At the beginning of the last century, Paris was the capital of the world. Especially the world of art. Anyone who wanted to be someone had to succeed in the so-called city of light. The best talent in the world gathered on its boulevards. After the catastrophe of World War I, people was eager for glamour, joy, and intelligence. The unofficial king of that elite was the painter Pablo Picasso, and one of its aristocrats was the American intellectual Gertrude Stein. It was only a matter of time before they met, and they did.
Stein commissioned Picasso to paint her portrait. The painting is now famous and considered one of the pinnacles of world art. However, Gertrude Stein did not like it, and perhaps Picasso himself did not either. The American argued that she did not resemble the figure in the painting, whose face Picasso had retouched many times. In the end, the Malaga-born artist gave up and, when he handed the painting to Stein, he said something like, “You know, now it’s up to you to look like your portrait.”
On social media, when it comes to art and photography, we tend to only hear success stories. Things like, “It was an honor to photograph so-and-so,” or “We had such a great time taking photos with so-and-so.” So-and-so usually responds that they are delighted with the photos, and so-and-so assures us that the images have revealed aspects of themselves that they didn’t know existed.
However, this is not always the case, as is natural. Sometimes (fortunately, in my case, rarely) you work, take the photos, give it your best shot and do things as well as you can, and in the end, the recipient of the photos is not happy with the result.
In general, this happens because, for various reasons, there is a difference between expectations and result. In my case, on the few occasions when the recipient of the photos has not been happy, it is because they expected things from me that I could not give them. For example, lying with the camera. I don’t know how to lie with the camera. I think that retouching has its limits and that to obtain certain results, however acceptable they may be in certain contexts, you must lie. Falsifying result to the point of obtaining a conventional image, perhaps technically perfect, I don’t dispute that, but perhaps also too technically perfect.
There are others who know how to do it, but unfortunately, I don’t.
Another cause for discontent is, paradoxically, that the person who commissions the photos is not clear about what they want to achieve in the end. When you deliver the work, the client suddenly realizes that what you have done does not suit them or they don’t like it. They then realize that they should have given clearer instructions, and instead of getting angry with themselves, they get angry with the photographer, who has only interpreted the ambiguous instructions they were given.
The moment when they tell you that your work is “too personal” or that it does not meet their expectations is very unpleasant. For several reasons. The least important is the commercial aspect, if money is involved. The most important is the wasted hours (nobody likes to work for nothing) and, above all, the blow to your self-esteem.
The question is inevitable and very unsettling: Am I really as bad a photographer as this person is telling me I am? You look at social media and see only happy photographers and people photographed looking ecstatic, and you think you’re the only one who can’t do a decent job.
Everyone has their own recipe for overcoming these moments. My personal one is to think that when you’re good, you’re never as good as they say you are, and when you’re bad, you’re never as bad as they say you are.
You also must remember that, just as all singers have a range and Michael Jackson could never have sung opera and Pavarotti could never have sung Thriller, every photographer has their specialty. You can be very good at taking portraits, but only adequate at product photography. I know I photograph men very well, but I don’t feel that I am as good doing women. Boy, it is ok as well. Nobody is perfect.
Finally, and although it is little consolation, you think about the hundreds of times in art history when great pros have had to face the incomprehension of their contemporaries. The list of great talents who have produced work that, at the time, was not considered “pretty enough” is endless (beginning with Picasso, by the way)
An artist, of whatever kind, must have faith in their own talent and not allow themselves to be caught up in the discouragement that always haunts us.
