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Am I too modest? Too hard on myself?

Sherlock77

Sherlock77

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
I came back from my annual Remembrance Day photoshoot day, one of my photographic obsessions being military ceremonies and special days

At the end of the day I felt like I didn't have "that much" good material from this year, I certainly feel like I've had far better years... At one point I felt very uninspired when I first got there, and that didn't change much...

Once I posted my photos, everyone was all over them, even fellow photographers who should know better:rolleyes: and while I will take compliments, I still feel like my batch of photos this year wasn't all that good

Then again I have been known to be rather hard on myself...
 
I’ve found that this rule always works:

If you are human, you are probably too hard on yourself.

Whatever flaws you saw in your work, look at them as opportunities for improvement. But don’t let them take away from how good your work was. Take the compliments. An appraisal that only considers the flaws is just as dishonest as one that ignores all the flaws.
 
And I do have a tendency to push myself extra hard on Remembrance Day, because I'm so passionate about it
 
Sherlock77 said:
Once I posted my photos, everyone was all over them, even fellow photographers who should know better:rolleyes: and while I will take compliments, I still feel like my batch of photos this year wasn't all that good.
Click to expand...

I think this may be a common ASD behavior. One of the social skills we seem to lack (this is me wildly generalizing) is the ability to internalize input from others. If a lot of people tell an NT that they’re great, they believe it, regardless of the lack of merit. If they all gang up on one kid and tell him he’s trash - he believes that, too.

But me - I’m the opposite. When everyone else tells me I’m good, I don’t believe them, regardless of any merit. Sometimes I’ve had to stop myself and deliberately think, “They are saying this is good. They must all see something good in it. I should believe them, even if I don’t see it.”

All the photographers that “should know better.” Maybe they do. Maybe they saw “better” and knew it the moment they saw it.
 
I didn't look at all, but enough to say you did have some great shots there. The portraits of people wearing poppies really jumped out at me. Excellent clarity and natural composition and just some really evocative faces and expressions. The kind that you see in professional publications.
 
I don't know the photo world but you might try submitting one of the larger shots for context and 3-4 of the portraits for publication to paper or online periodicals/news sites. Or maybe at least for a contest.
 
You could put number five in National Geographic and number six and 10 were very interesting
 
Perhaps the next time you don't think you did that great but someone else compliments your work, ask them what they liked about it. You might even say, "I want to know so I can get better at it" so they don't think you're fishing for compliments.

When you hear more concrete details about what they liked, it might help you accept and believe their appraisal.
 
Tom said:
I don't know the photo world but you might try submitting one of the larger shots for context and 3-4 of the portraits for publication to paper or online periodicals/news sites. Or maybe at least for a contest.
Click to expand...

Nervous Rex said:
Perhaps the next time you don't think you did that great but someone else compliments your work, ask them what they liked about it. You might even say, "I want to know so I can get better at it" so they don't think you're fishing for compliments.

When you hear more concrete details about what they liked, it might help you accept and believe their appraisal.
Click to expand...

I have made some attempts, with no real success so far... And I have had some critiques done a few times... Good thoughts
 
Sherlock77 said:
I have made some attempts, with no real success so far... And I have had some critiques done a few times... Good thoughts
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9D625C71-1A04-4B25-B68B-20B046273BA9.jpeg
this is what I remembered
9D625C71-1A04-4B25-B68B-20B046273BA9.jpeg
 
Personally I'm inclined to think that anyone seriously committed to an artistic pursuit MUST be hard on themselves. You don't achieve excellence by being lackadaisical about your craft.

Though I suppose the trick is not letting it get you down to the point of quitting. :oops:
 
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Judge said:
Personally I'm inclined to think that anyone seriously committed to an artistic pursuit MUST be hard on themselves. You don't achieve excellence by being lackadaisical about your craft.

Though I suppose the trick is not letting it get you down to the point of quitting. :oops:
Click to expand...

You have a point... :rolleyes:
 
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