Its not what you show, its what you let them know..

I am often asked, What makes a good photograph?
There was a time I could of answered such a question, but these days I am not so sure.
When I look through my semi-vast photography book collection, those photographers I used to be inspired by, and admired just don't do it for me anymore. Its not that their work is dated, far from it, or that my tastes have changed (I still shoot in the content I was shooting twenty years ago). I just question now; Was the work that I thought was good actually that good?
Many years ago a very good friends father, a travel photographer, told me;

Friends Father;

"If you have a bunch of photographs that are not very good, before you show someone, tell them they are good and they will believe you. Then when you do show them, even if they are not good, they will still think they are good.."

Young Marcus; 

But how is that possible?

Friends Father;

"Because it's not what you show, its what you let them know."

Of course this isn't full proof. But often people do believe what they want to hear and convince themselves something is lovely and amazing, when actually it may not be.

So maybe the work wasn't that once inspired wasn't that good. Maybe it was and my tastes have just changed. but what I do know is that  I have an amazing project I am working on and the images well there are just the best ever..!