Gaining, and Keeping, Your Confidence

Written by: Tiffany Joyce

I’m betting I’m not the only photographer out there who thought they were pretty good, until they saw a photograph taken by someone else that just blew them away, and they thought, “I’ll never be as good as that.” Am I right? Show of hands. It happens to me all the time. And it can really shake your confidence in your growing skills as a photographer. Here are some thoughts on gaining, and keeping, your confidence.

1. Keep it all in perspective. How long have you been taking pictures? What kind of gear do you own? How much training have you had? Because rest assured, most of the blow-your-mind type photographers out there have a LOT backing them. Years of experience. Mentors that are professionals in the field. Top-of-the-line gear and access to studios. Extensive training and education and professional experience. Corporate funds, sponsorship, and/or marketing. So try to keep all of that in mind while you’re experimenting with your first DSLR and only have a kit lens.

2. You’re better than you think. We are all our own worst critics. I myself occasionally look at my own portfolio and think to myself, “BOOOORIIIING.” Or I look at a shot that I took and can only see how it could have been better, not how good it is now. But then I compare my skills today to the pictures I was taking five years ago, and I can see vast improvement. When I consider how much better I’ll be, five years from now, I gain encouragement. If you don’t trust your own judgement and opinion about your skills, ask a trusted friend – one who will tell you the truth. I’m betting you’ll be pleased with what you hear.

3. Take criticism constructively. Taking the above into consideration, say the trusted friend you asked actually told you something you didn’t want to hear. Ask them what they think could be improved. View your own work with a technical eye, and study up on whichever technique you realize is lacking. Post your photographs to bulletin boards, social networking sites, photo sharing sites, and photography forums. There are plenty of people out there who’d love to help you grow your skills. Photography is an art and a skill that only improves and grows with time. You will NEVER reach the pinnacle of skill and come to the point where there is nothing left to learn. There is ALWAYS something to learn. So take encouragement from the fact that, while you are learning, so is every single other photographer on the planet.

4. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As I said, photography is an art as much as it is a skill or a product. The types of photographs you like to take may not be one person’s cup of tea, but may completely impress another person. Don’t let one opinion derail your confidence – understand that different people have different views in what they find to be appealing in a photograph.

5. Practice. And practice some more. And practice some MORE. You can only learn by doing. If you take a hundred photographs and only end up with five that you consider “good”, keep going. Take a hundred more, and out of that you’ll have ten good shots. A hundred more, and you’ll have thirty good shots. And on. Some day soon you’ll find you’re keeping more shots than you’re rejecting.

6. Use every resource available to you to learn. Books from the library. Photography oriented websites (like this one, hi there!). Web-based tutorials. Seminars. Community college classes. Conversations with professionals and skilled hobbyists you may know (don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you feel it’s a “dumb” question – there is no such thing!). If you want to know about it, if you want to gain the skill you feel you lack, don’t just mourn the fact that the particular aspect in question didn’t come naturally or automatically to you. Go out there and pursue the knowledge you’re lacking. Find it! Make it your own! Don’t be daunted that there are a million subjects on photography, enjoy the process of attaining and using new skills. It’s supposed to be fun, after all!

7. Learn, and cement that skill, by teaching. Some of the best skills I have, my “go to” bag of tricks, are skills that I’ve taught to someone else. Even the process that I have here on Beyond Megapixels of teaching, writing about, explaining, and demonstrating photography techniques is a continual mechanism for my own education. Once you can demonstrate and explain a skill to someone else so that they understand it, you start gaining incredible amounts of confidence in your own abilities as a photographer.

I really hope that some of these tips are resonating with particular feelings you all may be experiencing, about the confidence you have in your own skills. We are all in this together, learning and growing and becoming better each and every day. Do you have a story of personal confidence-building? Do you have advice for us all, on how to gain and keep our confidence? We would love to hear it! Please share your story in the comments!

Photo Credits (in order of appearance):
- “Icelandic Waterfall” by ajagendorf25 on Flickr Creative Commons.
- “California wildflower watch 09″ by SimonSun08 on Flickr Creative Commons.
- “Impossible object” by Extra Noise on Flickr Creative Commons.

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