I recently posted a photo on Reddit. At the time of writing this it’s received over 200 comments, most of them negative. From calling me stupid to sexist, this subreddit didn’t hold back when sharing what they thought about my work - and my character. But, in a world where everyone wants their opinion validated, should we always listen to critique?

Photography on Reddit

The post in question created quite the stir, with most of it pertaining to the caption. Alongside the image, I wrote “Church is over let’s all go sin”. The caption itself was tongue in cheek. I find the idea of us all leaving church and going to sin rather humorous. Clearly, most people didn’t feel the same way.

I don’t regret posting the caption because I know I did so without any bad intentions. When putting that forward, many people accused me of having an ego because I chose not to agree with their critique.

One Reddit user wrote…

“…dude posts here looking for validation, people say “no dude”, and said dude goes “but you don’t understand…your ego is so big the only feedback you want is the one agreeing with you?“

Personally, I find it ironic that people think I have an ego because I don’t put their opinion above my own. Here’s the thing. I welcome feedback. But, we must always remember that another person’s opinion isn’t gospel and it’s totally okay for us to trust our own intuition before we modify our work, especially on the basis of what others think.

Negative Feedback is Constant

As I wrote in Your Street Photography Sucks! So What? Even the greats in our game get constant feedback where people trash their work. If they listened to every comment and opinion they would not be where they are today.

That’s not to say I believe I am on a path to greatness. But, I’ve been doing this for so long that I trust who I am as an artist. I know some images I make will be great and others, mediocre and bad.

You get to a point where you have to put your opinion before most others. I say most, because I do believe, no matter how much experience you have, there are still people whose feedback is of value.

Take my former photography teacher as an example. If he was to point out a flaw in my work I would take it on board. That’s because I trust him and I know his motive would be to help make something better.

Most people online don’t want to help you. They want to beat you. Their opinion is what they want to enforce and most of them want to put you down when doing so. That’s the world we live in.

Some may question why I would post an image if I wasn’t going to listen to the feedback. Firstly, I don’t post often. When I do, it’s to share an image I personally like, or to get a bit of a conversation going. Those are my motives. Sometimes I do take online feedback on board, but for the most part I take it in my stride.

It’s Not All About Me

I appreciate this post is a little self-indulgent. I apologize for that. The reason I’m writing it is because I know a lot of readers are very active on social media. They will get constant feedback, sometimes the type they don’t enjoy receiving.

No doubt this can lead to self doubt, and perhaps push people into a creative rut. I don’t want that to happen.

With that I say take comments on social media lightly. Become numb to it. Instead, find your tribe, people you trust and value and listen to their feedback instead.

But above all, listen to yourself. There’s no right or wrong in the arts, nor is there good or bad. Art just is; people respond differently to the same creation. In theory, this makes all feedback meaningless.

Stick to your intentions, trust them and create in the way you see fit. Because at the end of this journey you’ll want a body of work you made - not one that others made for you.

What’s your take on feedback? How important is it for your development? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading.

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