Tip #7: Did I fail or am I simply not there yet
When you share a photograph, it is easy to feel like a failure, if not enough people like your work. It is equally as easy to feel validated in your prowess in creating great imagery, if people praise you for your work. But why do we think of a photograph not getting enough likes as a failure. Wouldn’t it make more sense to think of it as “not there yet”?
As photographers we evolve over time. Nobody starts out as an expert, and each time we fail, it is an opportunity to learn. Being “not there yet” is not the same as failing, and NO photographer is “there”, wherever that may be.
It’s like learning to walk when we were babies. We attempt to take stand up, we let go and we fall. We try again and fall. We learn to stand up in balance without falling. We take a step and fall again. We try again and again and fall. We get to take more steps before we fall, but we still fall. Eventually we learn how to manage balance, and we walk without falling, even though it is not steady, we do manage to walk. Steadiness comes later.
Falling is not failing! It’s the process we go through to learn to walk. Not getting a ton of like on a photograph is not failing, not winning a photo competition is not failing… it is simply saying we are “not there yet”.
Don’t be discouraged by the lack of likes. Keep creating and sharing, and accept that you are learning, and simply “not there yet”. You may be falling short of your own expectations, dreams and aspirations… but falling is not failing, it is simply telling you, that you are “not there yet”.
A reflection of Nyhavn, photographed with the camera upside down
Continue reading this article go to In conclusion, specifically with respect to our Worldwide Photowalk…, or go back to the introduction.