-my pictures need someone else to like them besides me and therefore I have to frame/expose/etc in a technically proper way
-i take too many pics of my child therefore i should force myself to take pictures of other things
-it's unlikely i will ever be good at this in a way that other people appreciate therefore i should stop taking pictures of anything
-if i say i like photography people will expect something from my pictures so i should keep my hobby to myself
those are a lot of limiting beliefs but not stylistic limitations/rules... let me think about that a little bit more.
9 comments:
I think you have really moved into the heart of the matter about rules and expectations. While these may not be technical or stylistic rules, I think these are the types of mental restrictions that we put upon ourselves that make our work "less". They keep us from making our art, our way - instead we try to please the unknown "others". Lots of things to think about here.
Confidence in our own judgement and our own ability to create 'art' has so many barriers. Ideas that we think we need to please others and that we just aren't good at it are sometimes hard to get rid of. I suppose recognising them as rules that need to be broken is the first step.
So many of your thoughts would echo mine!! There are a lot of self-made rules that I follow and need to acknowledge and break.
You got this assignment bang on - we want to eliminate those limiting beliefs that keep us from enjoying the art of photography, even more than the stylistic rules. This is our art, it should be something we love. The nebulous "everyone" out there doesn't matter. Keep looking at these kinds of rules and letting them go, where you choose to.
Dear "Nebulous Everyone":
You can stuff it!!
Thanks, Kat, and everyone, for your supportive comments. Obviously you are not the nebulous everyone (NE) whose critical voices are hard to shut off!
Hi JJ, I love these, they cut straight to the chase and I think all of these apply to me too. I love Kat's comment "this is our art, it should be something we love". It really is (or should be) about WE want to do as individuals - your're so right, stuff the "nebulous everyone"! Becsx
And the name I have for my personal "NE" is The Committee. They all chime in at various times and try to tell me lies about what I create. Very hard to dismiss them sometimes.
Thank you for sharing these heartfelt rules/limitations. You give us courage to face the same thing in ourselves.
Keep taking those photos!!!!
Thanks for saying out loud some of the things that go 'round in my own head. Verbalized this way makes them seem even sillier than when I think them. We really do unnecessarily limit ourselves sometimes, don't we?
The Committee! The Peanut Gallery! The Nebulous Everyone! So sad that we all have one.
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