Self Confidence is a Superpower

Palmyra, New York Temple

This semester I have a photography class, and oh my goodness I love it so much. Every Thursday is a critique day. This means that we go around the room (quite randomly), looking at everyones' photos, saying what works, what doesn't, what we like, what we don't like, how to make it better, etc. Somehow, I end up being near the end most of the time. And this really freaks me out, mainly because the more peoples' photos we talk about, the worse I start to feel about mine. I feel like, compared to all of theirs, mine aren't good at all.

The funky line's a shooting star 

But then we'll get to mine, and to my utter surprise, the other people in my class really like them. I go through this every week, worrying my photos aren't good enough, and then having everyone respond positively to them. Thinking about it now, I don't understand why I lose all confidence in my work.

One time I was at a beach in Thailand

From experience, I know that people think I'm a pretty good photographer, which is great because I LOVE taking photos. And having them like it makes me more confident, which makes me want to take even more photos, so it's great! But you know what I've realized? I don't need other people's approval of my photos to be a good photographer.

Isn't this flower pretty?

Self confidence is like a super power guys! If you believe in yourself, even if no one else does, you can do anything (within reason of course. Believing you can turn into a dragon won't make it so you can. Physics or whatever doesn't work like that, which is totally lame--I wanna be a dragon). Of course, having other people believe in you really helps too.

Harnessing the power of the sun!
(With a lightbulb)

So yeah guys. I believe in my photography skills, which honestly is why I'm happy with the photos I take, like all of these! (Some of my faves ever.) Although it took me a while to build up this confidence, having it now has made photography so much more fun for me! So if you've got something you love, build up your confidence in it, and guess what? You'll love it so much more! And that's awesome. :)

(And yes, this is me showing off just a tad, because I'm rather proud of these photos and no one ever sees them. So yeah.)