Do You Hate Your Own Photos?

No doubt, nearly all of us go through periods of hating our own work, even if we love the process of photography itself. What can you do during such times? This fantastic video essay discusses the topic of artistic anxiety and how to move past it and gain confidence in your work again. 

Coming to you from First Man Photography, this great video essay discusses the problem of artistic anxiety and what we can do about it. No doubt, many of us are victims of impostor syndrome, and it can be a really debilitating thing in a creative field. I believe it is always important to maintain a certain level of humbleness about one's own work and to always be willing to learn more and grow, but the truth is that one can easily confuse humbleness with being overly self-critical. This can quickly spiral into feeling that none of your work is worthwhile. I have certainly been there, leaving entire batches of images unedited, even un-culled, only to return to them even months or years later and realize there was a lot of unmined potential that I left to sit on my hard drive because I lacked the confidence in my skills to be more objective about the set. Check out the video above for the full rundown. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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I definitely hate some of my old works, which also inspires me, because it means I do better now.