Does anyone else feel this way???

[larann78]

Do any of you have days or weeks when you look at your body of work and go...this is all crap!? Business has been getting crazy at my studio and while it's a good thing, I have been wondering to myself...when are people going to realize that I suck? What do I do then? My husband thinks I'm nuts, but I'm just wondering if any of you have these times of self doubt and fear.

[cory1848]

I do all the time... It makes me push to get better...

[hypertech]

I've had relatives look over my shoulder as I review pictures and I explain all the things I notice wrong with them and the notes I'm making to do better next time.

They think I am nuts because when they look at it, it looks great to them.

Being critical of yourself is a good thing .... to a point. It makes you strive to be better. But also remember that your clients don't look at them with the same trained eye you do. As long as they are happy, those shots served their purpose and you did a good job.

[gravy graffix]

how about this....

if YOU took the EXACT same pic as someone else on here like say toogy....HIS would look better...just because it wasnt yours.

what i notice is im to hard on my shots... to many times i feel like some are crap but seeing what others post that are "well known" and seeing that not all of theirs are perfect does make me feel better.

[Christina]

Yep, I feel that way often.

I just looked at your site, larann78, and I don't think it sucks at all. I think your photos are awesome. :)

[derky82]

at least you just THINK your photos suck... I KNOW mine do! lol

[DDCSD]

A certain amount of it is healthy, as long as it is pushing you to strive and make yourself better. That is usually the case with anyone that is truly good at anything. If you didn't see anything you can improve upon, then it would get boring and the fact that you're bored would begin to shoe in your work.

The opposite is when you let your doubts take over and it causes you to mope around and stop trying for fear of failure.

Use it for motivation. Just know that you can improve, not that your work isn't already good. We all can improve. I know I'd get awfully bored if I were perfect.

[shannyD]

yeah.. you suck pretty bad.. you shuold just hang it up while your still ahead..



ok.. so that was a joke..

your body of work is fantastic... i dont see why you think you suck at all. i have self doubt and fear all the time.. but i know where i want to be.. so i keep pushing for that, and i wont stop till i get there.. and probably by the time i get there.. ill want to keep going further, and so on and so forth.

i think people are their harshest critict. your work is amazing.. just keep pushing yourself to learn more, shoot more, read different techniques.

that is all i do.. and i am fortunate to have someone that can help me set up my idea, and be able to help me follow it through.

shannon

[alabama1980]

If you suck, then I may as well give up hope of EVER doing this for money....your work is quite excellent.

Everyone doubts themselves. You should doubt yourself occasionally. If you (and I have seen it on here) get to the point where you don't, then you have nothing to strive for, and you stop growing.

By the way, I said all that to say that your hubs is right...you're nuts!

[MMD]

I think you are way too hard on yourself. Your work looks great to me. You sound like your seeing and doing the same ol' thing. Repetitive actions can get you into a rut. If you have opportunity, put all the camera gear down and keep away from the computers for a few days or a week. Refresh yourself.

I like your work!!

[amfoto1]

We all get hypercritical of our own work from time to time.

Odd thing is, people buy some of my images I personally don't think are all that great, skipping right over ones I like a lot better.

You just need a break. Not necessarily time off or anything like that. Just shoot something different, or shoot the same old thing but in an entirely different way. You are probably bored with what you are doing.

Also keep in mind that anyone shooting for pay has to get the bread & butter shots, which may not be very exciting, but fulfill the client's needs. Those can get pretty repetitive to us, even when the client is pleased as punch with them.

A lot of time during shoots, once I know I've gotten the bread & butter shots, I'll change lenses or settings or something and try a non-standard approach to the subject. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't . But, I'll never know unless I try. It's cool when it works. When it doesn't I've at least learned something.

Another trick... Put some of your images away for a few weeks, months or even years, then come back look at them later with fresh eyes. Might surprise yourself.

Today, with digital shooting and processing, we are more able to experiment than ever before. That's great, but we also are perhaps a bit too free from some of the discipline that film demanded. I like to take out one of my vintage kits and burn some film during my 'off season'. That forces me to be more careful, considered and deliberate, which I thing carries back over into my shooting digital later.

There are also times to simply leave the cameras at home and observe or immerse yourself in the moment, forgetting about capturing it at all.

[friz]

This goes along with being an artist of any kind. This also has us constantly striving to improve. I guess if you didn't feel this way your photos would really suck.

[johnms88]

Id take a look at your work but your template gets stuck at 100% load (second person I have had that happen to in the past 24 hours, seems to be the same template as the other one I ran across).

[Alleh]

I have always been critical of my work because I know it can always be better. Whether it was lack of the correct equipment, not enough Photoshop knowledge to achieve the look I want, weak composition from lack of experience with a particular subject, bad model etc. it’s a continuous up hill battle to keep trying to improve on every front we face as photographers. I am barley a beginner but I already see myself going down a photographic path that differs from the direction I want to go. It’s often easy to go where the money takes you but it starts to make you even more critical of your work because it’s not what you want to do in the first place. I now am finding myself trying to reinvent my portfolio to represent the work I want to do. It will always be a challenge.

For me it has become about making the money to reinvest in producing my own work so eventually my entire portfolio will represent the market I want to work in.

[picturecrazy]

I feel kinda like this perpetually. I never think my clients think I suck. I know they love my work, but I just feel like I'm not impressing myself. There's always a drive to improve and get better, but after you do this for a while, the law of diminishing returns sets in and you have to work so bloody hard to prove to yourself that you've actually made an improvement. :( sigh...

[Jon Foster]

Hahaha... I know mine suck but I'm not going to stop.

Jon.