The more you improve as a photographer, the harder it becomes to take photographs you’re happy with. This is an unfortunate paradox most creatives have to endure as they hone their craft, and the psychology can impede your progress if you don’t re-evaluate and manage your expectations along the way.
As this video from Adrien Sanguinetti discusses, the Dunning-Kruger effect partly explains the phenomenon of feeling less competent as your photographic skills improve. Essentially, the Dunning-Kruger effect describes a cognitive bias where people with limited competence overestimate their abilities.
As you start to make early progress, it’s easy to think you’ve cracked photography until you learn enough about composition, lighting, timing, etc. to understand how little you really know. Suddenly, the flaws jump out in every image you take, and you feel disproportionately small compared to the inflated ego you briefly enjoyed through no fault of your own.
The more you learn about photography, the more you realize there is still yet to learn. This can be overwhelming, but it’s a sign that you’re making progress as a photographer and still have room to improve. While it’s easier said than done, the trick is to keep your focus on the progress itself, so you can keep going out, shoot as often as possible, and continue improving.
How do you manage your own expectations as your photography improves and your perspective of what makes a successful image changes?
