Not Good Enough: Self-Critique as a Photographer
Ayup! Recognising when your photo’s destined for the bin is an art form in itself. Self-critique is certainly an area I repeatedly fail to master. This usually boils down to experience, time and pressure.
Validation and relevance are two of the key ingredients in this theory. As a photographer, you’d usually want to know that your work has a purpose. Furthermore, depending on your goals and views, you’ll likely want to feel that it’s appreciated by others.
Fair play. Absolutely nothing wrong with either attribute. Unsplash and social media, however, change the whole mentality. It sometimes feels like you need to keep up the pace. In reality, of course, nobody cares if you don’t post anything for a week, a month, or even a year.
This one’s a follow-up to The Slow & Meticulous Edit; a concept that favours fewer final photos with higher quality results. To further explore the subject, I’m diving into sub-par images slipping through the net; why it happens and how to fully evaluate your work.
Sometimes, you can look at one of your photos, and while it’ll be technically good, you can tell that it’s missing something. (This might be obvious after a glance, or it might take a bit of inspection before you recognize that sense of emptiness. So if you’re not instantly sure, spend some time sitting with the image and see what you think.)
Critical observation
Photographers need a critical mindset from day one. Especially when it comes to using a digital camera. Yes, we can just shoot everything and hope for the best, but that’s not going to be much fun when you get back to your laptop. 3000 images to sift through from a half hour walk around the park? No, thank you!
Firstly, I often make a conscious effort to shoot less. Know what you’re looking for, and stick to the brief. Secondly, the process we photographers love to hate, the brutal cull. Whittling your shots down to a manageable amount requires focus and precision.
From experience, this definitely gets easier the more you practice. Once you know exactly what you’re trying to achieve, it becomes a fairly automatic response. Bin, or keep? The keepers, of course, won’t all see the light of day. There’s something there, though; potential.
Self-critique is one of the most challenging skills for any photographer to learn, but I firmly believe that it is one of the most useful skills you could possibly have.
Give it time
This process continues right through to the editing stage. In fact, it’s probably the most important part. When you think you’ve finished with your photo, try giving it some time to breathe.
Countless professional photographers offer this advice. I myself, am usually terrible at it. The excitement often gets the better of me. Giving your final edit a day or two before deciding if it’s good enough, though, is the holy grail of self-critique.
When you force a little self-control, only good things happen:
You realise it’s not quite finished, after all.
You realise it’s not up to your usual standards.
You get a warm fuzzy feeling.
All three options lead directly towards a higher quality output. If you’re being truly critical of your images, at least some should be put on the back-burner at this stage.
Initial edits to my pictures are almost never the same as my final edits, and thus rushing to share images right away inevitably leads me to getting an inferior product into the hands of my customers.
Social media pressure
Social media has a lot to answer for when it comes to reckless abandonment of self-critique. How many times have you posted a photo online just so that you’ve got something to share? I know I have. In hindsight, these images are rarely good enough.
Maybe they serve as a friendly reminder that you exist. You’ll possibly attract some attention in the form of likes, comments or new followers. Surely this doesn’t count for much, though, if the photo in question isn’t a true reflection of your abilities.
Of course, there’s a fine line. No photographer can only ever post their absolute best work. There needs to be a balance, especially when you're experimenting with new ideas. In this instance, sharing work you’re not 100% on can be a golden opportunity for feedback.
Social media has become so dangerous that it could destroy your self-esteem. For the vast majority of photographers out there trying to make a name for themselves using social media, the chances of being discovered are highly unlikely, even if your work is original and amazing. You can post the most amazing photo and perhaps only receive 20 likes, and this can leave you feeling invalidated, questioning your own ability, or worrying about where your next photography work is going to come from.
Unsplash
As a long-term contributor to Unsplash, I can confirm that it gets pretty addictive. Not in a dark, toxic, Instagram way, but it’s genuinely enjoyable seeing your stats go wild. For this reason, it’s the platform I’m having to exercise the most self-critique on.
Thankfully, it lets you delete any images that slipped through the net. Good job, as there have been a few (a lot) recently. With the paid work from Unsplash+, however, there’s no going back. Once your submissions are accepted, they’re available for all to see and use, forever.
Not to self; apply all principles from this post before contributing to paid briefs. I’m also uploading way fewer images to the free library now. Maybe two or three a week at the most, rather than every day. Much more manageable.
Not good enough = empowerment
Stepping back and acknowledging when one of your photos isn’t good enough; an art form that puts the power back in your hands. No longer do we bow down to pressure. Nor do we just think, "meh, it’ll do".
Self-critique is a powerful opportunity. It allows photographers a little more time to evaluate their work. A slower, more mindful approach that, ultimately, curates only your best work. Zero fluff. Well, less fluff, at least.
I’m certainly not claiming to be an expert here, but as most photographers accept, everything’s a work in progress. Slow it down.
