So I have a confession to make; I can’t post (or even show) a photo of mine without editing it. Even if it looks amazing when it’s unedited, and even when editing it makes it look a little bit worse. I don’t care if other people edit photos or not. In fact, most of the time I can’t tell if they’re edited or not.
This makes it extremely difficult for me to show my photos, as I have so many photos to edit and it’s really overwhelming.
I use Lightroom Classic to edit my photos, and even if the photos look absolutely fine when I use the auto-edit button, I need to change something about the photo, edit the shadows slider or add a bit of saturation to the red in the photo.
I think that part of the reason I’m like this is that I’ve heard through my life that photography is easy and it’s not ‘real art’ since you’re just pressing a button. Yes, photography is more than that and I don’t think that way about anyone else’s pictures, but I’m always my worst critic. I guess in a few ways, I also feel like a fraud, because photography is ‘easy’ for me, other than editing photos, which takes a while, and I feel like I always have to change something.
Along with this, I don’t consider photos taken on my phone as worthy to be posted or seen. It’s ridiculous, as my phone has a really good camera. It just feels like anyone could do it and it’s too easy.
A theme I’m seeing in this is feeling like anything I do has to be difficult in order to be nice and worth it. I am trying to work on it, and I also have a gallery for phone photos (check it out here).
I really want to share my photos, however, fear stops me from sharing them.
I am re-doing my website, and I know it’s not perfect. Please be patient while I implement the new style and design.
Do you feel this way about art, photography, or things having to be hard in order to be good? Let me know in the comments below! Do you have any tips for getting over the fears I’ve mentioned above? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Cheers,
Fiona
Fiona, we are all given gifts by our creator to develop and use. Photography is a gift of yours. I have thought that from the very beginning that you started posting your photos. Whoever has told you that photography isn’t art is wrong. My photos are bland and lifeless; I don’t have the gift of photography. Your photos are exciting and beautiful; you have the gift of photography. Plain and simple. I challenge you to try not editing and let your true gift show through your photos. “Mother Nature” provides the subject and you provide the knowledge to set up the photo in an artistic way. I know that you have been schooled in photo basics. Now you just need to trust yourself and let your gift shine out for others to see. It is a blessing to me to see your photography. Snap on.