Photography Critiques Are We Looking For Validation? Or… – A blog post based on conversations with photographers.
Maybe, We’re Lookin’ To Improve
Lookin’ to improve is different than getting validation.
Lookin’ to improve is an active involvement in our work. While lookin’ to get validation is a matter seeking opinion on whether our work is perfect or not perfect.
We Can’t Do Both At the Same Time
If we believe our work is perfect then we can’t improve on perfection. If that’s the case, we’ve got nothing left to do.
On the other hand, if we’re lookin’ to improve, then we’ve got some work to do. If that’s the case, we just gotta find someone who we feel can help and then be clear in our request for help.
Photography Critiques Are We Looking For Validation Or Are We Lookin’ To Improve ?
If We’re Lookin’ For Validation
That’s easy to find. Because there’re plenty of photographers who will give you their opinion about your work. But, here’s the rub, those opinions will vary. So, Who ya gonna’ believe? Someone who knows NOTHING about you as a photographer or someone who knows EVERYTHING about you as a photographer? Hmmm. Who could that be? Got a mirror? Take a look in it, there they are.
If We’re Lookin’ To Improve
We gotta do some some cold, hard, critical self-evaluation of our work. After that we gotta’ clarify what we need to improve. And after that, if we can’t help ourselves improve, we gotta’ find someone who can help us. At that point we start lookin’ for a teacher. Not just any teacher though. We gotta’ find a teacher that we resonate with. A teacher that listens to you instead of judging your work and offers guidance and encouragement, instead of judgement and criticism. In my experience the best teachers leave the judgin’ to you and offer nothing but guidance based on what you tell ’em needs improving with your work.
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