Blog
So who is the best judge?
In photography, as with any hobby or interest, you never stop learning. As you start out the learning curve can be quite steep and that is no bad thing as it can give you a real sense of progress and great satisfaction. Encouragement is another important ingredient as you need to know that you are on the right road, but that can only take you so far and indeed can be a hindrance to your development quite quickly. Why so? Well there comes a point where too much positive feedback does nothing to add to your knowledge, just your ego and that doesn’t improve your photography.
So who is the best judge of your images? If you are serious about your photography, then you are. Of course that can be difficult when your knowledge level is at a beginner’s level, but even then you will have a good idea about what you want from an image (if not quite sure how to get it). So where else can you get help? What you need is “constructive criticism” and that comes from other photographers and not just the experts either. Photographers of all levels and abilities should be able to provide constructive criticism on an image. So what does cc give you that Auntie Betty’s “Oh that’s lovely” doesn’t? The answer is how to improve. Cc should not only be honest, pointing out where the image (or an element of it) doesn’t work, but also provide advice on how to correct or improve it. Cc can be quite a face slap at times, particularly if you have had far too much of a rosy self-assessment of your work up until then. Equally a straight forward “that’s rubbish”, without any advice on how to change is also worthless and is just confidence crushing.
Where are these photographers that are waiting to give you cc on your images then? There are 3 main sources:
Friends or relatives who are photographers. In my experience this is by far the best source. Generally they can be frank and honest without too much fear of hurting your feelings and will also give you more feedback more often. I have been fortunate to have had 2 individuals in particular who have given me a lot of advice (and praise at times!) over the past couple of years that has helped me to move forward with my photography.
Local camera club. This is less certain as the quality and vibrancy of the club will depend on the members at the time. That said, you still get the benefit of face-to-face contact and a range of views and competencies. You can benefit from regular interaction and club competitions always generate a good dose of cc for images that have been entered.
On-line image sharing sites (e.g. Flickr or ePhotozine). Here your work can potentially reach many thousands of photographers around the world and the feedback potential is huge. However, the transient nature of on-photo galleries combined with the lack of personal interaction can often mean your image passes without comment and you are left wondering “was it really that bad?” Usually the answer is no, but these sites do suffer from what I term “click groups”. These are a collection of contributors who follow each other’s work and make rosy and sometimes gushy comments on it, knowing that the favour will be returned when they submit an image. That is not cc and it does nothing except to inflate egos. The sites do give you chance to be inspired by others though, through the vast number of images on display.
So there you have it; it all starts with you, but everyone can do with a little help from their friends.
So who is the best judge of your images? If you are serious about your photography, then you are. Of course that can be difficult when your knowledge level is at a beginner’s level, but even then you will have a good idea about what you want from an image (if not quite sure how to get it). So where else can you get help? What you need is “constructive criticism” and that comes from other photographers and not just the experts either. Photographers of all levels and abilities should be able to provide constructive criticism on an image. So what does cc give you that Auntie Betty’s “Oh that’s lovely” doesn’t? The answer is how to improve. Cc should not only be honest, pointing out where the image (or an element of it) doesn’t work, but also provide advice on how to correct or improve it. Cc can be quite a face slap at times, particularly if you have had far too much of a rosy self-assessment of your work up until then. Equally a straight forward “that’s rubbish”, without any advice on how to change is also worthless and is just confidence crushing.
Where are these photographers that are waiting to give you cc on your images then? There are 3 main sources:
Friends or relatives who are photographers. In my experience this is by far the best source. Generally they can be frank and honest without too much fear of hurting your feelings and will also give you more feedback more often. I have been fortunate to have had 2 individuals in particular who have given me a lot of advice (and praise at times!) over the past couple of years that has helped me to move forward with my photography.
Local camera club. This is less certain as the quality and vibrancy of the club will depend on the members at the time. That said, you still get the benefit of face-to-face contact and a range of views and competencies. You can benefit from regular interaction and club competitions always generate a good dose of cc for images that have been entered.
On-line image sharing sites (e.g. Flickr or ePhotozine). Here your work can potentially reach many thousands of photographers around the world and the feedback potential is huge. However, the transient nature of on-photo galleries combined with the lack of personal interaction can often mean your image passes without comment and you are left wondering “was it really that bad?” Usually the answer is no, but these sites do suffer from what I term “click groups”. These are a collection of contributors who follow each other’s work and make rosy and sometimes gushy comments on it, knowing that the favour will be returned when they submit an image. That is not cc and it does nothing except to inflate egos. The sites do give you chance to be inspired by others though, through the vast number of images on display.
So there you have it; it all starts with you, but everyone can do with a little help from their friends.
02/11/2013