Not sure if I’ve written about this quote before but I believe it needs exposure and a reminder never hurts on important stuff!
“The difference between a good photographer and a bad one? You never the the good photographers’ bad pictures.”
As photographers we have a tendency to not edit tight enough. Not get to the best of the very best and only show those images. Not using a critical eye enough. It is always easier to see problems in others images than our own because we are too close. I am guilty of this myself. I know what went into the making of the image and that info colors decisions. But, people viewing your image don’t have that information. Only the image you see. As an excellent photographer once told me an image needs to stand on it’s own. No back story. No information other than what is in front of the viewer at that moment.
A way to get around this problem is to get a ‘photo critique’ buddy. Someone who’s opinion you respect. and you can critique each others images for only showing the A+ winners. Maybe even run your photos past multiple people to see which images rise to the top from all viewers.
This brings me to one more problem. Insecurity. Happens to me all the time. I don’t always feel my images hold up to other that I see and I end up feeling I’m not a very good photographer. Let’s keep this between you and me shall we? We have to remember that we are making comparisons to other peoples finished and polished images. We don’t see their discards and to use a video term using our B-roll as a comparison.
Stand tall. Make the best images you can. And only show the best to help show others how good you really are.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – I’m heading to the editing room shortly to start getting getting rid of the image that don’t have the most impact on my web site. How about you?
