DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Stop asking others for opinion, it doesn’t help your photography

Aug 13, 2018 by Dunja Djudjic 6 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

If you post your photos on social media and critique groups asking for opinions: well, you should stop doing that if you want to improve. This is what Joe Edelman argues in his latest video, so let’s see how the opinion of others can slow your progress down instead of improving it.

Joe made a social experiment: he took two glamour headshots and posted them along with the BTS photos to 32 different Facebook groups. All of the groups are dedicated to portrait and fashion photography, as well as to mirrorless cameras, MFT and Olympus. He also posted the images to his Facebook pages, both business and personal, and in his own Togchat LIVE Facebook group. And he shared all this with two simple questions: which one do you prefer and why?

If he’d been to choose the photo for his portfolio based on other people’s opinions, he would have had a hard time. Over 1,000 comments were posted, and the result was roughly 50/50. Those who liked the first image complimented the model’s expression and the symmetry in the photo, and they disliked the messy hair in the second shot. In the group who liked the second photo, people liked the leading lines, and also the model’s expression. They disliked the first photo because of the model’s expression (which the first group liked). Additionally, the majority of people complimented the beautiful model. And what all this left Joe with?

Well, other than great engagement in his posts and a few new followers, he didn’t get much. Both groups had good arguments pro and con both images. Objectively speaking, both photos are good – it’s just a matter of taste. And since other people’s taste may not be the same as yours, their opinions may not be helpful for your future progress. What’s more, they can even hinder it because other people’s opinions can influence your future decisions and make you doubt your creative instincts.

Personally, I think that you sometimes should ask for an opinion after all. I believe that the community feedback is especially important for new photographers, as they can get precious advice and some tips and tricks from their more experienced colleagues. If you’ve already been into photography for a long time, then I also believe it’s better to rely on your vision and creative instincts.

[STOP Asking For OPINIONS! They DON’T help your photography! | Joe Edelman]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Rant: Stop asking dumb questions – that’s not what photography’s about Photographers, this is why you should stop comparing yourself to others 4 Questions Amateur Photographers Need to Stop Asking – And What They SHOULD Ask Instead Dear wedding couples – Stop asking friends to shoot your wedding just because they have a nice camera

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Joe Edelman, opinion, photographers

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« The Power Junkie is a “Swiss army knife” for Sony L series NP-F batteries
Two families got in a fight in Rome over the perfect place for a selfie »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • Nikon announces Zf shortage (Surprise!)
  • Finally! Sennheiser EW-DP SKP plug-on transmitter offers 32-bit float recording
  • Photographing an abandoned Italian villa: A time capsule of history and mystery
  • The Tascam DR-10L Pro is an unclippable 32-bit float personal audio recorder
  • This year’s Nature TTL POTY winner puts global warming right in our faces

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy