Over critical or lacking confidence?

posiview

posiview

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Andy
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I bought a D3000 in May and really enjoyed taking photographs, a few of which I posted here for C&C , all of which was welcome.

For a while, about 2 months before I upgraded to a D300s and since that date, I've not posted any photographs.

Now, when I upload my photographs, my initial reaction is "crap, crap, crap....".

Now I really feel that I've got some decent/passable photographs, but for some reason I don't feel confident posting them. Notwistanding the fact that they may very well be crap...

Over the last few months I feel I've increased my knowledge of the fundamentals of photography and I'm still enjoying taking photographs and even have a 'brainstorming' list of projects I'm looking to do.

Any deep insights (or just 'pull yourself togethers') would be welcome.

Cheers.
 
Post some up - you'll get told if there carp (in the nicest possibly way:D) and you will also get some pointers to help you improve / see any issues
 
I've been like this until recently....but wether they're great photos, or need a little "something" here and there, no one's going to be able to guide you to get it "right" unless you man up and post the photos ;)
 
TBH I do the same, upload 50 from the camera and then it's a case of - "crap, crap, crap, crap, ok, crap..." and delete 45 of them. Then I go through the 5 oks and go "actually, that's crap after-all, so's that, and that, that's still ok, that's proper crap" and delete 4 of the 5.

Then I look at the one I liked best and delete that as well, mainly because it was crap but just slightly less so than the others.

But, and this is the important bit, I try to figure out why they were all crap and what I should do about it. They're probably not as bad as I think for my level of experience but if they don't impress me then they won't impress anyone else is my way of looking at it!
 
I think as our knowledge and experience grows, we become more critical of our work. At least I think that's what happened to me. As I became more experienced I began to see technical flaws in my photographs that I wouldn't have noticed previously. It didn't mean that my photographs were getting worse, just that my standards were getting higher (I hope).

Surely this is how we improve our photography and, as such, I wouldn't be too worried about it, as long as you are recognising why you think your pictures are crap, and what remedies you need to take to improve things.
 
This is why I like to post some photos on here, for someone elses eye to point out something that mine have missed. I'm by no means great, i've only had an SLR for a month, but I have high standards, and know where I want to go, and the guidance of people on here, whilst somewhat may seem harsh criticism, it's all intended in the best way....to help us mere amateurs (myself) improve, and hopefully, one day, reach the standards i've set for myself.
 
Don't delete them straight away. Keep them for a while then look at them later. Sometimes you don't think much of ones you have just done but a few weeks later you can see things you missed and often there aren't as many bad ones as you thought!

Taking photos should be fun. Remember the moment you captured as that is more important.
 
srichards said:
Don't delete them straight away. Keep them for a while then look at them later. Sometimes you don't think much of ones you have just done but a few weeks later you can see things you missed and often there aren't as many bad ones as you thought!
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Too true! I tried catching Puffins in flight earlier in the year and was going to delete the lot. Came back to them a week later and found a cracker lurking admist the duffers:)
 
Motogp said:
You must of read my mind , had the same thoughts lately .

Spent all day visiting family taken about 100 pictures and I hate about 96 of them , everything is wrong with them . Very frustrated .
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I have spent all day with my family and not picked up a camera? Why not? Why would I not want to record Christmas day?

Because the light is awful, there is mess everywhere (you could run a furnace on wrapping paper) the dogs and cats are wandering in and out.....in short I am not giving myself a chance of getting anything even remotely good.

So I will wait till tomorrow when we are all out on a family walk, the camera will come out then because I have a chance of something decent. The other shot I want over this break is a B&W of our youngest cat, he's just about adult now so time for a good pic.

The idea though is to pick up the camera when you have a fighting chance, you will learn when fighting chances occur and when to just put it down and enjoy the time with the family

No point in beating yourself up when you probably didn't have a chance in the first place.

HTH
 
I took a few on xmas day as well, technically not brilliant, people looking the wrong way, people cut in half and wrapping paper everywhere.
For me they capture the atmosphere brilliantly and will be good to look back on.
 
Are you still enjoying photography?

If yes then that's the main thing and the rest is a natural progression from the first flush of it being new to just getting more self critical about your images.

This is no bad thing as long as you continue to enjoy it, but please do not throw away those family happy snaps memories just because you have got critical , you will regret it later.:)
 
posiview said:
I bought a D3000 in May and really enjoyed taking photographs, a few of which I posted here for C&C , all of which was welcome.

For a while, about 2 months before I upgraded to a D300s and since that date, I've not posted any photographs.

Now, when I upload my photographs, my initial reaction is "crap, crap, crap....".

Now I really feel that I've got some decent/passable photographs, but for some reason I don't feel confident posting them. Notwistanding the fact that they may very well be crap...

Over the last few months I feel I've increased my knowledge of the fundamentals of photography and I'm still enjoying taking photographs and even have a 'brainstorming' list of projects I'm looking to do.

Any deep insights (or just 'pull yourself togethers') would be welcome.

Cheers.
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Hi posiview - who are you taking the photographs for? yourself or peeps on the forum.

I think you are being overcritical of yourself, don't try and compete with the big boys at this stage, you can't abtain years of experience in a few weeks/months.

I take photos (primerily) for myself, if I like them, I am happy, if others like them I am ecstatic.
Calm down a little, don't be too hard on yourself, remember, it should be fun!!!!!!!!
 
It may be both... maybe you lack confidence which is then reflecting in your images...

My advice would be to take a picture which you think could be good and make sure its one you can take again at a later date.
Then post it up for crit... let people be brutal and honest. Then, taking on board the advice go back to that same spot and take the picture again and post it up for crit.
This way you will find what it is that isn't quite working with your pictures and you may have that 'oh yeah' brain moment we all have when things seem to fall into place.

Plus it just comes down to practice. The more pictures you take, the better you will learn both your camera and the settings needed for the picture. And through practice you will improve your composition and other elements of the photography.

I don't know how long you have been taking photographs for but we all have to start somewhere. I know the more i shoot the more i am learning and i love getting crit, both good and bad as its helping me to improve.
 
Stages_of_a_tog_sm.jpg
 
yeah i'm kinda coming out of that feeling at the moment, just one day got bored and annoyed, then deleted all the photos i took on a day out, (wish i could get that days pics back), i had been planning for a while to put some photos on to a stock library and get a massive £5 a year from that. this gave me time to just sit down look at what photos i've taken over the last 4 years and delete the terrible ones.

its made me see which photos i take the best and some things i really should improve on but its great to go through and say 'i wanna go and try that again' or 'go there again'

it is bizarre how after learning what most of the buttons do and how to get a lot more out of your camera i can't repeat the fluke shots of week 1
 
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I'm going through an 'everything is crap' stage, so why bother, the weather is crap anyway . . . good excuse not to bother . . .

However, it will pass, new camera to play with when the weather warms up?

Something I do is not to delete to soon, sit back for a day or two, go back into the temp folder and start to look at the pictures as crops . . . surprising what can be found in a corner . . . if the crop is not to serious it can often be used. If its a 'wish it was sharper' type crap crop, you can go back with that in mind for another go . . . ?

CJS
 
Ha - re original post... yep, it's hard to post pics when I look around and see all these amazing photos...

I was talking to someone today about this forum and said I'm sure someone's gonna tell me to stop gushing over the shots I'm looking at - I can't really critique anyone's work - because everyone seems to be blooming brilliant... and I'm so not (laughing now) - I mean I snap - most of you folk "shoot"

Some of the shots here are completely breathtaking - but what makes the difference between seeing them here or say, in a book, is that the person whose taken the shot is actually talking about it - so it's so much more personal and more relateable to (relateable... is that a word :cuckoo:>

Photos for me aren't so much about how good the photo is technically - but it's what's behind, why they took it or what it means to someone and photography for me is so, so personal - what I see is completely different to how anyone else sees it - and the reason I take pics is completely different too why anyone else here would ever take a photo

(plus some of the pics I take are so completely bizarre that folk would think me really weird)

so... posting pics is quite scary *** if someone slams me technically (not that technically it matters to me so much) - but that would knock my confidence even more than it already is

so... yep, it can be hard to post pics here even when you want to get some advice or help with what's going wrong

another thing is, whilst I'm on a roll and no-one knows me yet :p, is that when you attempt something like the water droplets (which I've done loads of now), to then post them up - you kinda think gosh, no-ones going to say anything good about that *** it's rubbish compared to the "real" photos

but hey, now I've said all that I'll prolly go and post a bunch of 'em up.

(which is all meant in the nicest possible way)


anyhoo, just sayin'...
 
this must be a stage all photographers go through because i've been the same for the last few weeks. maybe it comes from having that bit more technical knowledge, yet being frustrated that you can't get the results you feel you should be capable of.

i've written off a lot of shots from the last month and a half but i've still pulled a couple out by cropping pics i wasn't best pleased with. i haven't posted any pics for critique because i havent felt confident with what i've shot, so i'm off to post one or two now.
 
Been reading David DuChemin and what you are describing is what happens when technical competence overtakes artistic vision.

Yes it is all part of the process but as you become more technically competent you also need to go back and nurture and feed the creative part. You will know when you get there when you can see the image you want to take and just use the camera as a tool to get it. But here is the thing that is truly infuriating...... photography is a moving feast and the technical/artistic/creative overtake each other and it's like trying to align blooming planets at times. You also need to leave room to just play. To have fun with you camera and realise that not every shot, not every shoot will come off but take time to shoot just for the heck of it.

Also, nobody said it was/is easy. There is a saying that it takes 10,000 repetitions to become any good at something whether that is hitting a golf ball or taking photos.

Another analogy Mr DuChemin uses a lot is that of a writer. A writer will study a subject, do all the background work, write a storyboard, write a first draft, edit it, edit it again and probably rewrite the whole thing again. Why do we, as photographers expect to be able to go out and simply get it right first time?

So don't be put off, don't be disheartened, we are all on a journey with no real end point, enjoy doing what you do and get some pics posted. Nobody on here will tell you that they could immediately go out and take good pics. Everyone will tell you that it takes time, patience and help from others. :)
 
srichards said:
Don't delete them straight away. Keep them for a while then look at them later. Sometimes you don't think much of ones you have just done but a few weeks later you can see things you missed and often there aren't as many bad ones as you thought!

Taking photos should be fun. Remember the moment you captured as that is more important.
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Do this, as I was in exactly the same boat as the OP. I've even gone back to photos taken 2-3 years ago that I was convinced were bad. A bit of sharpening, cropping and better processing knowledge recovered some dull ones. Nothing spectacular, but not terrible either and at least I'm not regretting binning them as I did with a lot of others.

If nothing else, keep them and force yourself to look at them and figure out what you think is rubbish about them, and if they actually are, try to figure out what it is that you did wrong. That way you can read up on the correct way to do what you were hoping to see.
 
AliB said:
Been reading David DuChemin and what you are describing is what happens when technical competence overtakes artistic vision.

Yes it is all part of the process but as you become more technically competent you also need to go back and nurture and feed the creative part. You will know when you get there when you can see the image you want to take and just use the camera as a tool to get it. But here is the thing that is truly infuriating...... photography is a moving feast and the technical/artistic/creative overtake each other and it's like trying to align blooming planets at times. You also need to leave room to just play. To have fun with you camera and realise that not every shot, not every shoot will come off but take time to shoot just for the heck of it.

Also, nobody said it was/is easy. There is a saying that it takes 10,000 repetitions to become any good at something whether that is hitting a golf ball or taking photos.

Another analogy Mr DuChemin uses a lot is that of a writer. A writer will study a subject, do all the background work, write a storyboard, write a first draft, edit it, edit it again and probably rewrite the whole thing again. Why do we, as photographers expect to be able to go out and simply get it right first time?

So don't be put off, don't be disheartened, we are all on a journey with no real end point, enjoy doing what you do and get some pics posted. Nobody on here will tell you that they could immediately go out and take good pics. Everyone will tell you that it takes time, patience and help from others. :)
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a great topic and great read its good to know i'm not alone and can relate to 99% of it, the most relative being Ali's post.

One positive i can take from photography, is that i am much more aware of my surrounds, and find myself constantly looking for photo's in my surroundings, regardless of having a camera avaliable or not.

the important thing is to enjoy it and don't give up.
 
Cheers All.

I was going to selectively highlight the pertinent parts of the responces, but there are tttoo many..

I do like the illustrative graph and the 'man up' quote by Steelo and 'nobody said it was/is easy' by AliB.

Anyway onwards and upwards...
 
seventythree said:
One positive i can take from photography, is that i am much more aware of my surrounds, and find myself constantly looking for photo's in my surroundings, regardless of having a camera avaliable or not.

the important thing is to enjoy it and don't give up.
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Ha ha ha! Oh yes, you start looking at your surroundings and analysing angles and light all the time.

Next time you are watching a film have a look at how they light their subjects. Beware though, it could ruin your cinematic experiences :cuckoo:
:D
 
AliB said:
Ha ha ha! Oh yes, you start looking at your surroundings and analysing angles and light all the time.

Next time you are watching a film have a look at how they light their subjects. Beware though, it could ruin your cinematic experiences :cuckoo:
:D
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For me, it's the rule of thirds...I can't help but notice when I'm watching the TV :cuckoo:
 
Really interesting thread (loved the graph posted by DemiLion :D )

I can really relate to a lot to a lot of the comments made, I upgraded from a 350D to a 50D back in the summer and to be honest I went through that phase of being disappointed by a lot of my images. In hindsight I was probably expecting the change in body to have a more telling effect on image quality - rather foolish really as I didn't change any of my lenses initially, just stuck the old kit lenses on to the 50.

I must read David DuChemin, sounds most interesting!
 
AliB said:
...Another analogy Mr DuChemin uses a lot is that of a writer. A writer will study a subject, do all the background work, write a storyboard, write a first draft, edit it, edit it again and probably rewrite the whole thing again. Why do we, as photographers expect to be able to go out and simply get it right first time?
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It's funny, but a friend of mine always used to say that there was no such thing as a bad photograph - just a opportunity for a re-shoot :) If you love photography, then that's got to be a good thing - it means you'll never run out of things to take photographs of.

At the moment, I'm pretty much tied to the house - my Dad, who lives with me took a fall a couple of months ago, and broke his hip. What with hospital visiting, rehab, physio and the generally increased levels of running about after him, I've had problems finding a couple of hours a day to get some work done to pay the bills, never mind to go out and take photographs. And 3 days before he fell, I'd splashed out on a new 7D, and a bunch of those nice red rimmed glass things. I've actually managed around 4 hours of shooting since then, the batterys still on it's initial charge :eek:. So, as he's picking up a bit now, I've decided to revisit a bunch of my old shots that were taken locally, decide what I think is lacking, and re-shoot. If I'd have deleted these shots beforehand, on the basis that I thought they were crepe, I'd be missing out on this marvelous learning experience.
 
Keeping the 'bad' shots to learn from is another reason to keep them. If you delete them then there they aren't there as a reminder that you chose the wrong shutter speed or could have done it better with a different aperture, different framing. If you have them then hopefully you repeat mistakes less often....

I'm sure all the pros on Magnum also take duffers. We don't see their cast offs. They could take 1000 images to get the one good one. Patrick Lichfield would sit there with the motorwind on and the shutter going to get the good moment. Others set up the shot and take one. I think the latter takes some guts. Can't remember his name but he'd often take a few days setting up. Wander in. Take one shot then go away again!

I'm definitely going to be reading that book Ali has been reading :)
 
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