Just like the pain after exercising, when you have a photography workout, you’ll hurt afterwards. Don’t worry that’s a sign you’re growing.
I’ve recently started working out and exercising a bit. Nothing much, just simple body weight exercises from an app called Fitstar which you can do at home, but it’s much more than I was before (zero). Some day’s the training is lighter and very easy, other days I wake up the next morning feeling sore all over and need to take some time to recover properly. But the net effect has been that I’ve bulked up a bit and put on some good weight (not fat).
Photo critiques are a bit like those tougher work outs.
Photographic working out
I recently got a photo critique from someone I don’t know too well but who knows a thing or too about photography. They went over so many different aspects of photography which I hadn’t considered in my photos. Elements of composition, little things here and there which I had missed and in some cases just dismissing photos completely.
I’ll be honest, it was a tough workout. Afterwards I felt a bit sore over some of the images. Photos which I thought were really great (some of my best) had been torn apart. It was like my tender muscles after a work out. The thing is, that is the best opportunity for growth.
Growth hurts
When you push yourself harder in working out your muscles will actually tear apart and leave gaps. That is where new muscles can form, leading to more muscles. If you don’t tear the muscles a bit, they won’t grow. It hurts, but it leads to growth. If you aren’t hurting a bit, then you probably aren’t stretching yourself enough and you won’t see as much growth.
Photo critiques are the same. If you get pleasantries and niceties then you might make a bit of progress but when you have a real tough workout that pushes and challenges you, and hurts, you can grow more.
In “Show your work” [US Amazon link] [UK Amazon link] Austin Kleon compares (good) critiques to being punched (yes, that’s what the good ones are like) as he points out, when you show your work, some people are going to try to give you a good punch. and he has some advice for taking punches well.
- Relax and breathe (chill, it’s not the end of the world)
- Strengthen your neck (get used to it, the best way to learn is to take more “punches”)
- Roll with the punches (you can’t control them, but you can control your reaction. Maybe exaggerate the thing they hate so they’ll hate it even more)
- Protect your vulnerable areas (if it’s too sensitive, don’t show it. But be careful of not showing your best work)
- Keep your balance (remember why you do it, focus on those closest to you.)
I think they’re pretty good tips especially when it is followed up with his tips on trolls (a person who isn’t interested in improving your work, only provoking you).
Remember, you are not your work.
Are you pushing yourself photographically so it hurts? How?
The post What My New Fitness Routine Taught Me about Photo Critiques appeared first on Chris J Wilson.
