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You make a very good point Michael. The
best advice I was ever given when offering my work up for a critique was “to
leave my ego at the door”. Frankly, even if I did feel a little “injured”,
it did toughen me up; and more importantly, inspired me to become a better photographer.
I think now I’m tougher on myself than any critique or opinion that could
be given by another. Paul From: owner- One thing
not stated is the very curious phenomenon of ego and its relationship to
experience:
You will
find this behavior in all the arts. Movies are the classic example: hundreds of
interviews of movie directors and actors over the years have been asked the
same thing over and over again: "Did you know you were working on a
blockbuster?" And the inevitable answer is "no -- we hadn't a
clue". This always amazes me! You simply can't tell if the public is going
to like you work or not. Seasoned pros realize that much of their work will be
consider "stinkers". No matter, they go on to the next project. In
the end, you should produce art for yourself and nobody else. If success comes,
then it is all that more sweeter. As such,
I find that generally pros take criticism better than newbies (at least the
mature ones do!). There is no getting around it. It is something you need to
"learn" and only experience with criticism will temper it. The lesson
is clear: ask for criticism! The more you get, the tougher you'll get (and the
sooner you'll get over caring about it). J Michael Sullivan MAGNAchrom -- The Alternative Journal of Medium and Large Format
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