Originally posted by MadMathMind It's really hard to get attention for one's photos, it seems. I've noticed that unless you're already famous or have somehow already got a reputation for taking amazing photos, what matters more is the subject. You can go out in your local town and take some superb shots, but you'll get limited attention because no one relates to them. I've noticed that on the forums here. Some really great shots get little notice while others strike a chord with the audience: a half out of focus image of a dog with a story reminds people of their own pet and gets tons of replies.
I've recently started shooting cosplay photos. I did just a bit of promotion work and I've gotten more views on that one album on Flickr than all my others combined. The photos people fave are good (I'm proud of them), but I've got others I consider my much better work--no one really seems to notice them. It tells me that, for the most part, what people really like is the subject.
When you want to know if you are a good at photography, the first thing you have to do is to make yourself clear what is "good" for you. "Good" can mean a lot of things, and every person will see it a little bit different. Cosplay or puppy pictures are very popular, and in that they are good because they give a lot of people a happy feeling. Then again, visit a museum of modern art and have a look at the exhibitions. Many people would say these pictures are childish crap. But are they not good just because they are not appreciated by the masses? And many of the greatest painters in history died poor and disdained. Good/bad and popular/not popular are two different things!
If I had to come up with what a good picture is for me, than I would say good pictures are those that somehow get stuck in my mind. Because these pictures triggered something, a feeling. That made them obviously worth to be remembered out of all the pictures I see. By the way, I do remember two of your pictures: one photo of a historical room, a table with chairs, and a small sign reading "President" on the back of one chair. It has a great atmosphere. And another photo of a worn down memorial (right English expression?) of Martin Luther King on the foreground, tourists in the background, a very expressive picture in my opinion.
So, to give you another answer to your original question of how do you know you are growing as a photographer? People tend to remember your pictures!