Inevitably, as an individual evolves in their photographic pursuits, typically from shooting flowers and squirrels through first attempts at portraits and landscapes, they come to understand, often to their considerable dismay, that their work consistently resembles that of pretty much every other beginning or intermediate photographer. While some are content to master the technical aspects of creating a well exposed and traditionally framed image, the more ambitious are driven to differentiate themselves from the crowd, and put a personal stamp on their work. With millions of photographers out there striving to accomplish a similar goal however, this may prove no easy task… so how best to go about it?
First Things First
Unless you’ve determined your ‘style’ is defined by the creation of universally bad photographs (and trust me, we’re familiar with many who apparently have decided to go this route), you need to know the ‘rules’, both technical and compositional, in advance of making any conscious decisions to break them. Mastery of the basics will equip you with the tools necessary to move on to the next step: imitation.
As a lover of photography, we assume you appreciate the work of other photographers. Find a few whose output you enjoy, and clearly have a unique look to their images — then attempt to recreate their techniques using your own subject matter. This isn’t to say your style should closely resemble that of another; however, moving beyond the basics requires the acquisition of additional knowledge, and how better to obtain it than by experimenting in this fashion?
It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; but in this case, that’s not your objective, and is merely a stepping stone toward defining your own personal photographic flair. These new techniques will be added to your bag of tricks, and can be employed in combination with others you’ve absorbed along the way to aid in providing unique character to your compositions.
This being said however, there are, of course, no real original styles. All art is built upon the foundation of everything that has preceded it. Your goal here is to acquire the building blocks of this foundation in order that you are well equipped to create imagery that stands out from that of your peers. After all, there are only 12 tones in western music, yet a Bach fugue and Kanye West’s latest abomination are as different as chalk and cheese. The former composer, exhibits an absolute mastery of every aspect pertaining to the subject matter and is praised for his work hundreds of years after his demise; whereas the latter clearly hasn’t a clue, and will in all likelihood find their efforts consigned to the dustbin of history. (Sorry Kanye fans — the guy’s just horrible).
Specialization
While we certainly don’t recommend confining a ‘one trick pony’, particularly in the highly competitive environment photographers find themselves in these days, in terms of stylistic development, specialization is key to progression. Having undertaken the previous step, imitation, you’ll have discovered particular photographic subjects and techniques you are drawn to. Are you intrigued by geometric shape and line? Vivid colour? Minute detail? What really grabs your attention in an image? Your next task is to seize upon one of these aspects and pursue their capture with rigour — to the exclusion of all else — for a protracted period… say a month or so… then move on to the next. In so doing, you will be in excellent shape to discover how best to highlight these elements within a larger context, and further refine your personal style by discovering which combinations of these most appeal.
Take a Step Back
It’s often helpful to examine other areas of interest in your life and see how they might relate to your photographic pursuits. Do you like industrial design? What are the principles employed in the creation of attractive objects that may well be utilized in your photography? Are you drawn to texture? How can you share your affection through the captured image? Music lover? What feelings do your favourite songs evoke within you, and how can you express these within your photographs?
What about your personality? Are you serious? Funny? Whimsical? Are these traits reflected in your photographic output? How would you go about injecting your personality into an image in the first place? The answer is unique to the individual, though upon arriving at it, you’ll discover significant progress in defining your personal style.
Description
By this point, you probably have a pretty good idea of what it is you are interested in shooting, how you want it to look, the emotions and ideas you wish to convey, and above all, how to achieve these objectives without a considerable measure of head scratching.
Next, given the goal is to define your personal style, that’s exactly what you should consider doing. What words would you use to feel illustrate to a stranger what they could expect to see and feel upon encountering your work? If you can’t describe it, you probably haven’t truly defined it.
Test it!
If you’ve a group of people familiar with your work, take a variety of photographs from multiple sources, and include your own new images within the mix (carefully avoiding those which may be readily discerned as depicting your locale). Show them to one of these individuals, and ask them to pick out which are indeed yours. Try this exercise with all of them and record your results.
Note, many will try to flatter you by selecting those among them which they feel are best; so inform them of your objectives to try to achieve more accurate, useful results. If they have a great deal of trouble, you probably have more work to do. If, on the other hand, they get a significant percentage correct, it may be time to showcase your work to a larger audience!
Finally, not everyone has the creative vision and talent to become a world-class photographer; but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a self-expressive with your tools as possible. Developing a personal style and the commensurate repertoire of skills takes time, introspection, and practice; and with photography, often the journey toward this goal is as enjoyable as its achievement. Have fun!