Perfectionism is creative death
The past year or so, I’ve found myself in the midst of running a photo workshop business and as part of that, I’ve been aware that I have set the bar very high in terms of what I’m trying to offer.
I’ve had a few discussions with others about this and I know, from my musical past, that setting the bar too high, can cause a lot of issues. So I want to talk about perfectionism.
I think some of us have built in perfectionism. It’s just part of our personality-makeup. I know that I suffer from this. I use the word ’suffer’ because perfectionism is not something that goes along well with being creative. It can be a stifling force, that stops you before you’ve even begun, stops you mid way when things are in that ‘not come together phase’ of creativity, and it can stop you from accepting that what you did today is still good, even if it’s not the best thing you’ve done.
Paddy Mcaloon said ‘You’re only as good as, the last great thing you did’ in one of his songs. It’s a lyric that stays with me, because although I think there’s some truth in it, it can be a frightening feeling to think that you may not do anything good again, or at worst, as good as what you’ve done in the past, let alone anything greater.
Yes, perfectionism is a killer.
One of the things we have to get used to, if we are to create art, photographs, music, books, is that we have to work with something and keep it loose. Until it is finished, it may not be anything good at all, but we have to give ourselves a lot of slack, let our greativity go where it needs to and not be too analytical about it. This I feel is where perfectionism comes in. Perfectionism is writers block. It is a lack of inspiration and a sinking feeling that we’re going nowhere, that we can’t create anything good.
I’ve learned to live with the fact that some days are better than others. I know some images are perhaps not as good as others, but that’s fine. I just never know what’s going to happen. But I’m reminded of a quote by Winston Churchill which goes: “If you’re going through Hell, keep going”.
Improving our art, our photography isn’t easy. I’ve had my fare share of downs as well as up moments. But I’ve never given up.
So I’d like to ask you, do you feel your photography is going somewhere, and do you feel that perfectionism is part of your personal make up? Do you find sometimes, you’ve set yourself such a high bar to achieve, that you feel you give up before you’ve even started? I’d love to hear about this from you.
Bruce, I think that a landscape photographer who is driven by perfectionism is doomed to failure. Nature rarely delivers exactly what is in the mind of the perfectionist. It may also be an age thing, but I find these days that I am happy to be wherever I am and grateful for what nature delivers. If the day is good and it all comes together, great. If not, I have still had the pleasure of being out there.
I think that my photography has advanced and changed over the years and letting it flow has been a large part of that process.
Comment by jeffg53 — 20 July, 2010 @ 10:23 pm
I agree, “letting it flow is a large part of the process”.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 20 July, 2010 @ 10:30 pm
Never thought about this but I’d have to say that in the photography part I’m not a perfectionist. When I’m out walking about if I see something that stands out then I will photography it. Rarely do I look for a better angle, it’s like shoot now and worry about it later, and that’s where the perfecionist part of me comes into play.
In my digital darkroom is where it comes out. I will work and re-work the image until it finally looks like what I saw when I first took the photo. If I can’t make look like what I had envisioned then out it goes. So, yeah, in the computer is where the perfectionism comes into play.
Man, I have to re-think that part. Don’t know if this is good or not. Anyway, thanks for the thoughts. Always good to read what you are thinking.
Glenn
Comment by gc — 21 July, 2010 @ 2:08 am
Interesting… another photographer with a musical background. I’m a musician by training – in fact, I make my primary income as a college music faculty member. (And my wife is a musical performer by profession. You can imagine the conversations at out house!) As I’m sure you are aware, there are quite a few other photographers who come from a musical background. I have an idea at some point to write some stuff exploring some possible explanations for this.
That said, you comment about “perfectionism” is what caught my attention. While “striving for” perfection may (or, in some cases, may not) promote good art, becoming depressed or frustrated when it is not always achieved is one of the worst killers of creativity. I’m convinced that two things (and more, of course) must be present in the creative person. One is the pursuit of “as best as I can possibly be” – which, I think, recognizes that one can be astonishingly good and yet not always be perfect. (There are moments in the utterly sublime music of Mahler, one of my favorite composers, which make me think “huh?”) The second is the willingness to fail, often, and learn from it.
I think the latter is especially important for a photographer. One cannot possibly be perfect every time one shoots. No one has done anything close to that! One almost certainly will produce many failures, and many mediocre images. But if you think of this like you think of practice in music – a gradual process that leads towards constant improvement – the equation changes completely.
Dan
Comment by gdanmitchell — 21 July, 2010 @ 5:50 am
Dear Bruce,
I think that perfection is the inability to broaden ones mind. We are all imperfect, and if we embrace that, we can accomplish great things. I also believe our creative side is our strongest side, as well as our most fragile side.
I am reminded of an article I read in National Geographic traveler: An interviewer asked a 87 year old metal-smith/artisan who has been creating works of art for 70 years (he lives in the south of france) if the life of an artist was difficult. The old man laughs and replies “well the first 65 years were really rough”. That always has stuck with me over the years, creating is a journey, not a destination.
Have you ever heard a great live recording of a song; rock, jazz, blues, whatever, and actually heard a string break at a crescendo? Amazing! or a singer sing out of key whilst wrapped in emotion? hell, charred meat sometimes tastes really good.
Some Navajo master weavers even add imperfections. A break in the border could be a “spirit line,” a tiny line of yarn that is said to allow the spirit of the artisan or the rug to be free. This line is completely stands out from the rest of the design.
The Japanese artisans have a term for imperfection in art “Wabi-sabi… Pared down to its barest essence, wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. It’s simple, slow, and uncluttered-and it reveres authenticity above all. Wabi-sabi is flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not Pergo; rice paper, not glass. It celebrates cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time, weather, and loving use leave behind. It reminds us that we are all but transient beings on this planet-that our bodies as well as the material world around us are in the process of returning to the dust from which we came. Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace liver spots, rust, and frayed edges, and the march of time they represent.
Thanks Bruce for all your inspiring work and words…and music!
-Raynor
Comment by raynorcz — 21 July, 2010 @ 5:56 am
Since it seems to be a trend in this blog topic, I played music professionally for 10 years in the 90’s (the Seattle Grunge scene). As well as various other musical escapades. I found the transition from audio to visual arts to be….natural.
Comment by raynorcz — 21 July, 2010 @ 6:13 am
Some great feedback there. I left a lot out of my original post, because I wanted to see if others shared my own thoughts, which you do.
Perfectionism is probably the main thing that drives us forward to improve in what we do. I think it becomes a damaging force when our creative output starts to dwindle.
I look at the german band Kraftwerk as a great example of the pros/cons for perfectionism. They released four great albums (IMHO) which have hardly any ‘filler’ on them. They had what I would call ‘quality control’, only letting the public hear their best work. I’ve subscribed to that and so for each shoot I do, I always reduce the number of photos down to the best ones and those are what go out into the world to ‘represent me’. Making average or bad work public only gives us a bad name.
But on the other side of the coin, their creative output stagnated. No longer capable of living up to an expectation, a self imposed one, they stopped creating any work. Or perhaps they did keep on creating, but could never stop tinkering with something because they were never satisfied.
And not being happy with your own work, will only make you more prone to not doing any. If you start to see making photos as an unhappy experience, then you’ll eventually not bother any more.
Having a high level of quality control is a good thing. I don’t make any old image public, and the ones I’m not sure if they work or not, are still sitting on a hard drive. I take a step back, shelve them and decide I will look at them in a few weeks, months, and assume that some distance will give some objectivity.
I feel we need to be flexible when we create. Giving ourselves certain criteria before we start can be good, but some criteria I hear from workshop participants is ridiculous and self damaging.
Flexibility = randomness = chaos = surprising outcome = a step further to creating something unexpected, new, fresh.
Ridigity = stifiling = frustration = predictability = dissatisfaction in ones own work and nothing good created.
Perfectionism has to be there though. We have to have something to make us ‘deliver’ something good. I’ve met a lot of creative people in my time who have surprised me in what they do, but they are lazy and don’t follow through, letting the art die before it’s complete. Perfectionism in your personality will certainly make sure you’re punctual, prepared, reach the end result. It just need to be kept in check because when it takes over us, frustration and stagnation are often the final result.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 21 July, 2010 @ 8:40 am
Raynor – thanks for letting me know about Wabi-Sabi!
Comment by Bruce Percy — 21 July, 2010 @ 8:58 am
One last thing. My friend Kieron told me that in his office, there is a poster which reads:
“to guarantee misery, seek perfection in everything you do”.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 21 July, 2010 @ 10:42 am
Hi Bruce
I just registered to comment here. I do think I’m a perfectionist, and this can occasionally stifle my creativity.
I’m sometimes surprised by images where at the time I assumed they were ‘throw-aways’, but on closer inspection, they had managed to capture some aspect of the subject that was missed by my more carefully-considered shots.
I think in part this means I still have much to learn in terms of creativity and vision. But also it’s important not to try and make every image perfect, and in doing so ‘not see the wood for the trees’.
Comment by Adam_B — 21 July, 2010 @ 11:46 am
Bruce,
I just registered to comment as well. I certainly have the “perfectionist” in me, and understand exactly what you mean by “It can be a stifling force, that stops you before you’ve even begun.” I’ve been forcing myself to loosen up and take things as they come, not just in photography, but in other areas of my life as well. It’s been putting up “fences” so my creativity can not reach its potential. My struggle these days is how to balance the two and make them work together. I do agree that the perfection is not a bad thing as long as you keep it in check, as you said in your response above.
Thanks for posting your thoughts about the topic!
p.s. My blog’s name is “foreverdraft” which reminds me that my posts (stories and pics) don’t have to be perfect.
Comment by danpak — 21 July, 2010 @ 5:18 pm
Thanks Dan,
Interestingly, for me, I found it hard to balance perfectionism with output when I was a musician. I found eventually that I was very dissatisfied with my music and stopped writing….. I’m a creative person so it was frustrating for a few years with no outlet until I got into my photography more seriously. I find that with photography, I can take it or leave it. Some months my cameras never come out of their bag and I don’t yearn to make pictures. I don’t seem to struggle too much with perfectionism or setting the bar too high. I don’t know why that should be….. making images is a very fast process compared to writing a song or making a painting, so perhaps there are a lot more pit-falls on the way if the process is a longer one. I don’t know.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 21 July, 2010 @ 5:24 pm
I do not believe perfectionism in photography stifles creativity. Perfectionism ensures a photographer doesnt compromise quality or their style and vision. They will always take photographs in the best light, resolve the composition to the very best of their ability and not make a photograph for the sake of it.
Photographers who continually question their craft and push the boundaries will always be creative (though obviously there can be lean spells and perhaps have to take one step back to take two steps forward)
d
Comment by DavidLangan — 21 July, 2010 @ 9:15 pm
Yes, those points are valid. Perfectionism has a role. But I think you’re only seeing it’s positive aspects only David.
Setting the standard so high that it is unachievable, can hamper creativity and stifle any way forward. I know this, because I’ve been there.
So I feel that perfectionism drives us forward, providing that we can keep it in check. Provided that we don’t hold it by every critical word it has. Being too perfectionist will only cause frustration and dissatisfaction. Not being perfectionist enough will produce sloppy work where no care has been taken.
It’s a double edged sword and as is the case in everything in life, balance is required. Balance only comes from a good sense of judgement, being able to let yourself off with a good image even if it’s not your best, and being able to discard an image because it’s substandard.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 22 July, 2010 @ 12:23 am
Just my 2c…
As another musician who has now an active interest in photography….
As in many other cases I think we use words with double or even more meanings.
In most cases in my opinion, “perfectionism” is another word for fear. It’s what makes one compose but never present, play at home but never with an audience, shoot photographs but never share them etc
Presenting art (or whatever expresses one’s soul) makes one vulnerable, so I think it’s only natural that we try to resist it and make sure we take all necessary precautions before we do it.
on the other hand, if by “perfectionism” we mean actual quality and a high standard, I see nothing wrong with that. As someone else said, it’s a journey and in any art field (or any field, for that matter), there are stages of growth. In the case of photography, I feel that there are boxes that needs to be ticked, those 10,000 worst photos that HC Bresson mentioned need to actually be made before one can move forward.
If I’d continually compare my current photos with what I consider to be splendid photography and aim for that directly, I would stop what I’m doing immediately. All landscapes have been already shot, all subjects have been covered, basically everything worth saying has already been said, one form or another.
But it’s not about that, it’s about our need to create, being music, photography or any other medium or form.
I strongly believe that creativity is a human characteristic and it has value in all its forms, it’s a necessity for most human beings.
So to sum it up Bruce, for me, personally, I like to see my work progressing from where I started originally, I don’t measure myself to others. We all have our ways, and it’s a big world out there :)
Comment by Dumitru — 22 July, 2010 @ 1:06 am
Hi Dumitru,
Yes, I guess I do regard perfectionism as fear, as a negative force. I think that if you have a lot of perfectionism, then it’s easy to look at it as a hindrance while others may admire your perfectionism. They admire that you will put in 110 percent to get it done. While you may find it a curse because you never feel entirely happy with what you are doing.
Perfectionism can lead to a situation where your expectations far exceed your ability. When that happens, we find little satisfaction in what were doing, always unhappy with the result and eventually we stop doing it.
So we need to be capable of enjoying what we do. Put perfectionism to one side and just go with the flow. I feel perfectionism doesn’t know about flow or creativity. It knows only about setting high standards which are often unachievable.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 22 July, 2010 @ 7:16 am
It is interesting reading the post of perfectionists about perfectionism and its relation to photography which can never be perfect since it is a matter of personal appreciation and interpretation. These can and do change greatly from day to day for various reasons.
Please read this post remembering it is written by one who is not in any way a perfectionist. Therefore I cannot discuss photography and the pros and cons of perfectionism. But I still have an opinion.
I see 2 views of perfectionism based on the previous posts: 1) making an image the best it can be and being frustrated when it is not even if the reason for lack is beyond the photographers control, 2) striving to make the best image with what is available and enjoying the outcome.
As a non-perfectionist view 1 above best describes perfectionism. Perfectionists I know are rarely happy with any outcome (pessimistic some would say or always finding fault). They have no standard for what perfection is just a very high unknown goal so they cannot quite hit the mark.
The second view to me is passion not perfectionism. Even a non-perfectionist can be passionate. This is why perfectionists and non-perfectionists can excel in photography. The perfectionist is always striving to get there while the non-perfectionist passionately seems to always find joy in their accomplishments.
Perfectionism may make you a better photographer but passion nearly guarantees it because it brings satisfaction more easily.
Anyway, those are the views of a non-perfectionist. Have a perfect day! Is that possible?
Comment by Gary James — 22 July, 2010 @ 7:32 pm
“It is interesting reading the post of perfectionists about perfectionism and its relation to photography which can never be perfect since it is a matter of personal appreciation and interpretation”
As is everything in life Gary. Perfectionism is in the eye of the creator.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 22 July, 2010 @ 7:53 pm
My Holga was the cure for this…and the result was some of my best work.
Mark
Comment by olwick — 23 July, 2010 @ 1:46 pm
As much as I try to make my images as good as possible, I am often astonished which images are selected as favorites by people I show them to. Often, they are not my personal favorites or not the expected ones, which tells me that we perceive things differently. As in music, when your solo doesn’t go as intended, people still go nuts and think its great. So this makes the whole discussion very relative – therefore I only try to be “good enough” and let each one pick his own favorites, there is no right or wrong. I rather shoot a lot giving lots of options, often minor variations of the same theme. I don’t have a very clear vision that I follow, I work rather intuitively, which doesn’t have a lot to do with perfection.
Comment by pboehi — 23 July, 2010 @ 6:23 pm
That’s a very good point Peter – that what we aim to achieve with our work often means something different to the people who see it. I’ve had the same responses – people liking images of mine that I feel are not the strongest in my portfolio.
Perfectionism is about trying to reach for a higher goal. It is perhaps an internal bench mark. We do need to be driven to improve, but I’m not so sure that this is part of Perfectionism’s character.
Certainly, when completing some work, I like to make sure it’s as good as it can be. Nothing sloppy left to be noticed, so that is a form of perfectionism. The downside to this is that if perfectionism takes too much of a hold, I will find it hard to finish a piece of work and ‘let it go’. This can then turn into endless re-workings of the same piece, and ultimately, a lost sense of direction.
But we do have to have perfectionism in what we do. Trying to do our best is the only way we can improve.
Sorry if I’m playing devils advocate here – I feel the truth is that Perfectionism does have a role but it is double sided and provides drive and on the negative side, it inhibits freedom to go with the flow.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 23 July, 2010 @ 6:35 pm
I, too, have a streak of “perfectionist” in me. A few years ago, I had a moment of clarity in which the thought occurred to me that perfectionism can become a form of self-righteousness, like the double-edged sword to which you refer, when it relates to the “ego” more than one’s sense of “being”. I like to approach photography in the sense of capturing the “being” of the subject. It’s liberating in that the focus isn’t primarily on my ability, but more acutely on my subject and I relax.
Comment by Lori — 25 July, 2010 @ 4:24 am
What is perfection in creative work? As others have said we have different individual perceptions of images. My background is in business, before retiring, and perfectionism certainly stifles productivity in that environment. Equally, a slapdash approach was unacceptable.
As with most things in life, it is about balance for me. I always seek to improve, to learn and to do the best I can – but without excessive navel-gazing. Good performance comes from practice, inspiration comes from communicating with others to broaden one’s perspective, improvement comes step by step and requires persistence and perseverance.
So, I agree that perfectionism is the enemy of creative development. It makes one do less in pursuit of something which is somewhat illusive (not to mention elusive). For someone who doesn’t make a living from my images it seems to me that the place to start is by doing what pleases me and then step back regularly and say what now?
This approach creates new challenges, some of which work and some don’t but they keep one fresh and motivated to improve.
Comment by Christopher J Atkinson — 29 July, 2010 @ 11:27 am
I struggled with striving for perfectionism for many years. It created a very black and white situation for me – something was either perfect or a total failure.
A discussion with a man in Yosemite about 10 years ago really helped, the topic was Native American basket weaving and the deliberate introduction of a flaw. This is done to acknowledge the basket maker’s place in the universe, as an imperfect being. In the words of the man I spoke with, “only the Great Creator is perfect”.
So now I strive for excellence. Nothing I ever do will be perfect, but perfection is a dead-end goal with no where to go from there. Excellence allows for continual growth and expansion.
Anyhow, the image on this post really works for me. One of the reasons is the composition, specifically the position of the horizon – just about 61% of the way up from the bottom of the image – proportion of total image to non-sky portion about 1.61 to 1 = golden ratio.
Comment by PeterMcD — 29 July, 2010 @ 5:32 pm
What two lovely, engaging posts there.
I love how a change of word can have such a profoundly-positive outcome. Excellence is indeed what we should strive for – do the best we can do. I think that’s a great way of avoiding the evil ‘P’ word. :-)
Also love the Golden-Ratio comment. I have heard about this often. You’ve got me thinking there may be a post about this later on.
Mark – love the idea that the Holga got you out of a rut. I think new equipment can be a source of inspiration, so long as we don’t get too hung up on the gear side of it. Considering that the Holga is primitive, I think it gave you a chance to approach things on a much more simplistic level?
Comment by Bruce Percy — 29 July, 2010 @ 5:41 pm