Anyone else lack confidence in their work?

Hi James, it's known technically as accommodation - your brain ceases to be suprised by what you do and gets used to your own style. You could try and do different things. Deliberately step outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself. That way you'll get your mojo back. Don't forget that to other people your work will continue to appear fresh because they do not critically appraise it every day in the same way you do.
 
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Don't stress you are not alone, we all become extremely critical of our work,to a degree tho that's good or we won't learn.
I've always lacked confidence in what I do or often completely lose my mojo, although often that's all connected.
Like I said though try not to let it worry/stress you too much, you don't want it to take over the enjoyment of shooting :)
 
Hi James. Most people have periods dissatisfaction with their work. Just keep going. Don't just dump the photos that don't work for you. Save them and keep going back to them. Find why they don't work and try again.
 
If you love everything you shoot i can't see you progressing as you'll always be happy with the skill you have.






Or at least that's what i keep telling myself :lol:
 
Its only natural to doubt your photography from time to time I think all creatives go though such periods, I'm someone lucky that why I do, I do a lot of it so can be somewhat confident in my abilities, but that said I still go though periods where the creative juices just don't want to flow and things can get stale...

Honestly though being here is a great place to learn even if sometimes it can be hard to hear critique it's for the best as it helps you get better and that alone will increase your confidence :)

Occasionally I get really nice messages from people saying that I've inspired them or just that they like my work...that is also heart warming to receive :lol: even if it can be hard to see why people would see you as an inspiration :suspect:

A good link I cam across last night via my Flickr stats :lol: some of the comments on a photo of mine are amusing :lol: http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?169539-fun-photo
 
I'm very new here but found the same problem a couple of months ago. I found a community college nearby with a night photography class close to home and at a reasonable price. Put that spark back in me. It was entry level and of course I thought I was above that but made myself take it anyway. Found that the discipline required by the instructor really helped my work.
 
It's very healthy to be self critical as it then encourages us to strive harder and hence progress.

However, the key is to not be so self critical that it destroys our self confidence and then becomes a negative energy.

As a professional Art Director (now retired but still hardwired) I have worked with one or two very famous photographers and although their best has appeared in books, even books about their photography, and the front covers of Vogue magazine etc, I can assure you that they have also shot some rubbish pics!

This applies not only to photography but to anything creative and also to competitive sports. You must have a degree of belief in your abilities in order to succeed.
 
Same here mate, in my photography and also my day job. I run my own business in Small Business Computer support, I've been in IT for 27+ years, well before the PCs turned up. Some days I get things that really make me doubt my own abilities :)
My wife got a few of my photos printed and are now framed in the house, I'm still not pleased with them, but she loves them!
 
Constantly underwhelmed by my own shots, mind you, this could just be the time of year, when it is grey and nasty outside, and there is absolutely no way the camera is coming out in torrential rain.
 
I never lose confidence in my photos. I post them up here, they get criticised, I accept why, then I go out and confidently repeat my errors :D
 
I've had plenty of pics published,won photography competitions,get lots of praise about my pics,but there are only a few that I personally like!:confused:
 
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TheBigYin said:
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:lol: love it

planetjamez said:
Hi all,

Been losing confidence in my work recently and have become very critical of my own images which aren't always very good. Anyone else get this?
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It is only natural to be self critical. We all are. However you can put a positive spin to it. Have a look what specifically makes your shots less attractive and use that information to improve further work.
 
I seem to be going through a stage when I do a session and I think the pics are great I only get a small order, yet when I do a session I am not happy with, customers want to spend loads!!!
 
It's part of any creative process, unfortunately. I lost my love for photography completely last year and sold up all my gear except for a p&s. It's taken until now for me to want to shoot again at all really. Part of that was frustration at feeling a lack of creativity.

I'd say go out and shoot something different to normal or just shoot for fun. People often suggest a 52 or 365, but that just adds pressure to shoot, IMO. I prefer the idea of coming up with a project with some meaning to you.

Good luck and keep having fun whatever you do.
 
I've been through the everything I do sucks stage and I'm now out the other side to just 'some of it sucks but I know where I went wrong stage'.
 
I've found this a really interesting post. Not just by the OP but by all the replies. I too feel unconfident in my pics but for me it's cos I see so many others online which are amazing and I don't know how to do them so good. Rather than thinking I need to work harder, learn more and I'll be able to do this too, I tend to go negative and think why bother so every now and then I have to have a little quiet word with myself :)

Truth is much of my work is loved by my clients cos their pics of their loved ones but it's still not enough for me. Guess the day it is is the day to pack it all in
 
srichards said:
I've been through the everything I do sucks stage and I'm now out the other side to just 'some of it sucks but I know where I went wrong stage'.
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....That's how it should be. As I posted earlier, negative breeds negative and if you beat yourself up by being over critical too much of the time, your efforts will suffer. I am surprised at the amount of negativity being expressed in this thread. Unless someone is paying you, and even then sometimes, if you love what photos you have taken it's all that matters.
 
Yep I've been through this too. So much so that I completely went off taking shots for about 3 months, then one day I really felt the urge to go out with my camera again and have been really pleased with the results since.

I've always looked at Flickr and 500px and felt depressed that there are so many other photographers way better than me, but thats only served to keep me striving to get better.

As others have said, go easier on yourself and try to get your enjoyment back. Failing that, take a break like I did and wait until you really feel the urge
 
Still going thought it,when out in the rain last night thought i got some great shots,city light, rain, but still havnt got round to viewing them yet in case they :oops:
 
For what it's worth, here's my advice:

After nearly 30 years of professional shooting as a commercial/Industrial photgrapher, and producing personal work for exhibition and publishing, I am still massively in-confident. This is a good thing! It stops you being arrogant. It stops you being on of these people that post their work as "exemplar" standards which you, the lowly, poor amateur shoudl aspire to. I can think of nothing worse.

The very lack of confidence I still feel makes me research my work more thoroughly... try harder... always be looking for the ways in which I can make my work more interesting.

Just don't think the way to confidence is by listening to internet pundits like Ken Rockwell et al... who's work is hardly original any way.

Stop looking at Flickr and 500PX. It's eye candy. Instant high colour, high drama mental flavour hits... like visual chewing gum: A big flavour hit for a very short while, then you realise all you have in your mouth is a grey, flavourless lump of viscous crap.... and you will eventually spit it out. Look at the stuff that has endured the test of time and learn to value what makes it so great. Weston, Karsh, Winnogrand, Sherman, Klein, Knight...(you get the idea)... in short, people who are NOT on Flickr or 500PX. 500PX and Flickr are nothing more than people trying to outdo one another with high visual drama. Sure, there's some good stuff on there... obviously...(before anyone writes the inevitable rebuttal), but why embark upon this internet popularity contest? Does it really mater if people you don't even know click "like" or not? They will hardly ever tell you WHY they like it anyway, so it's not as if they are teaching you anything with their feedback. Do you want to be a good photographer, or is your ambition nothing more than to be "explored" on Flickr? If the latter... just learn the techniques - and produce even more of the same visual chewing gum. If you want to learn how to be a great photographer, then learn what makes great photographs great in the first place... and for that, you need to look at the photographs that have stood the test of time. Something on Flickr may be thought of as great while it's on the first page of Explore... but once it disappears from there and sinks into the internet quagmire of other 10stop wonders? (shrug).

In short.... stop using such sites as a measure of your talent.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
For what it's worth, here's my advice:

Stop looking at Flickr and 500PX. It's eye candy. Instant high colour, high drama mental flavour hits... like visual chewing gum: A big flavour hit for a very short while, then you realise all you have in your mouth is a grey, flavourless lump of viscous crap.... and you will eventually spit it out. Look at the stuff that has endured the test of time and learn to value what makes it so great. Weston, Karsh, Winnogrand, Sherman, Klein, Knight...(you get the idea)... in short, people who are NOT on Flickr or 500PX. 500PX and Flickr are nothing more than people trying to outdo one another with high visual drama. Sure, there's some good stuff on there... obviously...(before anyone writes the inevitable rebuttal), but why embark upon this internet popularity contest? Does it really mater if people you don't even know click "like" or not? They will hardly ever tell you WHY they like it anyway, so it's not as if they are teaching you anything with their feedback. Do you want to be a good photographer, or is your ambition nothing more than to be "explored" on Flickr?.................

In short.... stop using such sites as a measure of your talent.
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....I'm not on Flickr and I always say WHY I like or even don't like a photo. I don't lack confidence - I just simply try and do my best every single time and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In my opinion, you MUST have confidence whatever you do in life. Feeling miserable is an illness.
 
There's a difference between having some confidence, and convincing yourself you're brilliant to the point of not listening to the feedback you receive.. which was my point. There's always doubt.. there's always feeling your work is crap... these never go away no matter how long you've been doing this game. There's always someone better than you are (or at least someone you perceive as better than you).

Whenever you catch yourself thinking that you're the bee's knees... give yourself a reality check: It keeps you grounded.. and it keeps you striving to improve.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
There's a difference between having some confidence, and convincing yourself you're brilliant to the point of not listening to the feedback you receive.. which was my point. There's always doubt.. there's always feeling your work is crap... these never go away no matter how long you've been doing this game. There's always someone better than you are (or at least someone you perceive as better than you).

Whenever you catch yourself thinking that you're the bee's knees... give yourself a reality check: It keeps you grounded.. and it keeps you striving to improve.
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....I agree. It's healthy to have doubt and to strive to improve. It's unhealthy (in my opinion) to think that everything you do is crap and to lose confidence as a result.
 
I often think what I do is crap. I don't "loose" confidence in the way you suggest though... I've been doing this for almost three decades now. I see more people producing trite nonsense over and over again because they've got a belly full of confidence (and a deficit of talent), and refuse to listen to crit as a result. You see it in here all the time.
 
Yes, I think that one of the important keys to creative self-improvement is to find that healthy balance between being confident and self-critical.

I haven't posted any of my photos on this forum yet - It's going to be interesting.
 
RedRobin said:
It's unhealthy (in my opinion) to think that everything you do is crap and to lose confidence as a result.
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There's a difference between thinking everything you do is rubbish and thinking most of it could be improved. You have to believe in your overall output while being critical of parts of it and trying to continually push forward.
 
since I been diagnosed with osteoarthritis my photography has suffered due to intense pain and I look back at my own pics and wonder why I did that that's why ive not put any on here I don't know if they are good enough to show
 
FWIW, I guess I'm somewhere around the 'Composition' label on that wonderful graph posted earlier. :shrug:

That's not to say that I think I'm the bee's knees, but I figure I'm reasonably au fait at the basics of making an image with a camera: I can get a decent exposure (not difficult with modern cameras) focus properly (I'm increasingly going back to my roots and preferring manual focus) avoid inappropriate shake, control depth of field, arrange elements in a pleasing way within a frame, etc. I can put together a 20 frame digitally stitched panorama and develop a roll of Ilford FP4 in my bathroom.

Then again I've been at this game for over 30 years, so if I didn't know any of the above by now, I probably should have chosen something else to do with my time.

I have been paid by some globally known architectural journals and the occasional book publisher to use my images, which is nice.

I think I can fairly say that what I do is reasonably competent.

I know what I'm not interested in

- being a full time professional photographer (I've already turned one hobby into a career and I'd like to keep this one for myself)
- that portraiture, glamour thing (I'm not big on flash)
- fast action/sports
- birds
- still life
- jazzy processing effects

I know the photographers that inspire me

- Eugène Atget
- Walker Evans*
- Edward Weston
- William Eggleston
- André Kertész
- HCB
- Bert Hardy

There are bits of them somewhere in a lot of things that I do. Compared to those guys, I confess I'm a rank amateur, but what gives me hope is that what I love about them is the way that they see things. It's very little to do with technique and all about seeing. Have your camera with you and see well, it's real basic stuff.

* go out and buy a copy of Walker Evans' American Photographs NOW. MoMA have republished it this year and it's wonderful.
 
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