Episode 87: Criticism: Don't Take it Personally

PhotoSpark

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Photo Cred: Your Face is Rad

Today we are chatting about everyone's FAVORITE topic.... criticism!! If you guys are anything like me, the thought of having someone criticize you (in any way!) makes you get a little nauseous! It's a huge weakness of mine, and something I've had to really work on over the years, because it's a normal part of life! And it's actually a GOOD part of life! Criticism helps us grow, both in our business & in our personal lives. It's what you do with the criticism that makes all the difference. So here are a few tips from us here at PhotoSpark about handling criticism!

Key Takeaways:

Accepting it is a muscle. That's a confusing sentence, but what we mean by this is it takes time to build up your brain to accept criticism in a healthy way. It's a cognitive process that you have to really work on over and over again to improve. It's very easy to take things personally, and it's a trained exercise to take it without getting your feelings hurt or challenging your self worth.
Learn to GIVE criticism properly. This is just as important as learning to receive criticism. In our industry, there are many areas where we can give others constructive (key word... constructive!) criticism, especially when dealing with assistants, editors, or second shooters. Everyone knows the old adage of giving a criticism sandwich (a compliment, followed by constructive criticism, followed up with another compliment). The more you are to be able to GIVE constructive criticism, the more likely you are to be able to take it as well.
If it seems over the top, give yourself a break. Oftentimes, when people are criticizing you about something, there are external factors at play as well. ESPECIALLY with photography. When you go above & beyond to try to fix the problem but nothing is working, let yourself off the hook a little. If you're pleased with the images, and they're technically on par with the rest of your work, chances are there's something the client is feeling self-conscious about that is affecting their opinion of their shoot. Maybe the client put on a few pounds this year, or they were in a fight with their spouse & can see it in the images, or their kids didn't have a good enough nap so they can tell they aren't as smiley as usual. There are so many things that go on behind the scenes... sometimes it isn't our fault!

We hope this episode came at a good time for you guys! We know with the year wrapping up, tensions can be a little high, so criticism can be extra painful. If you liked this episode, please subscribe to us on iTunes and leave us a positive review!!!

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