Creating Personal Style - DPChallenge Forums

09/28/2007 10:19:38 AM · #1

Looking over my images over the summer, I've noticed I take a lot of nature/macro shots ... too many actually, but it's convenient to do so, living in the suburbs. There's a certain look or feel to others' work that I'm drawn to which my own photos lack.

I'm looking to change my style.

My questions is this: Do you think about your own style during the process (taking photos and post processing), or are your images just a result of you doing what you do? If you do think about it, do you think about it while your shooting, or just during post processing (even a flower can look gothic if you photoshop it correctly)?

09/28/2007 10:22:30 AM · #2

Style happens when you are shooting. Shoot enough pictures and you can't help but have your style come out.

09/28/2007 10:24:32 AM · #3

agreed, but this would also mean that "changing your style" is impossible

unless your thinking about it, right?

Originally posted by Gordon:

Style happens when you are shooting. Shoot enough pictures and you can't help but have your style come out.

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

09/28/2007 10:27:46 AM · #4

Originally posted by hopper:

agreed, but this would also mean that "changing your style" is impossible

I think it is probably impossible not to change your style. It's going to evolve, deepen, but in general I doubt it is possible to not shoot the way that you shoot over time.

You could try to emulate other great photographers, in fact, its a good thing to do, to learn how they did things, what's involved etc, but I suspect eventually your style will out.

You just have to be honest with your self, have the courage of your convictions and let it all go.

I shot flowers for a while, until I realised I was shooting portraits of flowers. Now I shoot portraits, but they have a lot in common with the style I shot flowers in.

You could certainly evolve your style, though it sounds like you are more interested in evolving your subject matter - that true ? You can bring the same style to a new subject. You can also have different styles for different subjects - just go with your mojo. Find the things that interest you, shoot them, then shoot them some more. You mentioned something in others pictures that you feel you'd like in yours - so go with that. Study it, make a few projects around whatever it is you feel is lacking. Chase it and it'll become part of your style too.

Message edited by author 2007-09-28 10:28:56.

lovethelight

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

09/28/2007 10:31:05 AM · #5

To my style happens in a combination of what you are shooting. Lately I have been creating every different "style" I can think of, but my best shots are almost ALWAYS created when I simply let go of any expectations and just create something that makes me happy. From that I have seen a semi-distinct style come up that is just me. This may be reflected in post processing if you consider the styles where you take a picture and then add a crapload of texture to the picture in photoshop and make it look all funky which is a style I have explored a bit, but really it comes down to whatever it is you are trying to express in your photography. :) dunno if that helps at all but i try

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/28/2007 10:33:42 AM · #6

Originally posted by lovethelight:

Joseph Campbell said it well with 'Follow your bliss'

Message edited by author 2007-09-28 10:33:48.

smurfguy

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

09/28/2007 10:35:37 AM · #7

My style seems to be cutting off the bottom of everything. =P So hopefully I'll evolve out of that. =)

I agree - it feels very restrictive being a photographer in the city. Some photographers have made a style of taking advantage of their urban surroundings, but that's certainly not my style.

My wife bought passes to the Denver Zoo and the Butterfly Pavilion, so it's been that recently, but the draw of that fades as well.

At least I live in Colorado. Time for a trip to the mountains... Or to build a studio in the garage. =)

Shameless thumbnail:

09/28/2007 10:40:20 AM · #8

ok, perhaps i'm blissless :)

Let's stay on portraits, cuz we're there. Gordon, you portrait work is excellent, and your style shines thru. Also, Pedro's portrait work is excellent ... but I'd say your styles are completely different.

So (pretending you agree with that), let's say Pedro decided one day that he preferred your style better than his own. In the process of "copying" your style ... it actually becomes his style (never an exact match, of course).

I think this can and does happen, but I also think it's more than just, "you gotta be you when you shoot"

09/28/2007 10:51:26 AM · #9

For me, It's about the process. It's How you engage with your subjects. I enjoy the semi-conscious thought process of setting up shots.

I am spontaneous mostly. So my style is haphazard for the most part. I think it has to do with your personality and psychology.

09/28/2007 10:59:45 AM · #10

Originally posted by hopper:

Oh - I absolutely believe you can do that. But while you are doing it, assuming you are open to the ideas and following your own creativity, you'll change what you are copying to be yours. Some nugget of what you copy will spark an interest and you'll go there.

My style is a mix of laziness (I don't currently use any light modifiers, reflectors, strobes etc), a love of light (I frequently go out shooting with photographers and hear 'how do you see that?' when I point out light bouncing around), and an inability to pose a full figure (it's _all_ headshots at the moment)

Combine that with further laziness (I've shot about 95% of all the pictures I've taken this year with one, prime 85mm lens) so that I don't have to carry lots of lenses, even more laziness (I shoot everything almost wide open, to avoid bothering about cleaning my sensor or doing much post work) and a push towards engaging with the subject (I try to talk all the time when I'm shooting) so most of the pictures have smiles or some sort of interaction. I'm also a bit of a colour whore, so there's a lot of complimentary colours or bright,vivid colours going on as I'm drawn to that.

I suppose at some level you could call that 'style' but really its a sequence of choices I've made about the photography I want to do, then I've gone and shot a lot of portraits in that style (I counted somewhere over 100 people in the last 3 weeks)

I could certainly change that up. Probably tweaking any one of those choices and then shooting it enough to create a consistent body of work, would become a new style. One 'greatest hit' doesn't make a style. It is doing it over and over again. It is 'being you when you shoot' in a mostly Zen kind of way ;)

Look at where I was a year ago, to now. I made a pretty conscious decision to start shooting people. I actually wrote about that this morning ( not a portrait photographer ) which links back to some of the posts from a year ago where I talked about being too afraid to even approach one person in an hour.

So I certainly believe you can change or develop your style. But you need to be you.

Message edited by author 2007-09-28 11:02:09.

09/28/2007 11:02:36 AM · #11

Originally posted by metatate:

I think it has to do with your personality and psychology.

I agree, which is part of my problem. I get lot's of ideas, but I suck on follow thru. So I get out of work and think, "ok, the city's about 25 minutes away, the local park is about 5 minutes away" and somehow end up at the park ... thus guaranteeing I never follow in Ed's (

e301) footsteps.

While I'm thinking and typing, perhaps Gordon's right and my "problem" is subject matter rather than style. I still think it's both, though.

09/28/2007 11:20:24 AM · #12

Originally posted by hopper:

Originally posted by metatate:
I think it has to do with your personality and psychology.

I agree, which is part of my problem. I get lot's of ideas, but I suck on follow thru. So I get out of work and think, "ok, the city's about 25 minutes away, the local park is about 5 minutes away" and somehow end up at the park ... thus guaranteeing I never follow in Ed's ( e301) footsteps.

While I'm thinking and typing, perhaps Gordon's right and my "problem" is subject matter rather than style. I still think it's both, though.

I found journaling helped me get around to actually shooting the things I wanted to shoot. I needed a bit more structure. Another link to something I wrote bemoaning the very thing you are talking about. A whole lot of my blog in the last 9 months has been me complaining about lack of progress, or lack of a style, or not having the subjects I wanted to shoot, or being too afraid to shoot them.

Some times you just have to get over yourself and go shoot ;)

Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS

09/28/2007 11:21:57 AM · #13

Originally posted by hopper:

So for a moment, ask yourself this. What's wrong with the local park ? What are you wanting to shoot that isn't there ? And is it really true that it isn't there ? If you want to shoot people, I bet there are people in the park.

It doesn't have to be difficult, or worthy, or important what you shoot. If you want to shoot city life, you'll have to be in a city more often. You just wont get good at it if you do it once a year. But maybe a town would be just as interesting. Or right wherever you are right now. You've got to shoot what's where you are right now. Not where you were last month. Or where you'd like to be next year. Where you are right now is all you can ever shoot. You have to let go of the ego, or the future, or the 'I wish I was somewhere else' and look where you are. Then take some pictures of it. Then do that again the next day. And the next. It isn't easy, but it doesn't have to be hard.

Message edited by author 2007-09-28 11:24:01.

ursula

Fujifilm X-T2

09/28/2007 11:26:01 AM · #14

I used to think about stuff like this a lot, but then, everytime I got to thinking about it, my pictures turned out icky. When I just let go and not worry about all these other things (style, whether or not I'm actually doing the technicals just right, whether it's the right time of the day and the right place, whatever), then my picts come out a lot better. In other words, I don't think it's worth worrying about. Rather than working on changing your style, try doing things differently for a while, for example, if you shoot a lot of closeups handheld, try using a tripod for a week, or a month. Stuff like that.

I think style is a reflection of who we are, what we like and hold valuable in life. Trying to change your style in a way would be like trying to change your personality. It can be done, people change all the time, but IMHO it's not something worth worrying about too much (unless you're a mass murderer or so).

ursula

Fujifilm X-T2

Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS

09/28/2007 11:30:08 AM · #15

Originally posted by Gordon:

Combine that with further laziness (I've shot about 95% of all the pictures I've taken this year with one, prime 85mm lens) so that I don't have to carry lots of lenses, even more laziness (I shoot everything almost wide open, to avoid bothering about cleaning my sensor or doing much post work) and a push towards engaging with the subject (I try to talk all the time when I'm shooting) so most of the pictures have smiles or some sort of interaction. I'm also a bit of a colour whore, so there's a lot of complimentary colours or bright,vivid colours going on as I'm drawn to that.

That's so funny, laziness. Yeah, one thing I have in common with Gordon, and the main reason I usually use my 105 macro for everything, including landscapes. :)

I bought the 18-200 VR lens, and I'm thinking of selling it, I just don't use it.

Message edited by author 2007-09-28 11:30:56.

xianart

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

09/28/2007 11:41:26 AM · #16

i agree with gordon and ursula, et al. 'style' is a part of who you are. it comes with lots and lots of shooting, and is fluid and malleable. styles change as you discover new techniques, new ideas, etc. you co-opt others ideas and make them your own, and your 'style' changes. one thing i know for certain about style - you cannot make one; it grows. if you worry about it, it will shrivel up and roll away.

rather than worry about 'style' think deeply about your images themselves. we can see you're good at what you do, but you're obviously dissatisfied with something. you say you end up at the park a lot. why not embrace that, rather than fight it, and concentrate on that park. probably 1/2, if not more, of the images in my portfolio are taken in the woods just around our house.

i guess the best way to develop (hah) is to shoot lots and lots and lots, and lots again. your eye will begin to stretch to see in new ways. promise.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

09/28/2007 11:48:13 AM · #17

(devil's advocate)

Do you think everybody has a style?

I don't.

And I'm thinking it's because they don't think about it

Could be they don't want a style.

I do.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

09/28/2007 12:04:17 PM · #18

I know I have a style... and even before I came to DPC (gawd, 5+ years ago) I knew what it was about my style that I was dissatisfied with. I'm an engineer, and I see things in an analytical, documentary manner. I've been working to change that, with success in some areas, and not enough success in other areas. I'm happy with my captures of candid portraits, though I don't get to shoot them enough and I rarely shoot people I don't know (both things that really should change). I'm also fairly happy with my wide field astrophotography, and feel I'm on a road to doing some very good work. I'm singularly unhappy with my macro work; macro is something that I do on a regular basis for work, and in that capacity it is purely documentary. No art involved at all. I love to do macro outside of work, but the "documentary mode" always seems to take over and I don't end up with the emotive work that I desire. Ursula's work is a great example of macro work with style and emotional impact. I can only hope that eventually I'll define my own macro style that appeals to me and has the level of ompact that hers does.

09/28/2007 12:14:52 PM · #19

Do we need a DPC "style analyst" or consultant?

09/28/2007 12:18:50 PM · #20

Originally posted by hopper:

(devil's advocate)

Do you think everybody has a style?

I don't.

And I'm thinking it's because they don't think about it

Could be they don't want a style.

I do.

Could be they are trying too hard to copy other people, what they see that wins contests, what they see in magazines and photo web sites. Could be they haven't found their own unique voice yet, or are too busy squishing it underneath what they are expected to be doing.

I can't think of any of the photographers that I admire or respect their work, that don't have a recognizable style. Can you ?

Wouldn't not wanting a style, be a style in its own right ? Surely you'd have to think about that ? It all starts getting very zen and woo-woo around this point. I'd suggest reading a lot of stuff by Brooks Jensen, or as I mentioned earlier Joseph Campbell. It doesn't have to be so hard. In fact, when its right, it should be easy. Shoot what you enjoy. The style will meet you along the road.

But also, try some projects. Move beyond taking random pictures of stuff. Move beyond taking one good picture to enter in to a contest. Work a subject. Engage with it. Use the skill and techniques you've developed to find your voice. Shoot something that isn't about your ego and showing off. Maybe a style will come from there, too.

As someone said to me a year ago:
In my mind, things always tend to play out along the same lines photographers seem to build skills up to a certain point, and then either stall (and continue making what I call onesies - good or great photos that are unrelated thematically), or else they seem to gravitate to working in a more extended project format. It seems like the ability to work in a focused way on projects is the skill that seems to vault photographers up over the stall point that I think you're hitting.

Mind you, if you are looking for contest success, I'm not the person to talk to. My latest entry was a 3.8. But I've mostly been trying to let go of the idea of shooting good one off images. That seems to be working ;)

Message edited by author 2007-09-28 12:37:24.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

09/28/2007 12:24:53 PM · #21

It is definitely easier to attach to a person with a definitive style because it's hard to say "I like his random, I never know what's coming next style" ;)

I don't see a style in my stuff. I'm too random and vary between sucky/boring and less sucky and borderline interesting. The camera is sort-of intoxicating to me - so I'm intoxicated in the car, at home, at work ... all the time ;!

I can only hope that some day people will say "his style is intoxicating rather than intoxicated :U
edited to clarify

Originally posted by Gordon:

I can't think of any of the photographers that I admire or respect their work, that don't have a recognizable style. Can you ?

Message edited by author 2007-09-28 12:28:52.

wavelength

Nikon D300

09/28/2007 12:33:31 PM · #22

I sometimes work on a style, but mostly I try to go with what presents the right mood for the picture.

09/28/2007 12:35:07 PM · #23

READ?! OMG .... oh wait, that's what I'm doing now.
I like this advice. But I can stop being random.

Originally posted by Gordon:

I'd suggest reading a lot of stuff by Brooks Jensen, or as I mentioned earlier Joseph Campbell. It doesn't have to be so hard. In fact, when its right, it should be easy. Shoot what you enjoy. The style will meet you along the road.