I’m trying to get over my fear of letting other people see my photography. I fear being judged when I share my work. I remember the first time I entered an image for a group to critique. It was a photography club that I belonged to, and it was supposed to be to help one learn how to improve one’s techniques. I had been learning, on my own, for about 1 ½ years and I needed feedback on my images. I didn’t really know if I was on the right track or had totally derailed with how I was taking photos. Up to this point, I hadn’t shared any of my images with anyone. I worried, ‘what if they don’t like it?’ And ‘what if I make a fool of myself?’ Hiding behind the fact that my image would be submitted anonymously, I decided to share my image with the club. It was a picture of a flower. I made sure that I followed the rule thirds. It was properly exposed. I made sure that there were no distracting objects in the frame that would take away from the photo. At the time, I didn’t know what else to focus on. Well, the club did NOT like it. They called it a “snapshot” and offered NO constructive criticism. They just moved on to the next person’s photo. They had completely ignored my image. I was crushed, felt like I failed and had learned nothing—except that I would keep my photography to myself, in the future. I waited years before I started this website. I promised myself that I would not open myself up to be judged by someone for my art. First, I needed to realize that “I” was not being judged. In my club example, it was anonymous. “I” couldn’t have been judged. They didn’t even know who submitted the image. Secondly, I’ve decided to try to be more “choosey” about whom I’d allow to help me with my photography. Although my confidence is still low, and I fear being deemed a failure, I try to share my work. I dropped that club and have since joined a great local club. I’ve been a member for two years now, and although I’ve not shared any photos with this group, I’m learning a lot. That, in my opinion, is what is important. I’m sharing this flower photo with you. It is from my first attempt at using off camera flash. I’m learning about directional light, what’s considered harsh/soft light, etc… Let me know what you think. I’m learning to be open to CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.
1 Comment
When I first started taking pictures, I joined a lot of photography groups. I would become discouraged comparing my images to other’s images. Why didn’t my photos look as good? I was in beginner groups and yet the posts of others seemed so far more advanced than mine. Why? Something I didn’t know about was “culling photos.” It’s a term used, by photographers, to describe the process of narrowing down one’s images to only the best. One throws out the bad and keeps only the finest. I was comparing all my images to other’s greatest. I had no idea how many failed pictures it took to get a winning one. I would take my couple shots and expect a winner. Other photographers would take hundreds of shots on any given photoshoot. Then, once culled through, they might end up with a couple photos that they considered worthy of posting. Henri Cartier-Bresson, a French humanist photographer, said “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” With the number of pictures I was taking per photoshoot, it was going to take me years and years to get past the first 10,000 photographs. I learned two things from this. If I wanted to improve, I needed to shoot more. To do that, I was going to have to experiment with my photography. Instead of just taking an image and being done, I would need to try different compositions and techniques. Different camera settings and different lenses. By forcing myself to shoot more, what this did for my photography was teach me more skills and improve my images. As I look back on my first 10,000 photos, I realize what I considered good images back then, really were my worst. I also learned to be picky with my considerations for posting. I don’t always walk away from a photoshoot with an image that I’m satisfied with. But that’s ok. I choose to be discriminating with my work.
waterfalls. See, that’s what attracted me to the location. I love waterfalls and thought this would be a perfect location to practice my photography. So, I loaded up my gear and headed on the hike. My only other hiking experience was during a recent trip to Acadia National Park. I was able to handle a trail that was labeled a “moderate” trail. That being the case, I figured, if I took my time and was careful, I should be able to handle Ricketts Glen State Park! HA! I was in over my head. See, something that I didn’t consider was that I found the first part of the trail to be easy. That was because it was all downhill. Lol You know the saying, “what goes up must come down?” Well, the opposite was true. What goes down must go back up! Steps were made from some big, WET (slippery) boulders. One after another. The full loop was over 7 miles. Down and Up!! The waterfalls were beautiful, but by the end of the trail, I didn’t care at all about the falls. I wasn’t taking pictures. I just wanted it to be over! Lol As I said, in the beginning of this, one of the benefits of taking landscape pictures is getting out in nature. You also get to experience new locations. I love every adventure I’ve been on—including Ricketts Glen State Park! I would like to return there someday—just not soon. Lol |
What Is This Page?Since I love photography and teaching, I thought I would start a Blog page and share how I take my images, what I was thinking and about me. Categories
All
Archives
March 2022
Ready to Order
|