheerly out of love for the art.  It wasn't one I showed clients, but it was one that I would have loved to get paid to shoot.  It helped me see that when you shoot with passion, the praise and the paid work follows.  Show what you love and your skill and craft will shine through, in turn bringing more work that hires you for what you actually enjoy photographing.  Kinda nice right?  Now I work hard to show images I love even if I'm afraid of how they will be perceived.  It has gone a long way to identifying my natural style.

Another thing I learned from the image critique though was the message or branding my images were putting out there.  I hadn't really looked at my work as a whole and what message it was giving about me to my clients.  I did pretty well in staying consistent from one image to another, but some photographers were so varied in their art that it was hard to pin down just what they were good at.  To me it was a lesson in clearly defining yourself in public.  A Jack of All Trades is really not a master of any.  If you have a variety of styles and things you enjoy photographing, it's important to separate and brand them apart from each other.  Or at least I'm convinced it is.

Getting criticism is helpful for new photographers and experienced photographers alike.  I can tell you that I know several long time pros that have been in this game longer than and have really sound technical skills, that really need to up their game.  If your business is dropping off and you've been doing this a while don't blame the new people.  Maybe consider if your images have kept up with the times or if your skills need refreshing.  The craft changes now constantly and new photographers are coming up all the time with new eye-popping styles and amazing work.  It's up to you to bring in paid clients with relevant and current work.  Don't expect anyone else to automatically step aside for you based on tenure.

Later this month we are hosting an image critique at our next Smug meeting which I'm looking forward too.  I just can't wait to see the lightbulb moments for the people there.  And for any readers of this blog that don't have a chance to take part in a live peer critique, I encourage you to ask for criticism in places you feel safe doing so.

Now please don't take this blog post as a license to go around the internet trashing people's images in the guise of being 'helpful.'  That isn't the spirit of what I'm trying to say.  Offer criticism where it is requested but otherwise say nothing if you have nothing nice to say.  Random image trolls out there, at least to me, are often just blowhards that know little about the actual art or craft of photography and frankly if you look them up their work it is usually boring and uninspired.  They are to be ignored.

Thanks again for dropping by the blog.  I hope you are having a great week! Don't forget to join the conversation on our Facebook page.  You can find a link to it on the right hand side of the blog.