How to Quiet Your Inner Critic

When I first started out in photography, I was so hard on myself. I found that I was talking myself down much more than I was hyping myself up. I found myself thinking the worst and doubting my work, but the times that I nailed a shot that filled my heart with so much pride, that was enough to keep me going. Although, I learnt more and felt I improved, the negative talk and the doubts always found a way to creep back in. This feeling is the worst so I wanted to write this blog to share some tips that have helped me quiet my inner critic, or at least silence it a little.

Photography Communities

One of the biggest takeaways from joining photography communities is that you find that you’re not alone with these feelings and you will find it’s quite common. There will always be photographers out there that you think are better, have higher engagement on their posts, and are more creative. But you will find that even the photographers you admire also have their doubts at times.

I remember chatting with a photographer who had just won an award for their photography and they told me that they feel nervous at sessions, have doubts about their work and wish they did something different with an image. I felt relieved to hear this, I needed to understand that even the people I admire that are being credited for their work also have their doubts at times. The only difference between us was they were pushing forward with their feelings and not letting it stop them creating and sharing. Another great thing about photography communities is that you will find people like you, people who you relate to, people who will learn with you, celebrate your success with. What’s not to love.

Be Kind to Yourself

I would find myself comparing my work to others, and wondering why I wasn’t as good. When I did this it always led to me feeling really demotivated to create and I always came back to the same question, who am I creating for? It’s an important question to ask ourselves. I always came back to the answer that I create for ME. So why did I find myself comparing my work, why did I care? I reminded myself that there would always be work out there better than my own. Therefore, I had to stop the comparison game and concentrate on my own growth.

Ask yourself, who are you creating for, write it down and then let go and create, and then compare your work to your own, be invested in your own growth. If photography is your job and you answered that you create for clients, then that’s great too, but go deeper and ask why you push yourself to create a shot that once you see gets you so excited and so proud of what you did…..that felt good, right? That feeling far outweighs any feeling of comparing your work to others.

Check Out The Photo Narrative: Speaking the Language of a Storyteller

It is totally fine to be inspired by others but when their work makes you feel less worthy you need to shut that down. I find muting accounts and being in control of what I see helps. Allow yourself to take a break from accounts that have went from inspiring to you feeling any negative thought about your work. Be kind to yourself, photography is not a race, remind yourself why you picked up a camera.

Another great tip is to look back at your old images and pick one, study the image and then write down two aspects that you would change and then create a new image using this as inspiration, this can also be a great confidence boost which you can keep going with and start a project. I take a simple portrait of my daughter at the same place every year and I love looking back and seeing how I have changed as an artist.

 

 

 

Want to learn more about natural light? Check out Natural Light for Storytellers!

Stop Trying to Find Your Voice

For me, the saying “ finding my voice” set me back, I felt stuck and found myself frustrated. What if I don’t find my voice? I worried so much about it. If you relate to this, please please…stop looking..stop searching..and stop worrying about it. You are your voice, when you take that image and you love it…that’s your voice! Its not to be found..its you, and your images will change, your perceptions will change, and again this is you, this is your voice! We are always evolving, always learning, so embrace and enjoy your growth and your journey. When I let go of this pressure to find my voice I continued to learn, took images that I loved and joined challenges to push my creativity. We need to start giving ourselves credit for where we are in our journey and to be proud of what we’ve done so far.

I hope you have found these tips helpful, and I want to leave you with some questions to think about. Why do you have these doubts? Why do you care? I personally believe its because we found our passion, we care when we are passionate. So when that negative talk and the doubts show up again just remember your growth, your passion to learn and create, look back at all the positive comments you’ve had about your work, be proud of what you have done and then go create some more.

Want to learn more about Macro Photography? Check out “Magic of Macro“!

 

For More Inspiration from Jaime, follow her on Instagram!