It Doesn’t Matter – A Creative Talk
Posted under: Please accept my apology for tripping over my words and repeating myself way too much but I had to conquer my fear of doing a video post. I hope to get better at these and get straight to the point as I do more.
Here is the link to the Chase Jarvis blog post. I have it hanging next to my computers. You must read this!
http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2011/06/stop-trying-to-get-everyone-to-like-your-work/
A+ Matt. We all get consumed by the “attention industry”. Its tough for people looking for feedback to keep chugging away when they get little or no response. I think you’ve illustrated a very good point. Keep ‘em coming.
Thanks for this! You were great! It’s what I need to hear over and over…be me and that’s that!
When you made the statement that when you were to be with your family but yet thinking of how many likes will this picture get…totally me! I get consumed by it! However I think that for me it’s will the world appreciate it as much as I do and when they didn’t at first it made me upset, but I moved on to the point: I like it and really that’s all that matters!
I look forward to seeing more from you! Especially on editing!! OMG I love your editing!
Thanks again!
Great insight Matt. I totally agree. We get so caught up in views, comments and favorites, that we forget to just enjoy photography or what ever it is we do. Props man.
Awesome job Matthew!
It’s so easy to loose focus on the important stuff!
Love the idea of you doing videos, love the idea of learning from them even more!!
Paula
Thank you!!!!!! I appreciate everything that you said and show us thru your work.
Matt,
First off I want to say that I’ve been a fan of your work since I found you on Flickr, so thank you for the inspiration.
In regards to this video “rant”, it definitely broke through me haha. I do sometimes worry about the views my photos get. I made the mistake to think that the more views someone gets the more appealing their work must be. One of my photos once got a crazy amount of views and comments, it even made it to “explored”. All that attention felt pretty good, so I wanted to make that happen again, but I failed on every attempt and in the end I stopped worrying about it because it just wasn’t healthy. I think this whole 365 project does that to you… lately I struggle to come up with original concepts every day, bad days are often right around the corner but mt goal is to stick with it and try my best to overcome those bad days. I like the idea of focusing mostly on making the best work that I am capable of doing. Concentrate on the quality of the work… well said.
Thank you for doing this, I love hearing other’s perspective on things.
It’s funny, i havent even watched it yet and i’m commenting… A week ago i guess, i had a lovely epiphany about just uploading, just moving forward and finally overcoming my concerns for others thoughts, it was more a family matter than anything, anyways, as always Matt, more supportive/inspiring than you should be allowed to be!
Peace and well done on finally being here, from, down under mate!
You are on FIRE! The focus you have right now is so on point with what you need to do to get where you want to be. I’m so inspired. Great work and keep sharing!
Thank you for all the feedback everyone! It is so hard to watch myself. It is actually painful. I really need to practice and get to the point quicker and not ramble. Plus I look so serious, weird. I think I’ll make the next one more comical, more my style. All of you rock! Thanks again.
Very well said, yet I have to convince my self lol
Seriously, you are right, very nice video and clean videography.
Keep up the good work, cheers,
Matt! Your video was fantastic!! You are very articulate! It’s always tough to watch recordings of oneself, but truly, you are fantastic!!! I have been thinking a lot about how important it is to strive to create and follow my own style and creative vision… without focusing on the statistics to justify the quality of my work! Keep posting, keep shooting, keep pushing yourself!!! Great job
)
Hi Matt,
Thanks for putting it out there, your so right. I’m happy to have friends like you and Chad Bricks, your both very talented and down to earth. Thanks again for keeping it real.
Dave
Thanks for sharing your ideas and knowledge. Really looking forward to this blog and things to come.
Thanks for sharing that Matt, we all need to hear that sometimes; I did certainly.
You got it right Matt. Great talk.
Looks like you are about to do an apple commercial. Jk. GreAt video and I am huge follower of your style.
When is iPhone 5 coming out ? Lol ok I will stop. Yes do something comical next time. Looking forward to the next one.
hey matt, awesome words!!Thank you for that speech, because i needed it and it is definitely inspirational. Keep doing what your doing!! Thanks alot!
Hey Matt! I finally had a chance to sit down and watch your video just now. I love it! You seriously are fantastic. I love your perspective on quality not quantity. As a just starting designer I think this is something I need to think about more myself. Thanks so much for sharing!
Liz
I completely agree with you Matt. But I also think that the competitive spirit gets embossed during our upbringing. We are always concerned about our grades and scores. And thats how we know if we are on the right track.
Yes too much of it is bad.
Thanks for video. BTW.. i am your fan after seeing ‘Journey of motherhood’. Regards, Karan
True words and a great wake up call to statistic junkies. You can easily get wrapped up into the statistics involved in social media. At the same time it’s a great outlet to let your work be seen by the right people. I definitely agree about doing what you love and setting yourself up to succeed rather than fail.
Dude, Thanks for that! I had to step back from posting a photo a day on flickr for this very reason. I found myself bummed out b/c of the lack of views on some of my work. #sowhat #idoesntmatter
On a recently podcast, I heard a pro shooter say that forcing ourselves to make a photo a day creates unhealthy pressure and the temptation to take pictures to meet a requirement. He said we should shoot and post whenever and whatever we feel passionate about. Thanks again.
Matt, check out the TWIP podcast hosted by Frederick Van Johnson. He was interviewing Trey Ratcliff. Here’s the link. Fastforward to 03:00. That’s where Trey starts talking about posting every day and the danger of trying to post every day just to do it. http://www.thisweekinphoto.com/twip-interviews-%E2%80%93-trey-ratcliff/
Nice Work Matt. Hope to see more of these videos.
Much of the creative work I have done has been about trying to build my numbers, my views, my “likes”, etc. If one project does not work, its on to the next with a new approach. I am sort of in a re-thinking stage on where I want to go and where I want to be. Best wishes on your journey. Your photography is amongst my favorites out today. Keep it up brother!!!
Yes there should realize the opportunity to RSS commentary, quite simply, CMS is another on the blog.
Thanks Matt,
I needed to hear this. I’ve been paralyzed recently by thinking I’m not good enough, but no more. I’m just going to focus on quality and spend my time worrying about the picture and not the views.
I wish this video was viewed by the ones who really have to open their eyes and liberate themselves from those borders. Yes – the numbers can be motivating, but what makes sense is the passion.
Thanks for being this open and sincere!