hello guys welcome back thanks so much for joining me today
today we're going to discuss the dunning-kruger effect
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i upload a video i upload every week and sometimes more than that if i feel like
it this is a very important principle that i feel should be more well known than it is
i'm not saying that i'm an expert on it by any means but i do think that it is something that
all newbie photographers and professionals alike should understand because hopefully it
will get you out of the dark days and deep holes that you go into along your photographic journey
so what is the dunning-kruger effect well guys the dunning-kruger effect is kind of like a scientific
psychological invention really and it was from david dunning and justin kruger and they
discovered this effect in 1999 and it all started with a strange story from a few years earlier
where somebody robbed a bank with lemon juice on their face under the misguided illusion that
lemon juice has invisibility properties because it can be used to create invisible ink and that
is kind of where the dunning-kruger effect comes from obviously for photographers that
is not relevant but the point is the same the dunning-kruger effect is essentially cognitive
bias where the individual overestimates their ability to do something therefore projecting
a very high level of confidence even though their knowledge in the field is very very small
this is a normal thing that happens and it happens far more often than most people think it does
and if i think back to when i first started in photography i can see this happening too
so essentially this effect works through a curve so it starts as the actual effect itself
and then there is a period of learning and development afterwards and that happens pretty
much all the time in fact you're on this curve right now probably at multiple different points
for multiple different skills and that's what we're talking about today so essentially it's
the dunning-kruger effect when given two skills and the skill in our case is photography so the
curve the graph i guess of it looks a little bit like this and there are some important points on
there that we're just going to run through there's only four so we're not going to be here for long
the first one is the peak of your stupid so the peak of my stupid you're stupid our stupid
is essentially mount stupid and this is where actually quite a lot of the population tends
to live for a while on a wide variety of skills so essentially this peak of stupidness is where
your confidence is the absolute highest it could probably be yet your knowledge in the area is very
very small you are absolutely not an expert in this field but you feel like you probably
are you go around with such confidence and bravado because i am a photographer and i can photograph
anything and i have the skills and the technology and the equipment to back it up this kind of
photographer exists and they are very prevalent in the world today they are people who are
nicely known within the industry with all the gear but no idea these people tend to have a lot
of equipment or know a lot about the equipment but aren't particularly an established successful or
particularly competent photographer so they have all of the gear but they have very little idea
yet they think that they do and this is just a normal thing that happens that's fine because we
were all there i mean i feel like most of us were there even if we don't want to admit that we were
all of us will have been there at some point then you go to step two if you continue in this craft
and the method of access to step two is either a sudden drop or a very slow decline depending
on how you get there this is the valley of despair within the valley of despair you realize you know
absolutely nothing about this field and it's a massive mountain ahead of you to try and learn
more about it at this point one of two things happen first thing you give up you throw the towel
in it's too hard i'm rubbish at this i can't do it i'm rubbish i'm useless my pictures are rubbish
everything is rubbish or option two is you go do you know what i don't know actually that much
about this and there's a big room for improvement so i'm going to put the time in i'm going to put
the graft in and i'm going to get better you will do one of those two things and a lot of people
stay in the valley of despair for quite a while but it's up to you whether you want to move
up or stay there so you either stay there burn out stop give up or you will continue onwards
up the slope of enlightenment the slope of enlightenment is a mountain it is not
a sprint it's definitely a marathon and it takes a lot of time a lot of hours a lot of dedication
a lot of self-reflection a lot of self-critique and slowly but surely you move up this little
slope of enlightenment you grow in confidence as you grow in skill and it's a beautiful natural
process and as you go to the top of this slope of enlightenment cresting over the mountain
looking into the sunset you then hit the plateau of sustainability the plateau of sustainability
is a nice place to be because essentially you are just very kind and wise and usually a bit older
and a little bit more skilled but you often look at those people who are on the first
peak of our little curve and think just wait because you will hit the valley of despair soon
and sometimes they do and sometimes they don't and that's absolutely fine but this little curve that
happens happens in every single niche it happens in every single type of photography it happens in
every area of your life the interesting thing to note is that once you've hit the plateau of
sustainability in one field that doesn't mean that you should be there on every single one
i know for example that i'm not a wedding photographer it is not a skill of mine
and if i went out to shoot a wedding i would probably be in the valley of despair
all of the time because i'd feel so out of my depth and so out of my skill level and comfort
zone that it would just be awful that doesn't mean that it would stay like that if i wanted to be a
wedding photographer i would put the time in i would put the years in i would put the graft in
and i would end up probably somewhere near the plateau sustainability in about five years time
and that would be fine i don't want to be a wedding photographer right now that's not in
the cards for me but that was just an example the same can be said for studio photography if you're
new to studio then getting into that you're going to be starting from the start again if you go in
with an open mind you will end up straight in the valley of despair with a mountain to climb how you
tackle that is completely up to you so try and keep an open mind try and stay positive and you
will end up at the plateau of sustainability at some point try and surround yourself with people
who build you up don't say that you're amazing all of the time but give you stuff to work on in a
positive and friendly manner it's really important that you keep your head all the way through this
little curve as this effect can take hold at any time it's not a particularly friendly feeling
to have and it's not always plain sailing so as you're going up the slope of enlightenment you may
well fall over fall down the hill like dan did the other day photographing some dogs and end up at
the bottom in a heap covered in mud but it's okay because you get yourself up dust yourself off and
you go up the hill again and at the end you end up being an amazing photographer who knows that
they don't know everything and that's absolutely fine but you know what you know and you know it
well enough to help other people and that's a pretty damn good place to be if this video is
helpful for you please do remember to press the subscribe button and hit the bell icon i am here
most of the time most weeks releasing videos about dog photography and doing other bizarre things
in between and that's just normal i really look forward to seeing you again soon have a great day