Is it natural to think that my photographs aren't good enough?

While my friends think they're great? Maybe because I've always looked at other photos (especially the super amazing ones!) in a different perspective than other people, and hopefully it'll make me want to strive for more? Or maybe because I just started getting back into photography after picking up my 5dmk2 from the closet after 6 years (since I got the smartphone, everything just seems a lot easier).

Anyone else think like this?

andrewliu wrote in post #17978048
While my friends think they're great? Maybe because I've always looked at other photos (especially the super amazing ones!) in a different perspective than other people, and hopefully it'll make me want to strive for more? Or maybe because I just started getting back into photography after picking up my 5dmk2 from the closet after 6 years (since I got the smartphone, everything just seems a lot easier).

Anyone else think like this?

It's perfectly normal; you'll get over it [mostly]

Criticizing your photos objectively will allow you to develop your skills.

Cursing it is just a personality issue lol!

I think most of us here are always striving to take better photos. Anyone who thinks there is no room for improvement with their photography is most likely over-confident. As with most areas of endeavour, the more we learn the more we realise how little we know. Even with the fraction of my own photos that I'm very happy with, I can see room for improvement in almost every one and often wish I'd used a faster shutter speed or different flash setting etc.

Always aiming to improve and take better pictures is one of the things that keeps photography fun and interesting. Most of us will never completely master every aspect, indeed I wonder if anyone ever has?

If you stop looking at your photos and seeing a way they could have been improved, then it is a sign that you've stopped pushing yourself to learn and experiment. And to me that just sounds boring.

We are all our own most critical judge. This is bad because many of those shots do deserve a pat on the back, this is good because it keeps us striving for improvement.

NOTE: Improvement comes from learning and practice, not from GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

That is normal for me as well. I see all the things that could have made the picture better (in my eyes). Think of it in a different way. As a photographer you look at your images differently than friends just viewing your work for the pleasure of the scene or image. I will be working on an image I have taken and my wife will think it looks awesome but I am still tweaking it. Sometimes I have to tell myself to just enjoy the picture and quit obsessing

I think being critical of your own work is key to getting better. I can always find things I don't like in my shots. If anything, its an excuse to try it again and do better. I think its a healthy response.

andrewliu wrote in post #17978048
While my friends think they're great?

As a rule, your friends and family will always tell you your work is great.

To answer OP question, 'Yes'!

My wife loves my photos, but she also loves photos taken by others which have the sin of putting the subject's face bulls-eyed in the frame!

They will never be good enough! Get used to it and keep trying to impress yourself.

I agree with what the previous posters said. As an amateur photographer, I'm always looking to improve my skills. Therefore my eyes seem to pick out the defects in my photographs and I think about how I would improve them the next time.

You have to remember that many people nowadays take photos on their cellphones and look at them there. The defects that may jump out at you on a 22" hi-res monitor are hidden in those tiny phone screens or tablets.

The number of times that people have oohed and aahed my photos that I thought were just acceptable to me. But I'm enough of a snob to believe that puts me in the ranks of "Photographer" with a capital P instead of a snapshooter

So, welcome to the club!

I'll shoot the same subjects over and over (at different times), always hoping for a better shot. Doesn't matter whether it's a local State Park, or the hummingbirds or bugs in my backyard, or even the friggin moon. When I finally get one that I think will be hard to improve upon, I might print an 8X10 or 11X14 and hang it, but I'll still keep trying for a better one.

I have this problem with nearly everything I do whether it's a photo or some home improvement project. I know where each and every flaw is and my eye will go right to it without fail. It drives me nuts. Of course, no one else can see them, but I do.

Only listen to yourself.

Friends will generally always tell you that your pictures are great and the people of POTN are also too kind and don't give honest constructive criticism (most of the time)