One learns quickly to be a tough photographer. One should at least. We are the worst critics of ourselves. We are our worst critics.
This isn’t always a bad thing. This can help us learn from the mistakes we’ve made, and then improve. This video by Shot On Film, aka photographer Ari Jaaksi discusses this topic.
You can evaluate your own work objectively
It’s always a different experience to look at your own work. You’ll always feel differently when you look at your own work. We are looking at these images from an unique perspective, which no one else can understand.
Ari shows us some of his “bad” photos and explains why he dislikes them. He thought they were good at the time but can now look at them objectively, as he has become more detached by time.
I am going through it myself right now. I’m going through older photos to find some specific ones. These are shoots from 2008-2015. I haven’t looked at them for years.
It’s amazing how many images I missed the first time I saw them. Looking at some images brings back old memories. Looking back at the ones I chose in the past I wonder, “what was I thinking?”
You may later believe that you made a mistake, even if you didn’t make a mistake at the time you created the image. Our style and experience grow as we age, so do our old images.
You can also use it to see just how far you have come.
You can learn from your mistakes
It’s a widely held belief that you need to buy a new camera or lens if your pictures are not good enough. This is absurd. Since the dawn of photography, people have created amazing images with cameras that are not even close to today’s entry level mirrorless cameras.
You are most likely to be responsible for the problems you encounter if you are not satisfied with your images. We can improve our images by learning from our mistakes. Learn to embrace your mistakes and learn how to fix them so that they never happen again.
Knowing what you like and should continue doing is as important as finding out what you dislike. Understanding how your camera functions and the meaning of everything are also important.