I hold, what seems to be a rarely considered view, that making pictures should be self fulfilling, that having other people like/love your work is secondary to it giving you the greatest satisfaction. I do understand that working in a bubble means it is often an unreliable gauge as to the value of your work but only you know what you were trying to achieve and so only you can really determine whether you have succeeded. I recognise that those who have an understanding of image making, who have the vocabulary to express and clarity of vision to appreciate imagery will have views that you might want to consider but I firmly believe that if you purpose in making photographs is to gain the acclaim of others you will only ever step to their drum and not yours. It is this reason that I find the concept of photography competitions an anathema, of course it is possible to judge on a technical basis, and perhaps on a construction or compositional basis but meaning is often between these. In the 30 years that I have been involved with amateur and professional photographers I have seen work that fits none of the expected parameters but even so has emotion, atmosphere and a meaning that transforms the simple output of the image.
Showing your work is a way of defining a project or purpose, and that is very important, needing people to like it can dilute your intent and that is a problem. We all learn by looking at the images others make, well, assuming those doing the making have substance and understanding so sharing our visual thoughts and ideas adds to the canon and this article is about some of the ways you might do that
“Captivating an audience can be a difficult task. You can produce the world’s most awe-inspiring and talented images, but it won’t mean too much if no one sees your work! Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a serious amateur – you probably already know that taking beautiful photos and gaining exposure for your work do not go hand-in-hand.”………..more
Oxford School of Photography 