A Man Dissed My Photography — This is How I Reacted.

When you put your work out there, you have to be ready to encounter all kinds of opinions and comments.

Petra Kidd
3 min readApr 19, 2024

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Images by kiattisaklamchan and SteveLuker from Getty Images Signature

Before the pandemic, I used to sell photographic works mounted on wood. They sold well at galleries and shows.

One summer, a friend of mine who owns a gallery on the coast invited me to go and display my work there. I love spending time with her and greatly admire her talent and business, so naturally I agreed.

Her gallery had limited space, so I set up a stall outside.

We met lovely customers and had a lot of fun together.

Then one day, a man showed up with a lady I presumed to be his wife. He stared at my prints, then looked up at me. “Did you take these?”

Usually this question is followed either by compliments or a string of questions about my creative processes or anecdotes from the person’s own photography experiences.

I confirmed that I was indeed the photographer.

“I don’t like any of them.”

I have attended many shows and exhibited a few times too; I thought I’d pretty much heard it all by then. But the truth is, there will always be someone who surprises you.

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Petra Kidd

Photographer and Writer. I write short stories. I shoot, I write, I publish. Find me by the River Wensum.