On finding your photographic style

Ice #58a. Boulder Creek, Colorado, 2011

I take my photography seriously and strive to improve at every opportunity. I hope that I am constantly evolving and improving. Since my ultimate goal is to do interesting, creative and quality work as a fine art photographer, one area that has concerned me from the beginning is the notion of “style.”

Artists will often comment that no one is taken seriously until they can show to the world a cohesive body of work with a distinctive personal style. Wow, I thought. Cohesive body of work? Personal style? Do I even have a personal style? Will I develop one? How do I develop one?

After a bit of thought and study, I came up with a potential road map to get me there. Hopefully, it will work. If you have been thinking similarly about your personal style–or whether or not you have one!–see if my comments make any sense to you.

#1 Don’t even bother worrying about style. Go out and shoot–a lot! Your style will eventually emerge on its own with time.

#2 Study other photographer’s work and art in general. REALLY study the images. Go to art museums, shows, openings and galleries. Look closely at books of image collections by photographers. BUT, avoid the temptation to copy others…use their work to inspire you and to give you ideas.

#3 Know your tools (camera, lenses, post-processing, printing) inside and out.

#4 Whenever you can, get experienced photographers to really critique and analyze your work. Try one-on-one meetings, clubs, seminars, workshops, classes, etc. Critiques must be thorough and honest. THEN, having heard a critique of your work, filter it…take it or leave it, depending on your personal artistic vision and direction.

#5 Start thinking about what specific elements capture your eye when you are out shooting. Drill down deep and try to see exactly what attracted you to a subject–think about the “subject-eye-heart” connection when shooting.

#6 Think deeply about what things in life you are truly passionate about. Move your photography in that direction.

#7 Consider…What equipment do you prefer to use? What is your personal history and background? How do you prefer to make images? What subject matter do you prefer? In what kind of environment do you prefer to work? (All of this should flow directly from #6)

#8 Listen to your instincts, your inner voice, your heart when deciding what to shoot and where to aim the camera.

#9 Experiment. Try new things.

#10 Make LOTS of pictures! SHOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT! And refer back to #1 (As Henri Cartier Bresson said, “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” So, I say, go out and get those 10,000 pictures done and out of the way as quickly as possible!)