Developing own style

[Merlin5]

Now that I've been doing photography for over a year, the whole thing of developing my own recognisable style is becoming more interesting to me. The problem is that I'm too much of a chameleon.

I do mostly street photography and within that genre there's many different types of things I can shoot. There's documentary style where there's not much post processing and the images are gritty, not particularly picturesque, but the content can be powerful. There's juxtaposition with contrasting elements. There's images that have comedy, There's high contrast light and shadow shots. There's minimalist compositions with clean lines, and so on.

And then of course there's colour and black and white. One of my favourite photographers shoots exclusively in high contrast black and white, so he has a unique and highly recognisable style. Another one I like shoots exclusively in colour and at night. They both have consistent processing styles as well.

I like shooting all of these types of street photography, in
colour and also in black and white. And my processing style varies a lot based on what I like from seeing other photographers' work.

I don't feel I can or want to focus on only one type of street photography because I enjoy them all. On sunny days I'll go out to shoot high contrast light and shadows and on the same day I might also shoot some juxtaposition. I feel I do them pretty well and I think I'm building a nice body of work, But on the other hand, I think if I showed my best photos to someone, they might think it's work from various photographers instead of seeing a style connecting them to me.

So how can I possibly develop a recognisable style with so much variation in what I like to shoot and how I choose to process? Or should I not worry about it and is one year of photography perhaps too early to have developed one?

 

[Harlequin565]

Or should I not worry about it

This.

Style can limit your work by inhibiting an open mind (i.e. I only do high contrast B&W), whilst it can also enhance it by creating a "standard" recognisable framework that ties all your pictures together. For an amateur - especially one who is learning, having something that restricts your vision isn't (in my opinion of course!) a good idea.

For a professional, I would say style is probably more important to make your work recognisable, but not for someone starting out on the road.

 

[gramps]

One particular style, such as you mention, will be very limiting ... variety is the spice of life in photography too.
I would hate to be tied to formulating my shots to conform to some preconceived idea, it would remove the spontaneity of my walkabouts.

 

[ecniv]

Shoot what makes you happy. As a pro you'd be paid and for a particular feel of work. As an amateur, you can do what ever you like, Try all sorts of types/styles, dabbling in all. After a while you'll find more of the photos are processed to a certain way that makes you feel happy with them...

 

[Tom Pinchenzo]

Style is something that develops over decades, you should keep being a chameleon and enjoy the diversity without worrying about developing a distinctive style. It’s not something you should try to cultivate consciously but something that will develop out of the pot of experimentation. Shoot as much as you can. Shoot shoot shoot. Immerse yourself in it and enjoy it.

 

[G.K.Jnr.]

As far as I'm concerned with regards to style, you tend to pick up snippets from virtually everyone and some how each bit tends to subconsciously blend and your style develops naturally. Sure you will tend to copy some photographers a tad more to a degree but still your own style will develop itself.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Style doesn't come from processing, prefering B&W or colour, that's superficial, it comes from how you see the world.

Subject selection, viewpoint, framing, what you are trying to communicate.

Give it time, take lots of photos, and you'll develop a style without realising it.

 

[droj]

Developing a style shouldn't be a consideration - after all, why on earth might it be necessary? If a style becomes apparent, it should've distilled naturally over time from the ways that you see and want to present your work. Concentrate on being yourself. But self-crit your work constantly.

 

[woof woof]

I don't feel I can or want to focus on only one type of street photography because I enjoy them all.

So how can I possibly develop a recognisable style with so much variation in what I like to shoot and how I choose to process? Or should I not worry about it and is one year of photography perhaps too early to have developed one?

Why worry.

The beauty of being an amateur is that you can do what you want and enjoy and what makes you happy rather than having to deviate from that in an effort to satisfy other people and make money. I also wouldn't worry about social media likes. Money and likes should be secondary or even irrelevant, enjoyment should be No.1. IMO.

FWEEEDOM!

 

[droj]

you'll develop a style without realising it

Baaaa ...!

 

[benc98]

Don't force it or worry about it, a style might develop over time.. and as your say only a year or so into it, so you're still finding out what out like and adding tools to your metaphorical toolbox

 

[Sky]

I agree with what's been said - forget all about it.

If you take enough pictures in any given genre, it's only natural that you'll develop a certain way of doing things that others may recognise, but certainly don't go looking for anything unique as it's probably been done already anyway.

@Ed Sutton sums it up perfectly above.

 

[ecoleman]

The problem is that I'm too much of a chameleon.

Accept that as your style.

 

[Dave Canon]

I think only other people can tell you about your style from seeing your images. I have been taking photographs for 40 years and not aware of my style and nor did I seek to create one. However, many Camera Club colleagues say they can recognise my style and I do almost every topic both colour and B&W. I can recognise the styles of most of our regular members as well.

Dave

 

[LeeRatters]

I think you shoot in too many ways to have yourself a style in all honesty. I used to get comments years ago that people could tell my images before they would see my name but I shoot different things now so that's sort of gone out the window a bit.

I do try to edit different genres in certain ways though I will admit. And I certainly like images from a certain day out or event to look the same as a set.

 

[jerry12953]

I agree with those above who suggest that your style will develop naturally if you give it enough time. Its also perfectly possible to have more than one style; I know I have several.

 

[Merlin5]

Thanks for all the replies guys, all very interesting and valid points.

Accept that as your style.

That being a chameleon is my style is definitely an interesting thought. But I suppose each photo would still need to have something similar to be recognisable. I can't see how that would be possible though if one photo is say a colour story telling street documentary image sitting next to say a high contrast black and white photo.

I think you shoot in too many ways to have yourself a style in all honesty. I used to get comments years ago that people could tell my images before they would see my name but I shoot different things now so that's sort of gone out the window a bit.

I do try to edit different genres in certain ways though I will admit. And I certainly like images from a certain day out or event to look the same as a set.

Yeah Lee, that's exactly right and the thing that concerns me (but probably shouldn't), I shoot in too many different ways to have a style. I recognise your style when I see your work. Same with ben, gramps, woof woof and George G.K Jnr's work. I'm sure there's others in this thread with recognisable work but I've mostly seen the work of people in the Sony thread and the capture a stranger thread. I am still experimenting and copying so it probably is too early days and as has been said, I shouldn't worry about it. It's a goal of mine now but I can't force it and don't want to restrict what and how I shoot just to develop a style.

 

[Merlin5]

I agree with those above who suggest that your style will develop naturally if you give it enough time. Its also perfectly possible to have more than one style; I know I have several.

It's comforting to know that a style should develop naturally over time. What do you mostly shoot Jeremy and how does your style vary? Do you mean in your processing, going between colour and B&W, what you choose to shoot, or all of those?

 

[garryknight]

I looked at your profile a while ago and was very surprised that you'd only been doing photography for about a year. Some of your photos are the kind of thing that takes many people years to work towards, and certainly took me more than a year.

As for style, I can only echo what others have said: if you have a style, other people are likely to discover it before you do. And if you try to stick to one style, there's the danger of losing interest. I would suggest that you keep doing whatever it is you want to do. Above all, take photos for yourself.

 

[jerry12953]

It's nice of you to ask....... I could write an essay on it, though! Perhaps it would be easier to use other more well-known photographers as examples of those whose work I admired.

For many years I worked in colour, calling myself a landscape photographer. My influences were Joe Cornish, Paul Wakefield and the like, although I was never in their league. I also loved Ernst Haas for his imaginative way with colour, while his subject matter was much broader than landscape. So I searched for the beautiful and the unspoilt as those I named above did, and most landscape photographers still do.

But at the same time I loved the work of Fay Godwin, who began her career as a fairly traditional landscape photographer working in b&w, but gradually moved away from that style into what she called documentary - while still working in the landscape. She had became an environmentalist and she documented our presence in and misuse of the landscape. And I was doing the same thing ("human landscapes") alongside my more traditional landscape work.

I gradually refined my way of working such that I tended to do trad landscapes during "great light" , and "human landscapes" in flat, even, light, which - in my opinion - is more appropriate for the subject matter.

And then I started doing wildlife photography! I had had an interest in wildlife for many years but had very rarely tried to photograph it. It eventually became a natural extension for my photography although I tended to still include elements of the landscape in my wildlife images , unlike most wildlife photographers. I wonder if some of my work is wildlife or landscape but that doesn't really matter as long as people appreciate it.

I've recently gone the whole hog and converted many of my human landscapes into b&w and eventually hope to exhibit it. It would be partly a homage to Fay Godwin, and partly the conclusion of a personal project which has lasted thirty years or more.

When my first book came out one reviewer said it looked like the work of many different photographers - I'm not sure that was meant as a compliment - so I do understand where you feel you're at at the moment.

 

[Nostromo]

Shoot in a style that makes you happy and interested. But don't limit yourself to just that style. If you are out and about and see something that catches your eye, but doesn't fit in with your style, still take a photo of it.

 

[myotis]

I don't feel I can or want to focus on only one type of street photography because I enjoy them all.
So how can I possibly develop a recognisable style with so much variation in what I like to shoot and how I choose to process? Or should I not worry about it and is one year of photography perhaps too early to have developed one?

I addition to the comments about giving it time, and making sure you spend a lot of time taking photographs, can I add a suggestion of putting your photographs together as projects.

Projects with titles like (but ones you create, rather than my suggestions) "people in the park", "light and shade" " Homage to Bill Brandt" etc, will allow you to group photographs that share a coherent style and theme into a single group, but still have different styles across the different groups/projects. Showing versatility in style, rather than the lack of it.

 

[Merlin5]

I looked at your profile a while ago and was very surprised that you'd only been doing photography for about a year. Some of your photos are the kind of thing that takes many people years to work towards, and certainly took me more than a year.

As for style, I can only echo what others have said: if you have a style, other people are likely to discover it before you do. And if you try to stick to one style, there's the danger of losing interest. I would suggest that you keep doing whatever it is you want to do. Above all, take photos for yourself.

Thanks garry, kind of you to say. But when you've looked at my photos, did you ever think to yourself, they look nice but they're all so/too different to each other and nothing tying them together? Remember when I commented on your photos that you have a consistent way of making your photos look? That's kind of what I've been feeling I need to aim for. But at the same time, as you and others have said in this thread, it could get boring to stick to one style.

It's nice of you to ask....... I could write an essay on it, though! Perhaps it would be easier to use other more well-known photographers as examples of those whose work I admired.

For many years I worked in colour, calling myself a landscape photographer. My influences were Joe Cornish, Paul Wakefield and the like, although I was never in their league. I also loved Ernst Haas for his imaginative way with colour, while his subject matter was much broader than landscape. So I searched for the beautiful and the unspoilt as those I named above did, and most landscape photographers still do.

But at the same time I loved the work of Fay Godwin, who began her career as a fairly traditional landscape photographer working in b&w, but gradually moved away from that style into what she called documentary - while still working in the landscape. She had became an environmentalist and she documented our presence in and misuse of the landscape. And I was doing the same thing ("human landscapes") alongside my more traditional landscape work.

I gradually refined my way of working such that I tended to do trad landscapes during "great light" , and "human landscapes" in flat, even, light, which - in my opinion - is more appropriate for the subject matter.

And then I started doing wildlife photography! I had had an interest in wildlife for many years but had very rarely tried to photograph it. It eventually became a natural extension for my photography although I tended to still include elements of the landscape in my wildlife images , unlike most wildlife photographers. I wonder if some of my work is wildlife or landscape but that doesn't really matter as long as people appreciate it.

I've recently gone the whole hog and converted many of my human landscapes into b&w and eventually hope to exhibit it. It would be partly a homage to Fay Godwin, and partly the conclusion of a personal project which has lasted thirty years or more.

When my first book came out one reviewer said it looked like the work of many different photographers - I'm not sure that was meant as a compliment - so I do understand where you feel you're
at at the moment.

Jeremy, thanks for that, very interesting! Very cool that you have books out. How many different books did you make? Yes, what you described is where I am now, into lots of different photographers and styles. Maybe one day I'll also refine my work into something cohesive.

Shoot in a style that makes you happy and interested. But don't limit yourself to just that style. If you are out and about and see something that catches your eye, but doesn't fit in with your style, still take a photo of it.

Thanks Dominic. Yes, I definitely always take a photo of anything that catches my interest. And there's always something interesting happening on the street!

I addition to the comments about giving it time, and making sure you spend a lot of time taking photographs, can I add a suggestion of putting your photographs together as projects.

Projects with titles like (but ones you create, rather than my suggestions) "people in the park", "light and shade" " Homage to Bill Brandt" etc, will allow you to group photographs that share a coherent style and theme into a single group, but still have different styles across the different groups/projects. Showing versatility in style, rather than the lack of it.

Thanks Graham, that's a brilliant idea. I've watched a lot of street photography videos and projects are mentioned a lot but I've never bothered to consider them seriously.

But all I do after processing my photos is upload to my Flickr page. And every day I go out to take photos, I photograph something randomly that can fall into any of the project categories such as people in the park, light and shade, etc. Should I be organising projects on my Flickr page and is there a way to do that? And then I would just add photos of any given project style to that project on Flickr in an ongoing basis?

 

[Merlin5]

Style is something that develops over decades, you should keep being a chameleon and enjoy the diversity without worrying about developing a distinctive style. It’s not something you should try to cultivate consciously but something that will develop out of the pot of experimentation. Shoot as much as you can. Shoot shoot shoot. Immerse yourself in it and enjoy it.

Thanks Tom, I like that a lot.

As far as I'm concerned with regards to style, you tend to pick up snippets from virtually everyone and some how each bit tends to subconsciously blend and your style develops naturally. Sure you will tend to copy some photographers a tad more to a degree but still your own style will develop itself.

Thanks George.

Don't force it or worry about it, a style might develop over time.. and as your say only a year or so into it, so you're still finding out what out like and adding tools to your metaphorical toolbox

Very true that. Thanks ben.

Style doesn't come from processing, prefering B&W or colour, that's superficial, it comes from how you see the world.

Subject selection, viewpoint, framing, what you are trying to communicate.

Give it time, take lots of photos, and you'll develop a style without realising it.

Love this. Thanks Ed.

Developing a style shouldn't be a consideration - after all, why on earth might it be necessary? If a style becomes apparent, it should've distilled naturally over time from the ways that you see and want to present your work. Concentrate on being yourself. But self-crit your work constantly.

Thanks droj, agree entirely with this.

This.

Style can limit your work by inhibiting an open mind (i.e. I only do high contrast B&W), whilst it can also enhance it by creating a "standard" recognisable framework that ties all your pictures together. For an amateur - especially one who is learning, having something that restricts your vision isn't (in my opinion of course!) a good idea.

For a professional, I would say style is probably more important to make your work recognisable, but not for someone starting out on the road.

Thanks Ian, very good point.

One particular style, such as you mention, will be very limiting ... variety is the spice of life in photography too.
I would hate to be tied to formulating my shots to conform to some preconceived idea, it would remove the spontaneity of my walkabouts.

Very true gramps. Thanks.

I agree with what's been said - forget all about it.

If you take enough pictures in any given genre, it's only natural that you'll develop a certain way of doing things that others may recognise, but certainly don't go looking for anything unique as it's probably been done already anyway.

Thanks Trevor, I'll keep shooting then!

 

[myotis]

But all I do after processing my photos is upload to my Flickr page. And every day I go out to take photos, I photograph something randomly that can fall into any of the project categories such as people in the park, light and shade, etc. Should I be organising projects on my Flickr page and is there a way to do that? And then I would just add photos of any given project style to that project on Flickr in an ongoing basis?

You can set up albums on Flickr so you could have an album for each project/theme. As I remember, they still need to be first uploaded to the "film roll" or whatever it's called, and then added to specific albums. The same image can appear in more than one album.

The problem with Flikr is that the film roll is the default opening page so the initial impression will potentially, always be one of a random collection of images. Unless it's changed. I would prefer for the opening page to be photographs of my choosing, not just the most recent uploads.

But albums in flikr still seem a good enough way to go. You will soon start to have your own views on how you want to work, which will change over time.

 

[droj]

Since the whole point of Flickr posting might be the sharing of images, as Graham intimates above the presentation choices are somewhat limited. Most visitors to your pages will probably come across either a single image or the first page in your photostream, and only occasionally will they delve further. Having albums may be useful to your own sense of structure, but very few visitors are likely to explore those albums.

For greater control you might think about having your own web pages ...

 

[myotis]

Most visitors to your pages will probably come across either a single image or the first page in your photostream, and only occasionally will they delve further. Having albums may be useful to your own sense of structure, but very few visitors are likely to explore those albums.

For greater control you might think about having your own web pages ...

While generally agreeing with all of the above, I only ever end up on Flickr when I link there from someones email, post on a forum etc., and I always click through a couple of albums.

I do wonder if someone with a genuine interest in wanting to see your work, will in fact make the effort to look at the albums.

But I also agree that having a webpage/blog site where you have full control of how your photographs are presented is a better platform.

 

[Kell]

I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to have your own identity or setting up a style.

But it should definitely be something you enjoy rather than something you feel you 'should' do. i.e. following a style because it gets likes on instagram, for example. Otherwise I think you'll very quickly become bored.

I work in advertising and we commission photographers because we want to create certain look. We'll look through portfolios and choose the one that's closest to what we hope to achieve. Alternatively, we look through their folios for inspiration and that drives the style of the campaign.

Two examples:

We commissioned Robert Wilson to do a shoot for our client (HSBC) because it was all about people and he had lots of extreme close ups of head and shoulders - which we wanted.

100 models over 4 weeks as it was for a global campaign and we needed representation of nearly all ethnicities - certainly the biggest and most complex shoot I've ever been on,

A lot of his work follows this style, but not all. Very often I've found that even commercial photographers will maybe develop a style that they sell, plus have side projects which are a completely different direction.

These were some of the shots: https://www.robertjwilson.com/shoot/hsbc-advance-2/

But he also has side projects like this: https://www.robertjwilson.com/projects/

The fact is, that he probably could have shot almost anything for us and done a decent job, but his specialism was really in the way he approached these ultra-close ups and the oof backgrounds.

Another photographer we chose specifically for their style was Aleksandra Kingo. She has a very colourful, bold approach which was perfect for our then client Crowne Plaza.

This was one of the ads she shot for us. https://aleksandrakingo.com/crowne-plaza-ooo

I've not heard of her doing anything different, that seems to have become her style.

Why am I mentioning this? Because if you want to monetize it, then I think you should definitely develop a style. It could be something that comes about over time. or it could be something that you specifically target because no one else is doing it. But hwever you get there, it will be what attracts paying clients to your work.

If you're not interested in it becoming your living - or at least not in the short term - keep taking as many shots as want, group them if you wish, but genuinely just see what interests you most a year after you've taken it.

As a project, if you've only been doing this a year, set yourself a goal of choosing your 10 best shots. Don't try and think about fitting them to a theme, just pick your favourites - and then try and think about why you like them. It may be that they're all in the same style, it may be that they're very different.

For me, I have no illusions of ever making money from it, but I enjoy it. I've taken it a lot more seriously over the last 10 years but I still don't think I've developed a style. I'm not even sure that I have a 'thing' I prefer to shoot.

 

[kennethwfd]

Think about your interests and what you really enjoy photographing