How self-critical are you about your work?

[CaptainNapalm]

very. In the last year, there's probably only two pictures I've taken that I actually "like".

Wow that is sad.

 

[manicmike]

I've heard from non-friends that I do good work. I still think I suck, though occasionally I get a few images I like.

 

[480sparky]

I take what I like. If someone else likes it enough to give me money for it, that's OK too.

 

[baturn]

My biggest faults (in photography) are I rush every thing from capturing the shot to post work and I seem to learn very slowly from mistakes made in the past. I find these two hurdles the hardest to overcome, perhaps because photography is kind of a casual pastime in which there may be long spells of inactivity during which I forget past mistakes.
This now sounds more like an excuse than self critique.

 

[Steve5D]

Generally speaking, I'm more critical of my work than others.

I did an HDR image of Aviles Street in St. Augustine. Friends were damn near slobbering all over it. I thought the processing was fine, but I wasn't really a fan of the framing of the shot.

I've sold six prints so far...

 

[wyogirl]

Generally speaking, I'm more critical of my work than others.

I did an HDR image of Aviles Street in St. Augustine. Friends were damn near slobbering all over it. I thought the processing was fine, but I wasn't really a fan of the framing of the shot.

I've sold six prints so far...

i wanna see that! St. Augustine is my absolute favorite place. I'm sure half of my soul resides there!

 

[Bulb]

I'm very self-critical of my work.

After I've transferred my latest batch of RAW files to my computer then I import them into RawTherapee.

I look through every single one and rate them on a scale of 1-5 stars. Right now I'm at approximately 1-Star 58%, 2-Stars 27%, 3-Stars 12%, and 4-Stars 3%. This is not including my previous film work, though, so the actual percentages will be different when I get around to rating them.

When that's done I edit and export any pictures that I have given 4 or 5 stars. I have yet to give any of my pictures 5 stars. While I edit I usually change my mind about a few and lower their score.

These exported pictures go into a folder. Then I set my desktop to cycle through all of them as wallpapers once per minute. This is when I do my 'final' eliminations as I get tired of seeing the ones I don't really care for after a few weeks. The ones I've changed my mind about are removed from the wallpaper folder and their score is changed in RawTherapee.

I shoot for myself really, but these are the pictures I'll show someone if they ask to see some of my work. The folder is synchronized to my Dropbox which makes it easy to bring up my best pictures on my laptop.

 

[paigew]

I am so self critical. I tear apart every photo I take and sometimes discount really good photos for stupid reasons. I am learning to move past that and embrace imperfections.

 

[Braineack]

very. In the last year, there's probably only two pictures I've taken that I actually "like".

Wow that is sad.

It's not sad at all.

 

[ronlane]

I am critical of my own work. My wife and friends may love a shot but I seem to pick them apart, even the few that I've gotten that some photographers have really liked.

 

[480sparky]

........... My wife and friends make love ...........

 

[ronlane]

........... My wife and friends make love ...........

ooops, of course you would notice that Sparky Corrected.

 

[pgriz]

I'd note that a constructive way to be self-critical is to break down the analysis into "What worked", "What kinda worked but needs improvement", and "what didn't work". Then you can focus your attention on the "almost-there" stuff, and get that figured out. As you do that, the "Didn't work" stuff usually starts becoming "Kinda worked". If you're convinced that nothing worked, go back a year or so and ask if you could have made the same shot then. Probably not - you've learned a few things since. So give yourself some credit for making the advances, and continue on.

It should be noted that sometimes you can't even ask the right question until you start picking up the right vocabulary/principles. For example, setting the aperture can seem like an arbitrary decision until you start understanding the concept of depth-of-field. Deciding what exposure method to use can be puzzling, until you start understanding the camera limits of the dynamic range. Choosing the "right" shutter speed to show motion is confusing until you start understanding how blur contributes to our perception of motion. So it is quite common to think that some photographic choices are arbitrary, until you start understanding the principles that underlie those choices.

The subjective aspects of image-making can also be hard to figure out if we don't have the vocabulary of the visual arts. For example, Andrew (Amolitor) has a nice post on colour and the colour wheel. There have been discussions of "leading lines", depth perception through use of shadow, role of texture, visual attraction to human eyes, etc. When these things are known, lots of other things start to fall into place. Without these, it is possible to produce interesting images, but hard to do so intentionally. So part of our self-critique needs to address the question of "what do we not know that we should know". This is where feedback from others helps, because others can point out something (concept, technique, principle) that you may have no awareness of. And sometimes, it is perfectly fine to say "I see your point of view, but I disagree on a subjective level".

 

[runnah]

I hate every image almost right after I take it. Any time I sit down to edit I am constantly saying to myself "WTF didn't I do this or that differently?!".

 

[DNel928]

I'm quite self-criticizing, but I use it to benefit myself really. Often I will edit an image to where I believe it looks great, then I'll come back a couple hours later and notice that it sucks and I need to change it. It's all a big learning curve, and noticing your own mistakes will only make you better.