AoTC

Effort justification is making you overestimate the quality of your photography. Because you know how much work went into creating it, you hold it in higher regard than anyone else does. And then you wonder why nobody thinks it’s as good as you think it is.

It’s not confined to photographers, of course. Anyone who creates anything will have a skewed idea of its worth. The important thing is to understand this and try to remove it as much as possible. Doing so will help you know what to publish and what to shelve, and to understand why your work might not be getting the acclaim you think it should.

Lessening the effect of effort justification isn’t as difficult as creating your thing was in the first place, but it might take more time. Come learn how here.

The swimmer’s body illusion is what makes us think enough lengths of breaststroke can give us the physique of an Olympic athlete. It’s what makes us think some cosmetics can have us looking like a supermodel, and that Oxford is producing genii rather than taking them in.

It’s also something you can use to your benefit with your photography, blog, or anything else you want to do well in. Once you understand the concept, you can use it as a guide to building on your strengths and letting someone else do what you’re average at.

Come learn more about how this cognitive dissonance affects us all, every day, and how recognising it can help you turn it into your advantage.

There’s probably not a photographer alive who doesn’t want people to tell them what they do is good. However, chasing the approval of an audience over an artistic vision can be damaging for the quality of the work.

Social proof is a powerful thing, but is the social proof demonstrated by the number of ‘likes’ on social media something we should assign any value to?

Of course, it depends on your goals. But if you’re looking for a photographic legacy you can be proud of rather than Insta-fame, chasing the social proof as seen on social media could be holding you back. Come read more to find out why.