As I look back on my 4+-decade career as a photographer, personally and commercially, with analog, digital, and now phone cameras, it would be an understatement of magnanimous proportions to say I have devoted significant attention, time, and energy to finding, feeding and fueling my photographic style.
It has always been important to me.
When you strip away all the veneer and patina, in my own experience as a photographer, developing a style is really nothing more than putting the lyrical, emotional, technical, and even autobiographical “you” in your photographs. Period. Plain and simple.
“To develop a style, you must first develop a deep understanding of yourself, your motivations, and what you want to communicate through your images.” – Irving Penn
So that when, both, you and others, look at your body of work in photography, they see, sometimes clearly, other times subtlety, the traces, tracks, and tales of “you” in your photographs.
Photographic styles are simply or exclusively not just casual or intentional applications of technology and technique you have applied to your craft over the years.
Finding and showcasing your true photographic style, in photography, is an organic and visceral, deep down, representation and reflection of who you are in life, as a person, as a poet, and as an artist.
“Your style is a culmination of your experiences, passions, and observations, translated into a visual language.” – Imogen Cunningham
Displaying your photographic style, in all its fine glory, is an artist’s symbol of who you are, what you believe, and what you stand for. Click.
In a way, developing a style is the artistic equivalent of “breaking the mold”.
Good or bad, happy or sad, you march to the beat of your own drum in photography. You are….you. You don’t try to photograph like others. You just try to be you.
Photographic styles tend to morph and change over the years, with time and testing.
It’s also not at all uncommon to develop, simultaneously, different styles for different subjects, themes, and genres.
I can’t speak for all photographers but having a unique, special, distinct, peerless, unrepeatable style in photography is, in my humble opinion, the holy grail of photography.
If you can’t seem to find “yourself” in your photos, then you have some work to do.
“A distinctive style is not something you acquire overnight; it’s the result of a lifelong commitment to mastering your craft and staying true to your artistic vision.” – Helmut Newton
I want people looking at my work to see the “Jack” in my work.
Developing a photographic style in photography refers to the process of establishing a distinct and recognizable visual aesthetic that reflects your personal vision as a photographer. It involves a combination of technical skills, creative choices, and consistent artistic expression
“Style is the visual manifestation of your inner world. Nurture it, refine it, and let it evolve, for it is the essence of your photographic voice.” – Minor White
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Jack
