Does photographic style matter? Is it worth pursuing or will it constrain our creativity too much?
Photos by many of the famous photographers are instantly recognisable. Even photos you have never seen before can often be attributed to a specific photographer. Why? Because these photographers have developed their own unique style. Think the 'decisive moment' that was so well captured by Henry Cartier-Bresson, the portraits from Annie Leibovitz, Anne Geddes' photos of newborns, and of course the black-and-white landscapes of Ansel Adams.
Style is made up of many different elements. It can be the composition, the subject, the use of colours, the use of contrast, how the photo was edited, or a combination of these and other elements. Consistency is key though.
Photographic style is not based on a single picture. It is developed over time and becomes the signature of the photographer. It's the embodiment of their vision; a unique artistic mark they stamp on their art.
This blog is not a tutorial on photographic style, or how you can develop you own. Many blog posts, articles, videos, and good books have been produced on the topic (I personally enjoyed reading 'Within the Frame - The journey of photographic vision' by David duChemin and 'Digital Landscape Photography - In the footsteps of Ansel Adams and the great masters' by Michael Frye). Rather, this is a reflection on how I'm struggling to develop my own photographic style. Surely, this involves more than consistently picking that same filter in Lightroom; it needs to be something 'bigger' that sets my photography apart and let it tell a story that hasn't been told before. Indeed, this website and blog are some of the tools I'm using to explore and develop my own vision and photographic style.
Does Photographic Style Matter?
Perhaps we should first ask ourselves the question whether or not having our own unique photographic style matters at all. Is it the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - it feels worth chasing but we may never find it? It's a question that each of us must answer individually. Many photographers have spent considerable time and effort developing and perfecting their own style. Many others probably couldn't care less. I'm in the first camp; I'd love to discover (or develop) my own style, but it's been a bumpy road. My photography is eclectic at the best of times: food, urban, landscapes, animals, the occasional events (dragon boat races, highland games, airshows). I find all these genres entertaining and enjoy the diversity it brings to my photography. So, my own unique style is unlikely going to be based on subject matter alone. My photography is arguably too diverse to be covered by a single consistent style. Perhaps I should explore a unique and different style for each area of my photography instead, i.e., a landscape style, an urban style, a food style, etc.?
The Journey to Get There
The journey to develop your own style can be highly rewarding I suggest. You will start approaching your photography with a different view, more focused, more intense, and with more awareness. You develop a vision for your photography that guides you and provides a compass for what you want to achieve with each picture you take. The technical, artistic, and compositional decisions you need to make to create that style become much clearer.
On the other hand, can we become prisoners of our own photographic style? Does it take away the freedom of creative expression that photography requires? Are we creating boundaries and constraints for ourselves that we're no longer willing to cross just because a photo doesn't meet our self-imposed and arbitrary stylistic guidelines? Does it take away the spontaneousness and joy of picture taking?
As with many things in life, it's about finding the balance that works for you. It's a journey to get there, but I strongly believe it will be a rewarding and insightful experience. You will more consciously approach taking photos, looking for specific angles, colours, light, depth of field, and many other considerations. And hopefully you will recognise when this pursuit of your own photographic style turns into an aimless and unfulfilling exercise. That's when you deliberately have to ignore the constraints you have imposed on yourself. You need to go back to that most basic premise of why you take pictures: to capture something that touches you heart, that moves you, and that brings joy - or sometimes a tear - to your life. I wish you all the best on your journey - mine has started a long time ago but the finish line is nowhere near in sight.
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