XtremeCamera

There are certain photographers whose work I can recognize the instant I see it. Whether its something about the way they shoot, the way they process their images in post production, or whether it’s the subject matter they prefer to photograph, its become quite easy to determine who created them.

All photographers will develop a certain style over time, its inevitable, although some will be develop a very distinctive style, most others will develop a much more general, less distinctive one. Regardless of the degree of style a photographer develops it still becomes something that attaches itself to the very fabric of the photographs that are purposely created.

Ask Yourself These Questions.

Have you developed a style?

Do you know what it is?

Is it the style you set out to develop or has it emerged over time as you learned about the craft, and art, of photography?

How To Recognize Your Own Style

If you have been creating photographs for a while now and your style hasn’t yet revealed itself there are a couple of things you can do to identify it. First, you need to separate your photos into two categories. The first category is the collection of everyday snapshots we all take. Photos at birthday parties, BBQ’s, anywhere where photos are taken quickly, without thinking about all the things we think about when we’re creating photographs as art, or for a client. The second category are the photographs you create for clients or as art, all the photographs you put real effort into creating.

Next, once you have those categories, (I suggest creating two photo albums on your computer) start with the first category and quickly browse through them. Just let them barely register with your mind, don’t stop to absorb the subject matter. On an unconscious level your mind is taking in a lot more information than you think.

Although you don’t think a lot about the photos you consider snapshots some of your style will still reveal itself. By quickly looking through them your unconscious mind will register the tiny things your conscious mind won’t and when you look through the second category your mind will be prepped to spot things you need to spot.

Once you’re done take a break. An hour, a day, whatever works for your schedule. When you come back to view the second category you’re going to spend much more time looking at the photos, so make sure it fits your daily life’s demands.

With the second category you’re looking for things that identify a style. Here are just some of the things you can look for.
Notice the composition. Do you center everything, throw everything to the left or right? Do you consciously think about the ‘rules of thirds’ or anything else? Are these things second nature now?

Are your photos properly exposed or do you prefer to shoot slightly under exposed or over exposed?

Do you use the slowest ISO you can get away with or do you like to shoot at high ISO’s?

Look at the DoF (depth of field). Do you keep your aperture wide open all the time or do you try to always shoot with the smallest f-stop you can? Does it vary? Are you selective in its use or do you keep your camera on Program mode?

Now look at the scenes themselves. If you photograph people a lot are they smiling or are they serious looking? How about landscapes, cityscapes, etc? Where are placing the elements of the scene?

You will, if you look long enough, notice certain things about your photographs that you may not have noticed before. It may turn out that you always shoot wide-open apertures because you like to isolate your subject matter. Or you might notice that all your photos are deeply saturated by being under exposed. All these elements, and more, have become a significant part of your style. Even if your photos are varied in subject matter they will all have certain things in them that you prefer to do.

A photographer can develop any style they choose, but often a photographers innate style will reveal itself without the photographer guiding it.

The Journey

That’s not to say that you can’t guide it. Photographers go through a long and arduous journey to develop a way to create images that reveal a unique vision whether they know it or not. Throughout the journey of their lives they create a style that can be recognized, sometimes effortlessly. Some start out knowing the style they wanted to develop all along and went about becoming skilled enough to take what the mind’s eye sees and make it real, while others may develop a certain style unintentionally.

Is Knowing Your Style Important?

I think it is. Especially if you want to make a living with photography. Knowing, and further developing, your style allows you to seek out clients that prefer your style to others. For instance, say the one thing about your photographs is that they are always super sharp, with very deep DoF, because you are always looking to shoot with the smallest aperture you can, even at the sacrifice of ISO.

The Client

When you go looking for clients it’s always a good thing to look through the photos the client has purchased before. If you see that your client seems to be interested in photographs that are always shot with small f-stops then this client is a good choice to show your portfolio to. On the other hand, if a potential client buys photos that have narrow DoF then your work is not likely to appeal to that client.

But I’m Not Interested In Selling My Photos

Regardless of whether or not you’re interested in turning pro knowing your style and developing it will go a long way in becoming an even better photographer. If you are that photographer described above, the one that always shoots with small f-stops, you might zero in on subject matter that lends itself well to small f-stops, or you could even decide to spend some time learning how to create effective photographs with large f-stops.

Style Is Your Signature

Clients never pick a photographer based on price. Clients will ask to look at your portfolio, even if the client knows nothing about photography. They want to look at your portfolio because they know what they like and if they like your work you stand a much better chance at landing that client. Finding out your strengths, identifying your style, allows you to create a stronger portfolio. A strong portfolio gets you more clients.

Lastly, if after identifying your own style you discover that your ‘people pictures’ are a whole lot better than your landscapes then it becomes obvious that in order to create the best body of work that you can its wise to focus on people in your future work. Of course there is always an exception. If you’re just starting out, if you’ve taken photos for under a year or two then you are still in the early learning phase and your strengths and your style may not be written in stone. If that’s the case then identifying your style early allow you to guide that style to where you want it go.

A new photographer may indeed create photos of people much better than landscapes, but if landscapes is where your heart is its still early enough to focus more intently on your landscapes so that in another year your strengths in landscapes overtakes your strengths in people pictures. Like I said above, you can guide your style if you try hard enough. But, even if you can it might not be the best way to create a good body of work.

Those that have been creating photos for years yet never paid much attention to their style will find it very difficult to alter that style, although it can certainly be done. But, before you decide to abandon that style for something else think about this; there is a reason your people pictures are better than your landscapes. Try and find out why that is. Perhaps you have a real penchant for people that you didn’t know you had. Perhaps your landscapes are boring because you’ve never had a passion for landscapes to begin with but it was easier to find willing barns and trees than it was to find willing people to stand before your camera. You need to discover why things are the way they are before you make a life altering decision.

I knew a photographer years ago that had collected thousands of images of old barns. They were good photos, always composed properly, always properly exposed. All the right choices were being made. But where his work really shined was in his photos of his gorgeous wife and children. These photos showed passion. They were much more interesting than the old barns because his heart was in the people, not the barns. When I asked him why this was so he replied that it was always impossible to get his wife to cooperate when he wanted to shoot, so he turned to shooting things that didn’t object. In the end he made a decent living selling his photos through stock houses, but his passion went wanting. And that is always something I found to be very sad indeed.

Your style will reveal where your real passion lies. If you find that your barn photos aren’t nearly as good as your people pictures think about why that is so. Perhaps your unconscious mind is trying to tell you something. Maybe its time to find out what that is.

John Manzione
OnSite Admin
XtremeCamera