Is exposure to and study of good photography a bad thing?

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A while ago I tried to join into a gaming group, they were a fun friendly group of players of a decent number and a whole spread of ages. However despite their friendly nature I didn't stick it out with the group and there was a reason for that - they were too good and a touch too focused on the competitive side.

It made me start to think if this isn't perhaps a problem with photography in todays world, especially online. Certainly being around peers who have superior skill can inspire; it can push a person to improve to reach that similar standard. Indeed I would not be one to disagree that exposure to superior works is a beneficial thing and that without it one can end up setting a lower standard than ones full potential.


However I wonder if many of us have gotten too much of this. That we are bombarded by such a volume of quality, of inspiration and of skill that we end up losing focus and that former motivation starts to dwindle away. I feel that many times we lack that contemporary grouping, those who are of a similar skill and experience set of our own. A grouping within which we can rise to the fore within our own niche, where we can see measured improvement in our own work against others and also see their measured changes as well.

Instead we are left still struggling to grasp the slippery rope and pull ourselves up to our peers level so that they might become our contemporaries. That we might "rub shoulders" with them and feel a part of that system; socially contributing and being acknowledged.


Now many might say to this that it doesn't matter, that you shoot for you and you alone. But I don't think that is always true, we do shoot for ourselves (unless we are paid or have other motives); but I think that being social creatures we also like to share and feel that we contribute to the group(s) we are within as well. That we have something to offer, something that makes us stand out, even if just a little.

Thus I put forward the view that we are too bombarded with quality; that we have too much inspiration and not enough building of contemporary networks. We don't have learning buddies; we don't have a class; we don't have a grouping - heck even in tutorials or classes the skill range can be very vast.
 
...

Now many might say to this that it doesn't matter, that you shoot for you and you alone. But I don't think that is always true, we do shoot for ourselves (unless we are paid or have other motives); but I think that being social creatures we also like to share and feel that we contribute to the group(s) we are within as well. That we have something to offer, something that makes us stand out, even if just a little.

Thus I put forward the view that we are too bombarded with quality; that we have too much inspiration and not enough building of contemporary networks. We don't have learning buddies; we don't have a class; we don't have a grouping - heck even in tutorials or classes the skill range can be very vast.

I agree that I shoot for more than just me. I enjoy the compliments received by family and friends. The problem for me then becomes something I have read over and over again here on TPF. "Family and friends are always going to say your photos are beautiful" which means to me that my photo still stink. I just mentioned this the other day to my sister. I told her if there been some sort of critique from her first that I might have considered her opinion to be more valuable.

For me personally I do feel overwhelmed looking at stuff like 500px and even much of the photographs posted up here. The inspiration sort of ran out (overtime) and became a thought that there is so much greatness out there how could I impress or gain any compliments from other photographers.
 
Not so I can notice.
 
Sites like 500px and Flickr and others are tools for me, rather than a constant social setting. In other words, I only visit when I want inspiration. For example, if I'm going on vacation to a beach, I'll look up photos of that location or of pictures people took at beaches to get inspiration of what I want to shoot. Not for emulation, but inspiration.

If people are constantly looking at other photos rather than taking their own, I can absolutely see how others' 'superior skills' would dampen my inspiration and make me feel like my work was crap. But, good thing for me, I don't care about others' work as much as I do my own work.

Instagram is different for me. I like to share my photos there, whether taken with a cell phone or my camera. Whether heavily processed or #nofilter (I actually hate that hashtag, by the way). It's a way to keep in touch with friends, mostly.

Social Media Effect. People post only their best to look the best on the net--promote your brand, expand your network. It's one place where one can actually shape their personality to fit their mind's perception, so to speak. Portray something different.. a hyper-idealistic version of ourselves. Ok, I'll stop paraphrasing the article now.
 
I don't know. First of all, in any endeavor there will be an ample supply of superior work. Many of us started looking at work by the "masters" in museums, books, etc. soon after we developed an interest in photography, and this served just to inspire us to try harder. I suppose there may have been people who were discouraged, but it's difficult to see how they could get started on anything. If you're saying that it's harder now with access to so much on the internet, perhaps there's something to that, but we also see a much larger volume of junk than we used to, so I'm not sure where that leaves us.

Second, there is a pretty large community on here with a wide variety of skill levels and interests, so anyone can find a sort of compatible sub-group. Often I see the bird photographers commenting on each others' work more than others will comment on it, and ditto for portrait photographers, etc. This happens in other places as well, like camera clubs and meet-up groups. I've found that people sometimes move on from those when their work improves, so the range of skill levels doesn't get too broad.

The overly competitive atmosphere you encountered is not helpful in photography, imo. Camera clubs are pretty bad that way. Some of them seem to think that competitions improve everyone's work. They may be a motivation, but critique sessions could do that just as well, because everyone still sees your work and no one wants to look bad. If the critique is not anonymous then it would be even more motivating. If done properly, in a positive and constructive way, critique shouldn't intimidate those who are not as skilled. I'm in a critique group which has everything from professionals doing really high-quality stuff to amateurs who are still learning and no one feels out of place there.
 
this is competitive? I pretty much just am content tooling around taking photos. Competitive doesn't sound good. Sounds like a sport where you have to follow all these rules and there is something to win.
I feel like i win just taking photos of my kids. Lot of it is the internet. People have more exposure now to more work. They should relax, have fun, go take a photo of a bird in their backyard or something. If it stops being fun there isn't any point in doing it.
 
I don't know. First of all, in any endeavor there will be an ample supply of superior work. Many of us started looking at work by the "masters" in museums, books, etc. soon after we developed an interest in photography, and this served just to inspire us to try harder. I suppose there may have been people who were discouraged, but it's difficult to see how they could get started on anything. If you're saying that it's harder now with access to so much on the internet, perhaps there's something to that, but we also see a much larger volume of junk than we used to, so I'm not sure where that leaves us.

Second, there is a pretty large community on here with a wide variety of skill levels and interests, so anyone can find a sort of compatible sub-group. Often I see the bird photographers commenting on each others' work more than others will comment on it, and ditto for portrait photographers, etc. This happens in other places as well, like camera clubs and meet-up groups. I've found that people sometimes move on from those when their work improves, so the range of skill levels doesn't get too broad.

The overly competitive atmosphere you encountered is not helpful in photography, imo. Camera clubs are pretty bad that way. Some of them seem to think that competitions improve everyone's work. They may be a motivation, but critique sessions could do that just as well, because everyone still sees your work and no one wants to look bad. If the critique is not anonymous then it would be even more motivating. If done properly, in a positive and constructive way, critique shouldn't intimidate those who are not as skilled. I'm in a critique group which has everything from professionals doing really high-quality stuff to amateurs who are still learning and no one feels out of place there.
meh, i don't understand the competitive atmosphere at all. Unless you are getting paid to do it, who cares. Learn as you go, do as you want, improve to whatever you can and treasure your photos and just the fact of DOING it.
 
A while ago I tried to join into a gaming group, they were a fun friendly group of players of a decent number and a whole spread of ages. However despite their friendly nature I didn't stick it out with the group and there was a reason for that - they were too good and a touch too focused on the competitive side ...


... Thus I put forward the view that we are too bombarded with quality; that we have too much inspiration and not enough building of contemporary networks. We don't have learning buddies; we don't have a class; we don't have a grouping - heck even in tutorials or classes the skill range can be very vast.

:BangHead:

Quite honestly, that sounds like you're about to put forward a bill to cut arts funding in public schools.

It's rare that I do not find such hypotheticals to be based on the flawed assumption we are all alike. What one of us feels is what all of us must feel. How one of us assimilates, we all must assimilate. If one of us is overwhelmed, we must all be overwhelmed.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It could be said, with some degree of absolute truthfulness I think, that Americans exist in a highly competitive society. Compete or be left behind. Live the America Dream and you'll get ahead. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. We've all heard these cultural memes. We inherently reject the idea, "Sit on your worthless butt and we'll do it all for you". We are, as a whole, an "inspired" society.

Those well worn phrases also ignore the simple fact we are all individuals with our own individual aspirations and conditions. Our own "place in life". It is, of course, the most competitive among us who will, with a straight face, say, "Being an American means being your own self, with the liberty to decide your own future", and then follow that up with, "All Americans want to live the Dream."

:aufsmaul:

The politics of any social group means we must, if we are to function as a group, live with the fact they will attract a variety of individuals. Join an animal rescue group with only the good intentions of personally doing what is best for the animals and it won't be long before you come to realize that organization is being run by the most political individuals of the group. Go to a new church for the first time and by the second time you'll be met by some committee leaders urging you to do something for Jesus. Anyone ever hear a description of being in a fraternity of so called brothers and thinking, "You're f'ing kidding me?!"

In anything "good" you will find those who prefer to make everything a blood sport and raise the competitive engagement to absurd degrees. You must decide to join in or go away for your own good. Which action you choose is - hopefully - your own decision. I certainly have experienced the enjoyment sucking experience of a group joined in the hopes of shared experience turned into a daily, if not hourly, battle for my own sanity. And often, such food fights begin with a simple disagreement over some subjective value to which there is no right and wrong. Or a clear case of someone doing a major CYA and you are the unfortunate, unwitting scapegoat. However, it's then common that a small group will form on one side to take down anyone who gets in their way. That is not inspiration, that is desperation.

We've probably all experienced this in some on line forum where anonymity breeds rudeness which "inspires" and then feeds on a mob mentality.

And, of course, saying that, I'm not pointing a finger at anyone here.

But, too much inspiration? How is that possible? I can understand too much fake inspiration. I can comprehend the idea too much of what we are exposed to is crap masquerading as inspired art. That we are manipulated by the demo(n)graphic group some computer program has assigned to us. That too much really does diminish the small amount which makes up the very best. And that when the weedy mulch is piled higher and higher, it all turns into compost. And, as the saying goes, "Compost happens". But that too is a problem of the individual being capable or incapable of seeing what is of value and ignoring the rest, not simply of too much of everything. Even the most noxious of weeds eventually returns to the soil. What comes from the dirt goes back to the dirt.

It is not, IMO, a matter of whether you engage in photography only for yourself. It is a matter of how you live your life for only yourself. I've worked in a sales staff with one individual who claimed his father once told him second place was just first among all the losers. He was consumed with winning everything. You either got sucked down in his wake or you swam off in your own direction. Competing with him was, IMO, stupid. To do so you had to operate just as he did. Better IMO to use what gifts I had to do what I did best. He was not too much inspiration, he simply was. We became good friends and to this day joke about our individual ways of working. For both of us to do so, however, we had to rely on our own inner workings to see the other not as someone to be beaten down but someone to be raised up. Though we were polar opposites in style, neither had a reason to distrust the other. We both learned from each other and became individually better for that. I could though, to this day, never be what he is nor do as he does and vice versa.

No, there is never "too much" inspiration. There is only the inability to see the competition for anything more than blind competition. To see everything as the spec in your eye which will quickly blind you to the real inspirations around you. We've probably all had an instructor who inspired us at some point. I know one of my most inspirational teachers failed to play the game and he subsequently lost the game. His contract was not renewed while a fellow do nothing/no talent, game playing instructor was allowed to stay. Despite the protestations of the students in his support, that inspirational teacher was let go.

This is life in the real world. My inspirational instructor was seen as a threat to those who had fewer and lesser talents. He did not lower himself to their standards and therefore he was no longer of value to the group.

All along the way in life you learn lessons. How you react to the lesson is totally up to you. No one can make you angry, you alone make yourself angry. No one can take away from you what you do not willingly give up. On the other side of the coin, no one can inspire you if you are not open to being inspired. You observe the lesson and you either accept or reject the lesson.

However, the idea there are too many lessons for any one person to take in is, I think, either the view point of those who would, for their own advancement, limit the exposure of ideas or the result of someone never having been exposed to a truly radical, truly inspiring idea.

I am a product of my generation and, as a result, I will always opt for inspirational anarchy whenever possible. :devilish:
 
I am not bombarded by quality on here only from the photo books on my shelf, most on here are more bothered about low noise and sharpness not about telling a story with their photos, I come on here when im bored or have nothing better to do, at the moment I'm just waiting for the potatoes to boil so I can make mustard mash
 
A while ago I tried to join into a gaming group, they were a fun friendly group of players of a decent number and a whole spread of ages. However despite their friendly nature I didn't stick it out with the group and there was a reason for that - they were too good and a touch too focused on the competitive side ...


... Thus I put forward the view that we are too bombarded with quality; that we have too much inspiration and not enough building of contemporary networks. We don't have learning buddies; we don't have a class; we don't have a grouping - heck even in tutorials or classes the skill range can be very vast.

:BangHead:

Quite honestly, that sounds like you're about to put forward a bill to cut arts funding in public schools.

It's rare that I do not find such hypotheticals to be based on the flawed assumption we are all alike. What one of us feels is what all of us must feel. How one of us assimilates, we all must assimilate. If one of us is overwhelmed, we must all be overwhelmed.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It could be said, with some degree of absolute truthfulness I think, that Americans exist in a highly competitive society. Compete or be left behind. Live the America Dream and you'll get ahead. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. We've all heard these cultural memes. We inherently reject the idea, "Sit on your worthless butt and we'll do it all for you". We are, as a whole, an "inspired" society.

Those well worn phrases also ignore the simple fact we are all individuals with our own individual aspirations and conditions. Our own "place in life". It is, of course, the most competitive among us who will, with a straight face, say, "Being an American means being your own self, with the liberty to decide your own future", and then follow that up with, "All Americans want to live the Dream."

:aufsmaul:

The politics of any social group means we must, if we are to function as a group, live with the fact they will attract a variety of individuals. Join an animal rescue group with only the good intentions of personally doing what is best for the animals and it won't be long before you come to realize that organization is being run by the most political individuals of the group. Go to a new church for the first time and by the second time you'll be met by some committee leaders urging you to do something for Jesus. Anyone ever hear a description of being in a fraternity of so called brothers and thinking, "You're f'ing kidding me?!"

In anything "good" you will find those who prefer to make everything a blood sport and raise the competitive engagement to absurd degrees. You must decide to join in or go away for your own good. Which action you choose is - hopefully - your own decision. I certainly have experienced the enjoyment sucking experience of a group joined in the hopes of shared experience turned into a daily, if not hourly, battle for my own sanity. And often, such food fights begin with a simple disagreement over some subjective value to which there is no right and wrong. Or a clear case of someone doing a major CYA and you are the unfortunate, unwitting scapegoat. However, it's then common that a small group will form on one side to take down anyone who gets in their way. That is not inspiration, that is desperation.

We've probably all experienced this in some on line forum where anonymity breeds rudeness which "inspires" and then feeds on a mob mentality.

And, of course, saying that, I'm not pointing a finger at anyone here.

But, too much inspiration? How is that possible? I can understand too much fake inspiration. I can comprehend the idea too much of what we are exposed to is crap masquerading as inspired art. That we are manipulated by the demo(n)graphic group some computer program has assigned to us. That too much really does diminish the small amount which makes up the very best. And that when the weedy mulch is piled higher and higher, it all turns into compost. And, as the saying goes, "Compost happens". But that too is a problem of the individual being capable or incapable of seeing what is of value and ignoring the rest, not simply of too much of everything. Even the most noxious of weeds eventually returns to the soil. What comes from the dirt goes back to the dirt.

It is not, IMO, a matter of whether you engage in photography only for yourself. It is a matter of how you live your life for only yourself. I've worked in a sales staff with one individual who claimed his father once told him second place was just first among all the losers. He was consumed with winning everything. You either got sucked down in his wake or you swam off in your own direction. Competing with him was, IMO, stupid. To do so you had to operate just as he did. Better IMO to use what gifts I had to do what I did best. He was not too much inspiration, he simply was. We became good friends and to this day joke about our individual ways of working. For both of us to do so, however, we had to rely on our own inner workings to see the other not as someone to be beaten down but someone to be raised up. Though we were polar opposites in style, neither had a reason to distrust the other. We both learned from each other and became individually better for that. I could though, to this day, never be what he is nor do as he does and vice versa.

No, there is never "too much" inspiration. There is only the inability to see the competition for anything more than blind competition. To see everything as the spec in your eye which will quickly blind you to the real inspirations around you. We've probably all had an instructor who inspired us at some point. I know one of my most inspirational teachers failed to play the game and he subsequently lost the game. His contract was not renewed while a fellow do nothing/no talent, game playing instructor was allowed to stay. Despite the protestations of the students in his support, that inspirational teacher was let go.

This is life in the real world. My inspirational instructor was seen as a threat to those who had fewer and lesser talents. He did not lower himself to their standards and therefore he was no longer of value to the group.

All along the way in life you learn lessons. How you react to the lesson is totally up to you. No one can make you angry, you alone make yourself angry. No one can take away from you what you do not willingly give up. On the other side of the coin, no one can inspire you if you are not open to being inspired. You observe the lesson and you either accept or reject the lesson.

However, the idea there are too many lessons for any one person to take in is, I think, either the view point of those who would, for their own advancement, limit the exposure of ideas or the result of someone never having been exposed to a truly radical, truly inspiring idea.

I am a product of my generation and, as a result, I will always opt for inspirational anarchy whenever possible. :devilish:
nice post. You know what i am a huge fan of? Peace. As in inner peace. Beautiful thing. Figured out a long time ago to worry less about what others think. Like, in general, not photography specific. In all seriousness too, a vast majority of us have more important things to worry about in life than who likes our photos and what is being posted on 500px or other sites. You know, like i should probably be working on my lawn or something a little more constructive. Pay the electric bill, maybe some house up keep, getting the kids to school is usually a good thing. I think i am almost out of beer. That is a much more serious problem.. Just sayn...

If i really worried about this i would probably already have those prints done and framed for that little gallery. But, unlike most that probably get into that stuff or online competitions (or mental competitions) my care-o-meter is a little low.
 
I am not bombarded by quality on here only from the photo books on my shelf, most on here are more bothered about low noise and sharpness not about telling a story with their photos, I come on here when im bored or have nothing better to do, at the moment I'm just waiting for the potatoes to boil so I can make mustard mash
hear ya. I come on here while editing, sorting photos. Or when i really want to procrastinate. There is some good work on here. I usually like a photo a photo that means something to me (even a chitty photo of my dog) more than about anything i see online.
 
I am not bombarded by quality on here only from the photo books on my shelf, most on here are more bothered about low noise and sharpness not about telling a story with their photos, I come on here when im bored or have nothing better to do, at the moment I'm just waiting for the potatoes to boil so I can make mustard mash
hear ya. I come on here while editing, sorting photos. Or when i really want to procrastinate. There is some good work on here. I usually like a photo a photo that means something to me (even a chitty photo of my dog) more than about anything i see online.
I can't come on here when im editing because I'll be in the darkroom [emoji6]
 
I am not bombarded by quality on here only from the photo books on my shelf, most on here are more bothered about low noise and sharpness not about telling a story with their photos, I come on here when im bored or have nothing better to do, at the moment I'm just waiting for the potatoes to boil so I can make mustard mash
hear ya. I come on here while editing, sorting photos. Or when i really want to procrastinate. There is some good work on here. I usually like a photo a photo that means something to me (even a chitty photo of my dog) more than about anything i see online.
I can't come on here when im editing because I'll be in the darkroom [emoji6]
meh. i don't have one still. still sending out. Part of the problem with all this thinking, is we have a lot of people that really don't "love" photography. That is why it is a competition for them. To me it is more a way of life. spent most of the weekend shooting with a crappy old point and shoot. Why? It was fun. shot film, fun. It isn't a "competition". It is, hey, i feel like taking a photo of a tree just for the hell of it with a 5mp point and shoot, because i can. I am going to shoot on this crappy old film camera with its crappy lens, BECAUSE I CAN.
Probably won't win any awards, but it is really a personal nature thing than "omg! I need to come up with the BESTEST PHOTO EVER!!!!!" Really, everyone is different. But i consider photography more a hobby/life style than a competition. And whatever you take for photos, well those are yours. lol
 
Between a slippery rope and a henchman who does not know how to use his tool properly I will chose the former on any day. I do not see the point in torture.
 
Between a slippery rope and a henchman who does not know how to use his tool properly I will chose the former on any day. I do not see the point in torture.
Not even sure what this means. I equate it to fishing. . There are those around here that spend a lot of money and energy on fishing competitions. They love it when they have a good catch and fair well. If they don't do well they suddenly don't quite like it as much. Then there are those that just are content fishing. Even if they catch nothing and have to sit on the end of a dock, they do it for the sake of just doing it. One is competition oriented. The other is "hey, i feel like going fishing". Over all, the one that "just feels like going fishing" seems the more content of the two, plus they usually still can catch a few fish..
 

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