Kill Your Darlings

It's easy to feel too attached to your work as a photographer. "I made this. It's special." Well, not to burst your bubble, but it might not be. As another semester begins, here's a good reminder to my students (and to myself) - it's an article written by Alen Steadman called "Kill Your Darlings: 3 Techniques that’ll Help You Honestly Evaluate Your Own Work."

In his opening, Steadman says "In order to produce quality work you have to be able to effectively critique your own creations. You should be just as harsh on yourself as you were on the ‘undeserving photographer’ with his own show, or that ‘hack’ that got the photo feature in your favorite magazine or newspaper." Here's what he recommends:

1) Take Time Away: Go shoot something else and come back later

Perhaps the most common way is to simply take some time away. Sometimes we get so steeped in our own heads we can’t see the forest for the trees. When this happens, we need to take a deep creative breath and break away from our work for a bit.

Step away from your photos for a while and go shoot something else. It’s harder to be objective about a fresh photo because you’re still in love with the idea of it. Go fall in love with another photo then come back and see how strong your feelings are for your previous creation.

This works, and when I say that I’m speaking from experience. This solution is one I employ quite often because I’ve developed a bad habit of finding small elements in every photo that I fall in love with.

This makes it incredibly hard to choose favorites and cut the fat, and while this habit will likely make me a good father some day it does nothing for my photo editing skills.

As a result, I’ve resorted to stepping away from my work for a few days (and sometimes even a week or two if the project permits) on several occasions, and it has always helped me better evaluate the quality and merit of my work.


2) Ask a friend’s opinion (but don’t tell them it’s your photo)

Of course we don’t all have the convenience of time. So, if taking a break isn’t a viable option, I recommend another common solution: ask a friend or associate to look at your darlings.

There is a caveat here though. For better or worse, our friends and family aren’t often willing to dish out the brutal honesty we so desperately need. You were just able to push aside the excuses and finally create something, the last thing they want to do is tear you down (at least with most friends and family).

What they don’t understand is that, despite their heart being in the right place, lying to spare our feelings does you a great disservice. This is why I recommend doing a bit of lying yourself!

Tell them you’re looking at a friend’s photo or an associate asked you for notes, anything to make them think it isn’t yours. They’ll be far more comfortable being brutally honest with you if they don’t think it’s your work they’re criticizing.

Plus, you get the bonus of seeing their embarrassed face when you confess your secret… and that’s priceless.


3) Use the ‘Soft-Delete’ to see if you REALLY like the shot

Finally, the last tactic I find very useful is the ‘soft-delete.’ If you have a photo you’re on the fence about, go ahead and save the RAW image or source file, but delete it from the batch of photos you’re editing or move it out of the main folder… then gauge your reaction to ‘deleting’ it.

You may freak out, immediately change your mind, and want it back in the collection. Or you may longingly remember it in a few days and choose to add it back. More likely, if you’re like me anyways, you will probably NEVER think about that photo again. Regardless of the outcome, you have an answer you can trust.

Usually, ‘on the fence’ is synonymous with ‘shouldn’t make the cut,’ but that pesky voice in the back of your head keeps telling you that it’s special because YOU created it. It’s not… and this is one of the most effective ways to sidestep that voice and be more honest with yourself.


Getting used to ‘killing your darlings’ is one of the best ways to improve your photography skills. It’ll prevent you from showcasing lackluster pieces of work and will ensure you always put your best foot forward.

I don't know if the 2nd one will work. Most of my photo friends can sniff out one of my photos from a mile away. But if you can make it work, it's a good idea.

Another thing that I've (accidentally) found to work (and that I've heard from other people too) is to not download your photos for a few days after shooting them. That gives you time to "disconnect" from the act of making your photos, and you can better judge the images as they stand on their own.