Being overcritical of yourself can seriously hold you back in your photographic career. If you listen to those seeds of doubt too much you could end up crippling yourself to a point where you no longer feel able to create work or know what your next move should be. Let's see how three photographers manage to cope with an extreme version of that inner critic while on a photoshoot.
Canon Australia has created another fascinating episode in their series from The Lab, a collection of short experiments designed to shift creative thinking behind the lens. In this particular installment, we see how three photographers are given a short space of time to photograph two dancers in any way they wish. The major difference is that the participants had to wear ear pieces which were linked to the voice of someone constantly criticizing everything they did. This amplified version of their own inner critic is a great way to illustrate what it can be like to battle with those negative thoughts. It's interesting to see how each of the photographers fare under the extreme pressure of the situation. It becomes quickly apparent that some people can just deal with it better than others.
The inner critic can be an important tool which we can use to our advantage and help drive us forward creatively. I feel the real skill is the ability to be able to turn the volume of this voice down to a manageable level where it doesn't get in the way. After all, too much of anything is bad for you.
I'd love to hear how you think you would fare under those same extreme conditions of the experiment.
