Home Forums Am I a Fauxtog? Let's see if this ends in tears…….. Reply To: Let's see if this ends in tears……..

#4213
MBChamberlain
Participant

For crying out loud! This is not productive in the slightest. Getting riled up and losing your temper just doesn’t get anyone anywhere at this point.

Malula, I completely understand. You definitely didn’t hear what you thought you’d hear, and you didn’t like what I and others had to say. You are allowed to be upset and even to get a little angry at us. I again apologize for the harshness with which I had to approach you, but I’ve been teaching long enough to know that it is usually necessary to start the constructive criticism with the criticism. This is often the only way to break through a person’s perception of their own work so that you can start to construct. I know it’s painful, it was painful when I was dressed down for the first time by my mentor. I even feel like a jerk every time I do it, but I just have to keep reminding myself that it is all for the best. It also tells me if the person is teachable, and if not, I know not to waste my time. I have yet to meet a good photographer who did not view their own work as complete and utter garbage. I know all that I have said is hard to hear, but I can assure you that it is also true. It is my sincere hope that once you’ve had a little time to cool down, you will take it to heart, although it is unpleasant, that pain is a necessary step toward being a better photographer.

IFH, please learn to control your temper better. There is no reason to react in anger to anything anyone has said. Many of the people who post here looking for critique have never had an honest evaluation of their work before. It is easy to accept positive reinforcement, but the natural reaction to negative feedback is “and who do you think you are.” To react in anger to these situations cheapens you. If you react in anger, others will get angry in return, and that is counterproductive. The only person on this thread who has good reason to get angry is Kylie, you should expect it and you should expect her to lash out a little, and you reacting in anger will only make the situation work. Once a little time has passed, she will cool down and take things to heart, the shell of defensiveness will crumble and hopefully she will move on to better things in her photography. If it is our desire to help her, that should be our goal. Fueling the fire of anger in her will only temper her defensiveness and create an impenetrable shell that will not only make her immune to criticism in the future, it will wall her in and make it impossible for her to grow beyond it.

Stef, that is true to a point. Success as a photographer depends on two things, photographic skill and business savvy. It will forever be the case that those with savvy will surpass those of equal, and to the extent of that savvy, greater skill. However, business skill can only get one so far. Success attracts higher level clients, and higher level clients have higher standards. These standards can only be accounted for by photographic skill. So there is a ceiling for those who rely on their business skill to propel them upward. This is one of the great burdens for many photographers, they are artists and have little concern for the minutia of day to day business. This is one of the most common complaints I hear from other photographers, but I find it moot. Like most skills, business savvy is learnable, though it tends to run contrary to the artist’s natural tendencies. Or you can always go the route that I have taken, I have a guy who is great at business as a silent partner. I do the creative stuff, he handles the business stuff, and we both profit from it.