How self-critical are you about your work?

[batmura]

I was talking to a friend of mine and he asked me how pleased I am with the photos I take. After giving it some thought, I said I actually don't like the images I take after a while. I listen to others' opinions and feedback and see how much better I could haven taken them. What I do really like, however, is the moment I take the shot, or even the few hours before I take them. Driving to a certain location through muddy roads, asking the locals for directions, and finally finding the location give me chills. Then, racing with time to find the perfect spot to shoot, trying different angles and settings... seeing the image I had envisioned on the back of my camera... These I like. Upon returning home, editing and sharing the images on forums like this, I already start critivising my work. I should have shot wider, the sky should have been better emphasized, I wish I had taken a couple steps to the right, etc.

Is this normal? Anyone have anything to say on this?

[deetheturk]

Murat,this could have been me that wrote this! You are normal, or the both of us are nuts lol

Keep up the good work,David.....

[John 2]

Perfectly normal for me Murat. I envy those that say they can produce the final image in camera with minimal PP. Even worse, having gone through the same process as you, I very often find that the image I like best is not the one I had in mind when I set out...........and even worse than that, generally the image I am most pleased with is not the one that others like, particularly competition judges. Frustrating but I guess that's life.

[Hui Song]

I just started learning photography myself less than three month. I can get your feeling now.

[Mike Buckley]

I have the same thoughts from time to time as you, Murat. In about 30 years of making travel photos, I am probably exceptionally pleased only with a handful of them. On the other hand my primary goal while traveling is to experience travel rather than to photograph it.

I have the feelings we're discussing less so when using my makeshift studio, probably because I'm completely in control of everything. I don't have nearly as much experience working in the studio, so my thinking about that may change over time.

[ShaneS]

Ditto here Murat!

I regularly come home after shooting thinking that I have some great shots (per the LCD) but when I download them I just sigh and think "they are OK, nothing special". I am very much like John in that my best shots are rarely the ones that I think are the best at the time of shooting and I really haven't mastered the concept of visualizing of the shot before I release the shutter.

In talking with my husband yesterday I was saying that I can't explain my "download disappointment" or even put into words why I was disappointed and what I thought I had that I didn't capture at the time. It is very frustrating but I will say that I like some of the shots a lot better and am much less critical of them after they rest in my computer for a little while and I set aside any notion of what I didn't capture and focus on what I did

In some ways I think that we want to be the next so-and-so but don't realized how much time and energy so-and-so has put into their craft (most times years!). I know that I need to keep in mind that I am on a path and comparing my work to so-and-so should be a goal to strive for rather than to measure against as in most regards as that comparison is not really fair. I also remind myself that there are rarely any true overnight success stories and recall many actors who remind people of the years spent toiling unnoticed until all of their hard work came to fruition and they were deemed and overnight success.

Your work is beautiful Murat so keep plodding along YOUR path and try to step away for a bit to see what you have accomplished rather that what has yet to be conquered.

[chauncey]

Were we satisfied with what we cough out there would be no need for the plethora of C&C photography sites.

[Mike Buckley]

step away for a bit to see what you have accomplished rather that what has yet to be conquered.

Excellent advice for all of us, especially me.

[ShaneS]

Excellent advice for all of us, especially me.

Me too Mike! It is easier to write than to put into practice though. I will say that the process of writing it down was helpful if only I can just remember it the next time I have "download disappointment"

[Geoff F]

Very occasionally, a quick shot does work well; but most of my carefully planned shots don't survive.

After the initial 'camera viewing screen cull' I suppose 10% of the downloads become keepers. And less than 10% of those keepers get into the 'I would hang on my wall' section.

Which is much less than when I first started using a digital camera 10 years ago!

Most of those early shots are hidden away now; only available for reference purposes.

More of my insect photos are retained, but that is mostly due to wanting to build up a collection for identification purposes.

Quite often, too often in fact, my set up test shots and those last hope 'I wonder if this would work' snaps actually work out as keepers!

Some weeks, finding something for inclusion in my Weekly Photos section becomes a real struggle.

And the more I learn about photography, the more images I reject!

[ShaneS]

Ain't that the truth Geoff!

And the more I learn about photography, the more images I reject!

A byproduct of experience and knowledge I guess...but the keepers get better too so I the trade off is worth the frustration.

[batmura]

Some great replies here. I really appreciate that you've taken the time respond, everyone.

[nimitzbenedicto]

Does it really matter?
Life's too short. ( at least for someone close to 70.)

[dabhand]

........ What I do really like, however, is the moment I take the shot, or even the few hours before I take them. Driving to a certain location through muddy roads, asking the locals for directions, and finally finding the location give me chills. Then, racing with time to find the perfect spot to shoot, trying different angles and settings.....

My other pastime is sea fishing, apply all the above references to fishing and it's exactly the same - we all go hoping to get a few keepers, but deep down I guess the vast majority of us realise we'd have to be extremely lucky to do so; even if we do, all that achieves is to reset the 'keeper' bar to a new level.

I pity those who feel they can set out and get a keeper at will - where's the challenge and enjoyment in that.

[zen]

For me, the resulting image is never as good as what I anticipated it would be - no matter whether it is a long planned shot or a snapped shot. PP gets me closer to what I anticipated or imagined the image would be, that is , what I WANT it to be, but never quite "there". Thankfully, however, memory of the anticipated image fades, so that when I go back to it 6 months later, it somehow seems better - almost acceptable.

Someday, I hope I will become skillful enough to realize more of my "anticipated' images in camera.

Zen

[Polar01]

Murat I agree with you, a lot of the time it is the moment where all the elements are aligned and your reality is present in that image. It is the rush as you see the elements starting to form up in the distance, racing to that point, just getting there in time, the rush of setting up, taking the image in this case a 3 shot pan, then looking afterwards seeing that you did not mess up the settings. This shot is one of my top 3, everything came together at that one moment, it will never happen again in my lifetime or anyone else's. Have entered it into some shows, does well nothing special, other images also entered do better, I think that for me it is when I look at it, it takes me back to the time leading up to that moment and my reality. So in ways it is not the final destination but that moment in your reality.

Cheers:

Allan

[Manfred M]

Murat - I tend to be my own harshest critic and have run into the same situation that you have; others like my work and I am still busy analysing what I could have improved in both the shot and with the PP work.

Needless to say, I am someone who works the scene and I will (when possible) return to a location to reshoot something using a different technique or doing so at a different time of day or time of year.

Sometimes the hard part is knowing when to stop and saying something is "good enough".

[Shadowman]

Even if the technical aspects have thwarted you, at the very least you should like something about the subject you've captured; whether it is a person's smile or the way the sun illuminates a structure.

[Brownbear]

Perfectly normal... And by the way, your photos are gorgeous!