Photographers can be very precious about their pictures. And rightly so. When you think about it, we spend hours learning our craft, making fine adjustments and investing blood, sweat, tears, time and money into getting the best results we possibly can.
The last thing we need is outside influences telling us that our results are anything but what we want them to be. Criticism, though, can be a very good thing (in fact, it should even be encouraged).
A long-held theory goes that by learning to self-evaluate, the quality and success of your photographs will improve over time. In a commercial sense, put simply this ultimately leads to happier clients and a steady income.
So here’s a thought for you, a quick experiment.
The next time you’re wondering whether your photographs are saying what you want them to, ask yourself the following:
So what?
To begin with, this is possibly going to feel quite awkward – especially if (be honest!) you’ve never really approached your pictures in a completely objective manner. But keep working through the process until you’re happy with the end result (i.e. you feel there’s nowhere left to go, because you’ve hit the mark).
Let’s say, for example, you have a picture that you’re hoping will be published to illustrate a feature about hill walking. Your thought process might look something like this:
My picture shows the scene nicely and it’s well exposed.
So what?
Well, there are picturesque rolling hills, a blue sky and walkers in the foreground to give scale.
So what?
It’s a classic route, well known amongst walkers, a place which epitomises all that is great about walking.
So what?
I’ve looked at the sort of pictures that regularly get published in the magazine and mine clearly fits the bill.
So what?
… etc etc…
You get the idea.
Try it and let me know how you get on. Good luck!
