Praise and Criticism

Off and on, I have been an amateur photographer since my late teens, some twenty or more years ago. I have owned all sorts of cameras from Kodak Instamatics to my current Olympus DSLRs, but I still consider myself a beginner at taking photographs.

In school, I always remember that there were certain individuals who seemed to excel academically. They were top of the class and gave no indication that they struggled getting there. I conversely strained to achieve good marks, which when compared to these prime individuals deflated any sense of achievement in the marks I did get. Nevertheless, my parents praised my achievements and provided much encouragement in perservering.

I think most people seek praise for their achievements, and if the effort has been great, then the craving for praise is increased. This can lead to the dangerous obsession of "perfectionism". By this, I don't mean that lifelong journey to improve yourself and the things that you do, but the compulsion to try to improve something so much that you must get praise from others -

"That's Brilliant!",
"Fantastic!",
"Absolutely Incredible!"

- for the achievement to mean anything at all. The danger is that in achieving the praise, then the same words used the next time don't mean as much, and fear sets in -

"Am I slipping?",

"What's going wrong?"

- an obsession grows that takes over any enjoyment you had in the activity.

Contrary to seeking praise, I believe people try to avoid criticism. If you check the "questions and answers" websites you will see what I mean. For many questions answered, the questioner will mostly choose a "best answer" which provides praise or encouragement rather than criticising them for the question or action.

Photography is a strange hobby. Strange in the sense that when you look at Photo sharing sites or forums, the posters seem to be requesting critique on their photographs, but what they really want to hear (or read) are -

"Nice Shot!"

"Brilliant Capture!"

- rather than any actual comments on how they could have taken a better shot or used a different technique.

I post my own photos on Flickr and at the time of writing I haven't had any comments on any of them, good or bad. I am not however discouraged by this as I know a number of them have been viewed by others from possible the four corners of the globe.

I like to look at other's photographs from which I gain inspiration and ideas for my own photo projects. On occasion, I will make a comment or set an item as a favourite if I find something particularly appealing.

For my fellow amateur photographers I would therefore suggest the following:

 - If you want to improve your photographs, rather than post to forums or sites like Flickr and asking for "critique", buy photo magazines/books, go on a photograhic course or join an actual photographic club where you are in "real" contact with other photographers

 - Don't stop posting photographs on line. I and many other photographers really enjoy looking through them

 - Learn to accept and be happy with the photographs you take. Each one should be the best you can do at the time, but remember it is YOUR photograph. It has a meaning to you & what other people think doesn't matter as long as you are happy with it.
Happy snapping

Flickr Photos