Are you your own worst critic?

[marcphotography]

<p>I am wondering if it is just me or if everyone else has the same problem as I do. I find myself liking a lot of my pictures when I am done with them and then hating them not long after posting them online. I guess I should say that I hate them, I just see a million little things I should have done differently when editing. Then I look at someone elses photos and become jealous of the quality. Is it just becuase I look at my own photos so much more than most people or what? I want to beleive that my photos give people the same reaction that I get when looking at someone elses photos.</p>

[derek_kennedy]

<p>I would have to say that yes I am my worst crit.</p>

<p>I can kill an hour telling you whats wrong with a photo of mine that someone else will just love. But these people are not photographers so they dont think of, or see 'mistakes' or that annoying distracting branch in the background or what ever.</p>

<p>Not sure if that helps or not though.</p>

[marcphotography]

<p>I see what you are saying. I dont want to be satisfied just knowing that my customers might like my images. I just want to be able to look at my photos and enjoy them instead of tearing them apart with thinks I should have done differently.</p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

<p>Worst? Sometimes but not when it comes to photography.</p>

<p>Harshest and least forgiving? Yes when it comes to photography.</p>

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

<p>Perfection is almost good enough.</p>

[kyleweems]

<p>When I can, I like to work on an image, get it perfect.. then ignore it for a few days. When I come back, I almost always find some tiny little thing I missed.</p>

<p>Why? I think when you get really into an image, you get somewhat blinded by it too. This is especially true when going to the extreme of 'fine art' images, you get so stuck on what the image USE to look like, and how dramatically it has changed.. that you miss the part where you've still got work to do.</p>

<p>Of course, that's not always an option with time lines and such, so you do what you can.. do it long enough and it'll be as close to perfect as can be expected (but yea, for me at least it'll never be enough)</p>

<p>Most things you see later, probably don't matter in relation to the overall image. If you get caught in 'I could have'.. you will never finish any image. At some point, you're just making it different, not better.. gotta know when to walk away :)</p>

<p>Kyle</p>

[marc_compton]

<p>Hey Andrew,<br>

I totally understand your situation. I find myself doing exactly the same thing with my images. I am really just starting out, and it is a real hindrance to my development. I think if I could be critical, while maintaining a kind acceptance of where I am at in my development of the art, I would be more able to accurately judge my work.<br>

This being said, I think part of the experience of photography and art is to share your work with others and to learn from how they experience it. I do not always love work that others have done, but I do attempt to understand the intent and process taken without being overly critical.<br>

My thought is "good" art is subjective, but usually there are common themes in what is considered really great work. Those are the themes that have eluded me thus far.<br>

Good luck to you.</p>

<p> </p>

[conrad_hoffman]

<p>I'm certainly critical of my own stuff- IMO it all stinks to one degree or another. OTOH, other people seem to like it, enough that they keep asking me to do more of it. The biggest lesson I've learned (and still learn every day) is that photographers tend to concentrate on technical issues and flaws that customers and others may not see at all. You can educate people to some degree, but it's more important to find out what they really want and deliver it. If you can satisfy yourself at the same time, so much the better. I enjoy shooting for other people more than for myself, and find I do less and less personal shooting every year.</p>

[aimee_pieters]

<p>A lot of this depends on whether photography is a business or a hobby. Aside from that, you should always look at an image as an opportunity to learn for next time...-Aimee </p>

[jenkins]

<p>Load the images onto the computer, maybe i took 70 pictures, maybe more and i like what i see "yippee" so i search through them all and keep the ones i like, no more yippee more like "hmm maybe i will keep these 2, work on those 2 in PS finish them and then hate them also, i really like the self loathing photography brings out in me, i might give it up and wear a horse hair shirt instead, far less painful and cheaper.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>I follow the Samuel Johnson school of self-criticism:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"Read over your compositions, and wherever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out."</p>

</blockquote>

[shots worth sharing]

<p>Of course--nobody else much cares ;~)</p>

[katherinemichael]

<p>Andrew-</p>

<p>I used to be so critical of my work that I never showed it to anyone, <strong>ever</strong> . I would maybe like a couple shots out of 2-3 rolls, but by the time I printed them I thought they sucked. I can remember becoming physically ill on critique day when I was taking classes. I think I actually called in sick one time and sent my prints in with a classmate. It is only in just the past year and a half that I have kind of made myself get over it. I came to the realization that photography was what I had always wanted to do with my life, I was about to turn 30 and had not really gone anywhere with it. I decided that I had to relax a little. I was spending so much time ripping my stuff apart that it was preventing me from moving forward.</p>

<p>I think in many ways it is a good thing to be overly critical of your work because it really pushes you to improve and present better work than someone who doesn't have that ambition. If you are submiting work for competition or for a client, they will be critical so you might as well be too. Just don't let it go too far. Tear it apart, remember what you need to work on next time and move on. That is how you really improve. :)</p>

[r_johnston]

<p>Most artists regardless of the media are unsatisfied with their results.<br>

As one who paints and uses photography this has been true of me since my first work in 1937, and is still true today. But, Ive come to the point where I finally can enjoy my work, by a change in attitude. <br>

When I look at it, I think "That is satisfactory becuase it is the best I could do at the time, with my level of knowledge and experience." Enjoy it for what it is at this time. Allow yourself the time necessary to gain experience and knowledge to do what you think about afterward, automatically with your current work.<br>

It is OK not to be satisfied now, that is what will keep you striving to improve.</p>

[profhlynnjones]

<p>I am a pretty severe critic of myself but not to my students. You should all think like this, as my students and you progress you all are really terrible critics to themselves. I always remind them that as they develop, THEIR PHOTOGRAPHIC TASTE PROGRESSES MORE RAPIDLY THAN THEIR SKILLS!</p>

<p>Lynn</p>