A Bell Tower separates the Herb Garden from the formal Gardens at Temple University Ambler Arboretum.

I have seen many people use the subjectiveness of art, in all forms, as an excuse for dismissing allegedly bad criticism, touting phrases like “they don’t really know what they’re looking at…”. Usually, this is followed by some sort of claim that the person has been doing said art for many years, or they studied under a certain person. At least the more modest will state that their work isn’t for everyone. But even then, you are still making excuses.

Criticism is a difficult thing for us humans to accept. It is our goal as artists to please the general public, so it is very difficult to accept that someone doesn’t like our work. Especially considering the amount of time we all know we spend on our art, and photography is no exception. But all criticism, regardless of how skilled the source, should be taken into consideration. We can separate our sources into two types: Skilled and Unskilled. Below I will discuss why each is important and how you can utilize it.

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