 |
| Dean Reid Photography |
As photographers where do you look for inspiration…Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or some other social photo sharing platform? I
pose this question because I have been noticing that several photographers
leverage one or several of the platforms mentioned above. However, are you
looking for inspiration to fuel your creativity or are you looking for
inspiration of approval that you are doing a good job?
If you answered yes to either are you getting what you’re
looking for? Social photo sharing platforms can be a cruel environment and at
times can make one doubt their photography efforts. Granted platforms like
Facebook have several friendly photography groups with rules that state that
you should offer constructive critiques only when the person posted the photo
asks for constructive critiques. Some
may think this is the safe route to take when posting your photos and others
will have a difference of option regarding these types of groups.
I think the only way to truly grow as a photographer that
posts their work on any type of social photo sharing platform is to toughen up
and take the good with the bad. Knowing
that everyone has an option and your work will not appeal to everyone that
views your work. You can either do two
things: evaluate what was pointed out or simply ignore and delete the comment.
Now, if you’re posting just to get likes from everyone that views your work and
always say something positive at some point you will realize that you are not
growing as a photographer. Why you might ask…wait for it….because nobody is
being honest with you so you end up having this false positive about your work.
So, I challenge you to get away from those so called safe groups and get some
thick skin and critically evaluate what others have to say about your work
(disclaimer: this can be painful) after all I know you are not posting your
work just for the social thumbs up…or are you?
