Accepting Criticism Is a Personal Quality That You Must Have for Creating Impactful Photos

This fine art photograph of waves on water is part of the collection 'Parallel Worlds'.

Be Humorous

An artist photographer should never take himself seriously. This is one of the greatest lessons I have learned since I embraced the art photography profession. Being serious in every situation disconnects an individual from reality, and it creates useless negative stress. Being taken seriously also presents a bad image to the general community, as it is unrealistic to present oneself seriously every single minute in the day.

Taking a step back from one's artistic or commercial activity, that is, through humor, helps one to relativize life and creativity. Humor helps to find solutions to complex problems that seem impossible to solve.

Artistic creation is a true challenge because it is necessary to constantly find innovative ideas and renew one’s perspective. As an art photographer, one must always make works that stand out from the crowds of others. This state of permanent imbalance of having to “be different” consumes huge quantities of energy. When a problem arises, perhaps occurring more often than one would like, it must be managed efficiently. While the process of searching is important, it is equally important, if not more so, to reach a solution. Taking a step back through humor is a true asset for an artist photographer to wield.

Never take yourself seriously. This is one of the secrets to succeeding in an artistic career. It's a quality to continually work towards.

Always Remain Positive

To be positive regardless of circumstance is also a major quality for an artist photographer to possess.

Creating artistic photographs is an activity that resembles a roller coaster ride. The ups and downs of successes and failures hurl forward constantly, never stopping. One must possess a great strength of character to persevere through the craziness. Being positive is a tremendous asset. Possessing this state of mind enables one to easily overcome issues.

Being positive is a communicative attitude. When I are positive, I am happy. Interacting with others causes this joy to spread.

I have found that success in my artistic photographic activity has always been linked to a positive attitude. When I talk about success, I am referring to long-term success built upon strong foundations. Evil certainly allows some artists to create works that may be interesting but are often short-lived.

To be positive in all activities provides satisfaction on a personal level. Success and artistic recognition are only consequences of these emotions.

Accepting Criticism Openly

Creating photographic and artistic works can convey messages and express emotions or feelings. It is a personal lifestyle choice involving the desire to show my deep nature and my soul. Artists tend to think that they are always right and that others are wrong. I am a part of this group of people.

An artistic photographer often tends to live in his bubble away from others. He builds a universe that is his own which he can hide from the eyes of others. This is normal behavior, and I think that this is one of the conditions for success in this activity.

Yet, it is necessary and crucial for the photographer to be open to criticism and comments. Criticism, whether negative or positive, open the door to progress, especially when such criticisms are relative and supported with solid arguments. I must always listen to criticisms and comments so that I might analyze the position and perhaps apply it my work. An artistic photographer never takes his work at face value, in fact, he is constantly searching deeper to better refine its quality.

The first thing I ask myself when I listen to someone talking about my work is whether they express an opinion or a fact. An opinion is usually personal, as it directly engages only the one who is presenting it. It is unverifiable because it reflects a sensitivity, a bias towards one perspective. An opinion expresses an idea that cannot be proven.

A fact is verifiable. It can be proved. A fact is external to the one who expresses it. It is not the result of an emotion or a personal belief. It can be tested for relevancy.

An artist must always sort through opinions and facts when he receives criticisms concerning his artistic approach. He should never compromise on his artistic approach, his ethics, his values, his emotions, and the messages he wants to convey.

However, he may question the way he showcases his work. This is technical.

Let's take a concrete example. Suppose an artistic photographer wishes to highlight emotions with the use of contrast. If he receives criticism involving facts about his management of contrasts, he should listen to the advice and perhaps alter his method.

On the other hand, if he receives criticism based on emotions that he is trying to portray to the viewer, this is viewed as an opinion as it is personal. He should listen, but he has every right to ignore it because it engages only the speaker of the opinion and not necessarily the subject of such opinions.

Comments and criticism are essential in the artistic construction of a person. They allow photographers to improve artistic technique, reinforce vision and present his works. He must sort through what he hears without taking such criticisms personally. The photographer must remain positive.

The Purpose of Perfection

Perfection is not the goal of a project. The purpose of artistic photography is to create works of art that will be shared with an audience. If an artist chooses perfection as a goal, he will never show his works to an audience, because they will never be ready. Indeed, perfection is an unrealistic goal that cannot be achieved. All works are essentially perfectible.

An artist will always find a point to correct, change or improve in his works. It is a fact. I am the first conscious of it. I created photos many years ago. Now that I have made progress, I tell myself that I should change them. It would be an unforgivable mistake because this return to the past would prevent me from moving forward.

The search for perfection is above all to learn and progress to avoid reproducing errors. In any case, the search for perfection is to take back works already created.

An artist can always perform better. To be a perfectionist is not to seek immediate perfection, but to reach towards it as best as one can with all the tools at one's disposal and to avoid repeating mistakes of the past. Perfection is a long-term goal.

Finally

The creation of artistic photographic works requires many personal qualities that an artist can learn to develop, maintain, and improve. The qualities of listening and perseverance are certainly the most important. I think that it is necessary to continually question oneself considering the opinions and facts of others’ feedback. Nevertheless, one must carefully consider whether that criticism should change a detail within the work, as my work should be shaped, but not motivated solely by others. Thus, my choices, my perfection, and my ethics should be my own.

Be humble, patient, constant, persevering, and persistent because the road to excellence is long.

Personal Qualities You Should have For Creating Interesting and Powerful Photos

Over the many years of experience in creating art photographs, I have come to understand that those who like my approach and purchase my works often share the same moral and ethical values as me. My success is not only due to a good technical mastery but also to the fact that I have developed and reinforced many personal qualities. Being able to translate those morals and ethical values into my work for my viewers is the real strength of my artistic approach.

This article will help you understand how to implement a new tool in your photography toolbox. By implementing it, you will make your photos even more interesting and instill in them true meaning.

The rut of the deer in Charente-Maritime is an exceptional moment in our life as photographers. It's a moment of intense introspection.

The rut of the deer in Charente-Maritime is an exceptional moment in my life as photographers. It's a moment of intense introspection.

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Understanding What You Want to Do

For an artistic photographer who wants to create an interesting and distinctive work, the first personal quality that he or she must accomplish is to perfectly clear his mind. He must give a precise meaning to his artistic approach and why he chose it.

To create interesting photos, a photographer must define his artistic sense within his approach. This sense, which I refer to as vision, will guide him as he creates collections.

Vision is the common point of all his creations; it is an essential personal quality. A photographer must always discern which direction he wants to consistently travel towards. If the direction is accurate and well-constructed, then the photographer will find the creating process to be smoother when making art for individuals who will define the photographer's community of followers.

Reflecting Humility

A photographer can always strive to perform better, but someone will always excel more in a certain area. It is for this reason that I must constantly pay attention to my technical and artistic abilities, seeking out room for growth.

You should never hesitate to seek advice from other people, whether they are artists or not. Criticisms and comments open the door to progress. I exist alongside others, and I can only define myself in relation to other people and their influences. A photographer who does not show humility and who chooses to live in his own private bubble will quickly place limitations upon himself.

Listening

I believe that I must always listen to the world around me. The sounds that emerge from this incessant swarming is a real source for improving creativity.

Empathy for a photographer is a very important quality. Indeed, when a photographer wants to create works it is not only because he has a message to transmit or emotions to show.

But he must consider his audience and his community. If his works are badly perceived and do not receive good reception, the artist will quickly become discouraged and lose the motivation to continue creating. An artist photographer must know how to explain, to present his works of art. For this he must understand the motivations of his audience.

Being able to listen helps to create works that will interest other people, encouraging motivation and optimism, among other things.

Perseverance

I have learned many things from my time spent in the United States, but most importantly, I have learned that achieving an idea can take a long time. An artist will sow his seeds through his artistic works for days—months—years before the harvest season arises. It is slow, but the harvest is inevitable. One must simply wait.

Generally, an artistic work must encounter its audience intimately. With luck, this connection can be established quickly, perhaps immediate. However, this situation is rare.

Often, you may bet on this connection being established later rather than sooner. Building a complete artistic work takes time. First, you define your audience. Second, you propose creations in accordance with the people who appreciate a specific artistic approach. An artist photographer must be patient and perseverant.

I have met excellent photographers who create quality works, and yet they believe that their talent is underappreciated. Although this was certainly true, the only ingredient that they were lacking was maturity. With time, a photographer in this situation will become acknowledge for their special talents. Unfortunately, I have seen photographers abandon those works which they love, and thus, they let themselves be caught up by the flow of the masses of other photographers in their field. If someone does not believe in patiently waiting for the harvest season, then he or she is no persevering.

Be not Afraid of Imbalance

When I create artistic works, my ideas bubble up to the surface in my mind. I experience a steady stream of words and photos that come to mind. Often in an intense creative phase, my priorities dramatically change. I suddenly think that what is new is more important, and then my mind is turned upside down. In these moments, change is good. I must not be afraid of the temporary imbalance I have created.

I think this imbalance is an asset. Indeed, this change of state takes me out of my comfort zone and forces me to perceive things from a different perspective.

This imbalance is merely a phase that arises during a period of creativity. Imbalance nourishes my future creations. It is important for me to know how to take a step back, analyze facts, structure the results, and add them to existing foundations.

The trick I use in this creative phase is to write on paper as if I was keeping a journal. It is an old recipe that is always wonderful and has proven herself worthy of repetition. I have learned that recording ideas with a digital medium is not as practical as paper. When writing on a computer or tablet, I tend to archive the texts and then forget them.

When I translate my ideas to paper, I practice efficiency more often, because I must physically organize and structure my thoughts better. I have found that my ideas become clearer, and the accuracy of my thoughts improves.

Integrity

When I talk about integrity, I am not only referring to my integrity with my customers, which is obvious since I owe them my finest customer service and highest quality imaginable for my art prints.

When I discuss integrity, I am also relating to my own personal integrity. The integrity work towards in my own lives is reflected through my interactions with customers. It is an equal circle of integrity between me and the customer.

First and foremost, an artist photographer must be honest with himself. He must respect his artistic approach.

A lack of integrity results in a very large expenditure of energy that becomes totally useless. Indeed, to build a universe that is false and not tied to an artist’s true personality requires an immense imagination. Nevertheless, it is not effective realistically speaking. For me as photographer, it is better to build a reputation upon real values, to channel my energy into building reliable foundations in both my personal and professional lives.