Critiques and Creativity

One of the most valuable things I have found since my interest in photography was renewed has been the availability of the internet as an opportunity to display photographic work. And not only display it but to have that work reviewed by my peers. I believe the internet will be the single most important factor in making more photographers better photographers in the future. Never have we had the opportunity to have such a wide and diverse audience view our work. And of course with that wide and diverse audience comes a whole host of wide and diverse opinions about that work. Most of these opinions are usually received in some sort of ‘critique’ forum or atmosphere. The purpose of this discourse is to comment on this phenomenon. These forums can be used for a wide range of purposes and certainly can have a wide range of effects on both those doing the critiques and those receiving them.
Most critique forums are very diverse in both the photos posted and the individuals reviewing them. That can be both an advantage and a disadvantage depending upon the motivation of those doing the critiques and those posting images. In order to determine how that affects the photographer and his or her work I believe several things have to be taken into account.
First, the photographer who is trying to move his artistic work forward must have a very clear idea of what he or she is trying to accomplish. Certainly there is a danger if the photographer desires simply to please the masses as a whole because the diversity of the viewing audience will make that impossible. If the photographer is trying to reach a certain segment of his viewing public then the problem becomes how to reach those individuals, carve them out of the masses, and identify them as the viewers he intends to reach. Without a definite direction or purpose to the work the artist’s chances of success are slim to none. He or she will constantly be trying to please others, and anyone with that artistic goal in mind is doomed in his or her attempts to move the work forward. Don’t misunderstand me…there is a certain amount of good old-fashioned ego involved when an image is greeted with praise. But what about when the opposite is true? If the purpose of the work is to please everyone then not only can the image be brought into doubt but so can the ability of the photographer. If our purpose is to grow into a more creative person by improving the craft of what we do (for our own purposes) then negative feedback is simply a learning tool to help us move forward. We become disconnected from the failure of our work …no longer does that mean our failure as a person or artist. This in effect allows us the freedom to move forward by continuing the work we have chosen.
Second, the reviewer must be willing to step forward and be honest in his or her critique. The reviewer must also try to maintain some basic understanding of where the work is going (or attempting to go)…certainly not always an easy task. Some critiques are wholly technical in nature, often referring to ‘rules’ that are supposed to guide exposure, manipulation of images, composition, and so on. Some reviewers cling to these rules as if they were the ‘Ten Commandments of Photography’. Others seem to take a more personal approach, often describing the more personal feelings a photograph evokes. But in both cases many times there seems to be a fear of being totally honest. Certainly as a learning photographer I can understand not wanting to have my ego crushed. At the same time without a certain frankness growth is not going to take place. When a photograph is out of focus it IS out of focus. When a tree is growing out of a subject’s head it is usually not an opportunity for the photographer to impress the viewer. My experience is that often low-level or beginning work is not commented on at all, probably out of fear of hurting someone’s feelings (someone who perhaps will be critiquing our own work later!). I think this is a mistake. The reviewer is not being honest and the artist is being punished unfairly as a result.
How many times have you had to listen to someone sing who thought they could (when they obviously couldn’t!)…and thought to yourself “someone should be kind enough to tell them”! How can a person grow in their work without honest feedback? I think it’s impossible to do so. But I do think that honest feedback can be given (and must be given) in a supportive way. Most of us are afraid by our very nature to ‘stick our necks out’…but sometimes that can be the best way to help another person move forward. Not doing so is unfair and hurtful in a totally unnecessary way.
So….I would say our task as artists is to define our own purpose and work toward that goal using the critiques of others…when they are relevant…as a tool for doing so. Our task as reviewers of another’s work is to try to ascertain where the work is going and to review it both technically and personally in an honest and supportive way. Not doing the first will slow our growth. Not doing the second will slow another’s growth. In both cases fear robs us all of the ability to move forward and the advantage of the internet as a learning situation will be lessened.