Sitting in the dentist’s chair this morning while having my teeth cleaned, the TV mounted for my enjoyment was showing a slideshow of photos taken by the dentist. Welcoming the fact that a dental cleaning actually gives you an excuse not to make small talk, I instead critiqued the photos.
Beautiful locations stretching from Canada to Mexico, but my eyes zeroed in on the midday lighting in most of them. No filter or editing to tame the highlights, haze in the background of several mountain photos, photos with no clear subject. I could go on and on.
Until I kicked myself—mentally, of course. The dental hygienist had no clue of my hypocrisy. I kept my mouth—well—open, but my mumbling stayed quiet inside my head. I’ve been reading and watching too much photography advice and spending not enough time behind the camera. The best photo is the one you take, and here this dentist was sharing the sights he saw, while I sat in judgment of him.
In the last week, I’ve read and watched photographers telling me not to do this, to do this, or to ignore that advice. It’s enough to make someone scared to pick up a camera. What if someone looks at my photos and criticizes me for not following the rules? Rules that are both fixed and ever-changing (hello, solar flares).
You know—kind of like what I did this morning to my perfectly nice dentist.
It bothers me even more now because what if I’m wrong? I may not like the composition, choice of shutter speed, or the lighting, but even if I were a professional (see first post), photography is art, and art is subjective.
The more photographers’ work I examine in books, online, and in person, the more I’ve narrowed my taste. I long ago discovered that HDR photos, though gorgeous, can start to blend together. I prefer underexposure to overexposure, and minimalist photography can bore me. Years ago, a major newspaper published the results of a major photography contest. The winning photo was taken outside of a square window, the frame painted red, in a blue wall, the interior unviewable—if my aged brain remembers correctly. I read the reasoning printed below the photo, and to this day I don’t understand it. Shapes and lines in photography interest me, and I challenge myself to capture those, but that photo and similar ones? Not appealing. Based on a quick Google search, I may be in the minority there, but I’m not judging a contest. I’m looking at art and evaluating what appeals to me.
So I may sit in a dentist’s chair and look at photos that I find flaws with, but someone else looks at those photos and goes, “Wow, I wish I could take something like that.” That’s fine. I cannot pretend perfection in my own photos, in fact I prefer imperfection for realism, and other people prefer the perfectly exposed and composed photo. Even if it’s of a window with darken interior in a boring wall.
Critique photos to figure out what you like by all means, learn from what other photographers have tried and succeed or failed, but save your heaviest critiques for your own works. Also, learn the difference between critique and criticism. Constructive criticism and criticism as well. Return to this blog for more homework next week (kidding).
