How To Avoid The Comparison Trap

Editing is one of those things that I’m constantly reevaluating in my photography journey.  Do these colors, tones, and shadows tell the story I’m trying to tell? Do they portray the mood I feel? And frankly, do I still like what I’ve been doing? Photography, thankfully, isn’t a one-size fit all art.  For every person that loves light and airy, there’s another that longs for dark and moody.  And, even better, we are allowed to change.  Yes, you heard me, if you don’t like what you are doing, you are totally and absolutely allowed to do something different.

Photography, I love you.

But here’s the funny thing I’ve noticed, some people are scared of the change.  Not because they won’t like it, but because maybe others won’t like it.  The fear of rejection by the world of the great unknown.  What a shame it would be to deny yourself, and the world, something you find so beautiful because you are nervous.  Be nervous of hungry bears, be nervous of F5 tornadoes, but do not be nervous to try something different when you edit your photos.

Last week, a friend of mine came to visit and we were talking about this very thing.  She told me she wanted to try a different kind of editing but she just wasn’t sure.  Then she said, “I’m worried that style of editing is just a phase and we will look back on it and think that it’s ridiculous.”  The comment made me laugh out loud.  Not in a mean way, of course, but at the idea of worrying about how we create art today because of what people will think in the future.  And she’s not alone in her thinking, she’s the third photographer that I’ve had conversations with that said something along the lines of “I love matte (or whatever style) editing but I’m worried people won’t like it in the future.”

And to them, and to you, I say, who cares?  I’m not one to study art much, but when I look at the work of Picasso, I just don’t get it.  Literally, I don't get it. But, if he were still alive, do you think he would even care if I got it or not?  Do you think when he painted he was worried about people like me in some future land? Absolutely not! He created because I assume, he liked what he was making.  He loved his art. His vision.  In his work I hear, “Do not let the ideas and opinions of others, often times not even true, influence how you create! Be you! Be weird!”

When I was in middle school, there was a big trend in the shopping malls of women getting Glamour Shots.  Confession: I always wanted to have them done, but alas, I never had my time to shine in purple sleeves and big hair(If you are giggling, we should be best friends).  Fast forward 20 years, I would never think about having photos like that taken and would never even think about taking them, but I still kind of wish I had the photo. Like bell bottoms, mullets, and poodle skirts, photographic styles have a season, and it’s okay to participate, even if they will eventually pass. 

Like our favorite toys as kids or the story told every year at Thanksgiving, don’t you think the best photos are more than how they are edited?  Plus, you never know when something is so amazing it’s going to stick around forever.

{all photos edited with tweaked Silver Lace from the Pretty FILM Bohemian Collection}