This is a natural feeling for any creator/artist. To always feel like your work is not good enough. It’s normal. Stop trying to get the absolute best look and quality. Focus (no pun intended) on creativity. This is why most of us started photography. This is what we enjoy doing. Try things out. Even things you don’t like. Capture images in different ways than what everyone else does. There are no rules. There are no standards. Experiment. There is no perfect shot. Use motion blur, noise, presets, lens filters, colour palets, shapes, reflections, inspiration and anything else to create art. Listen to music you like and visualize scenes, subjects, angles,…

I took more than 10k over the last 3 weeks and I only liked about 10. I’m pretty happy. Try to enjoy it more and care less about the results

I took over 1 million photos last year. I like a handful. I still love photographing.

I’ve been photographing around a year too, I like some of my photos but I’d not consider any of them good in comparison to people who have been photographers for years.

They’re good enough for me for the first year, and I enjoy the act of taking the photo.

A photographer I follow says that one photo a month worthy of going in his portfolio is a normal aim, and he’s been going far longer and does it as a full time job.

You need inspiration. Look at photographers you like, look at there themes and see what resonates with you the most. Don’t be afraid to copy certain things about them to create your own style.

Eventually over time you’ll start getting good at it. It took me years of frustration to finally pinpoint what I can do. I finally found it. Rather than limit myself with a specific theme or way of shooting, I take every photoshoot as its own unique style, and then post it on my instagram in sets of 3. If there’s more than one set, that means the shoot was awesome.

You got this tho.

1 Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. You aren’t them. They aren’t you. If you’re doing photography to copy someone else then what’s the point?

2 compare yourself to yourself, go back and look at your first few hundred shots and you’ll feel way better about yourself. I routinely scroll through photos that are a decade old and think “WTF was I doing with this shot/edit” and will sometimes touch stuff up for fun to see how far I’ve come/how much my style has progressed.

Keep at it, the more you do the better you get, having a plan can really help me when I’m in a ‘there’s nothing to shoot’ mood. Literally just got in the truck and drove hours to a mountain last weekend just to shoot leaves. Break the cycle. See you after your next 10k photos!

Look at the photos you think are good, identify SPECIFIC characteristics that you like. Learn to look for those characteristics and keep taking pictures of them. Look at photos you don’t like and note SPECIFIC things you don’t like and come up with a way to avoid those things. Don’t expect too many of your photos to be good. Most of them won’t be. I tend to be more selective of what I take pictures of almost as if I was using film.

When I go out I hope to get 1 or 2 good pics, and half the time I don’t even get that. Learn to enjoy the process not just the outcome. If you don’t get any good pics one day, so what, you went on a fun hike/walk still, and you have some photos that will help you identify things you don’t like and help you learn.

I’m not in a good position to say what to do as I began photography quite recently. But first things first, your photos are really nice !

If I can give you an advice as I was in the drawing before and feel that way, maybe you have to take some times off to clear your brain.

Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.

Ansel Adams

This doesn’t change as you get better or more experienced or you take more photos. Your standards also go up and you become pickier and pickier.

I can take over 10k photos over the course of 3 nights. Don’t think that photos taken = good photos.

Spend more time looking at photos of the same niche you take and identify what about them you like. Is it composition? The colours? What about the photo makes you feel how you feel? Then learn to replicate it

I’ve been taking photos for almost 30 years and I’ve never stopped learning or trying new things. I still have a lot to learn but I keep improving. It’s not a race, and you’re not going to learn everything in a year.
But if you’re not enjoying it, maybe take a break. If it’s not fun, why do it?

I still don t think my photos are good enough.

… as compared to what or whom? We are sometimes our own worst critics. You took a photo of something that means you saw something that YOU liked and the way you liked it. Unless you going to sell your photos or provide a service, if you love your shot, that is all that matters. If you plan to become a professionals, learn from one and correct your mistakes. From there spin off on your own style and compositions! Remember all the rules of compositions that you have learned, they forgot to teach you the last rule … sometimes you need to break the rules! Go out, experiment, and try different ways to take a photo. Be creative and be an artist. The photographer is painting the picture for the rest of us to see and appreciate. Interpretation is up to the individual, including the artist (aka photographer). The fun comes in when one tries to figure out what the photographer is intending to illustrate. The photo may jump out and speak to us and then it may not; however, as long as the eyes that saw the picture appreciate the captured moment, it is all that matters.

Do an art course, analyse paintings sculpture architecture etc whenever possible, look at the masters (art/photography) work over and over and figure what makes it work, either yourself, group or workshops. Build your aesthetic. Mix it up, go street, find interesting scenes, learn to use your camera really well.

According to North Korea’s state run media, former leader Kim Jong-Il shot 38 under, including 11 holes-in-one, at the 7,700-yard championship course at Pyongyang in the very first golf round of his life.

Also, I met a photographer who told me nearly every shot he gets is perfect.

Of these two stories, I find the first more credible.

Constant improvement is key. I am so much better than I was 20 years ago. I’ve better technique and better equipment, and its been a long haul since.

I had a lot of frustration when I bought my first DSLR. It was a package with a Nikon D70 and a short and long Tamron lenses that were super soft. I realized it wasn’t me it was the crap Tamrons and got 18-200 Nikon and a 50mm 1.8 Nikon and the images were better. I had a few gigs and went to Africa with that setup and the pics were good but not half as good as I get today. That was 15 years ago, and since I’ve gotten better cameras and lenses with money from gigs. Its a slow gradual process getting the right tools you can afford. Now I really don’t have any wants for more equipment. I look at old shots and I can see how far I’ve come. I can’t believe people paid me for some of the pics I delivered haha.

Think of the future and where you want to be. Find photos you love by others and make them your goal. If I looked back I may not have gotten to where I am now!

I’ll never forget working with a pro wedding photographer and watched how easy she made it look and how freaking crisp her images were…her stuff became my goal. And I’ve reached it and I think surpassed her style.

Another thing that really helped were all the articles on this page. Great stuff … read every one!