How did you develop your style?

[Lmphotos]

My style is all over the place.....some days hazy others contrasty one day I'm warm next day I process cool..... I look at some photos and all their images have a consistent style about them. What helped you develop yours or how can I try with mine?

 

[nola.ron]

I'm in the same boat as you! I do love my contrast though. Interested to hear what others have to say about how they developed their style.

 

[texkam]

A good photographer should be able pull off the appropriate style for the assignment. This is just a sign of inexperience. Keep making photos.

 

[o hey tyler]

A good photographer should be able pull off the appropriate style for the assignment. This is just a sign of inexperience. Keep making photos.

I don't know if that's necessarily true if you're shooting for a particular audience (in my case, weddings). People have said "I like your style," as to them I have a particular aesthetic characteristic that they happen to like. Other photographers are the same way, if they have a style you'll pick up on it.

I try to go for a very organic and clean photojournalistic style when shooting and processing. Others photographers are different. It all depends on your vision and how you "see" your images.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn, just talking from experience.

 

[Pallycow]

I don't have a style yet, which is why alot of what I share is all over the place. I am simply too new to have one. I think it comes with time and once you learn to translate your artistic vision onto your images.

Some folks start out with a "style", however usually that is just a fad or something they think looks cool, when the real fact is that they simply cannot take a good well rounded photograph and try to mask it with calling it their "style".

It takes a while for a person to learn the basics, and produce good solid photos based on the foundations of photography. From there they then develop their own style.

Tyler is a good example...I can see his "style" in many of his works...two local photogs I work with I can usually pick their works out of a lineup. All great works, solidly founded on fundamentals, with a bit of a twist showing how "they" see the photo.

I think a good photog can and should be able adapt to a surrounding or a request, but I don't think it's fair to generally broadcast "style" as "inexperience".

 

[texkam]

^ I get that. We all have our style, or even call it aesthetic preference, which comes from experience, but I'll stand by my statement that a good commercial photographer should be capable of range.

 

[o hey tyler]

but I'll stand by my statement that a good commercial photographer should be capable of range.

Your initial statement didn't state that though. No mention of commercial photography or range. Just sayin.

 

[gsgary]

I developed mine in Rodinal

 

[runnah]

By emulating my favorite photographers. Then applying what I learned to define myself.

 

[paigew]

A good photographer should be able pull off the appropriate style for the assignment. This is just a sign of inexperience. Keep making photos.

I disagree too. Most professionals WANT a style so they can be recognized and so their clients know what to expect. A client hires you because they like what you do. If your client has no idea what type of photos they will get why would they hire you?

I have a style, though I am not sure how to really define it yet. I think finding your style is a journey. You will try many things until you find what works for you, then voila! You have a style! Just keep soul searching until you find what works for you.

 

[rexbobcat]

I don't got no style...I shoot sooooo many different subjects and genres that it's kind of hard to...

And I'm not really sure that I want to. I take a photo and edit it based on its purpose. If I'm shooting for a brochure. I set up the lighting and I post process differently than if I'm taking someone's senior photos.

I guess I have a certain look to my photos (saturated, soft lighting with a broad spread, and compositionally balanced and kinda boring, shallow DOF)

But I wouldn't really call that a style since it doesn't really resonate through the majority of my photos. It's just a few technical choices that I make kind of instinctually, however I almost never PP the same way twice...lol

 

[BlairWright]

I took around 200,000 photos before I realized I had a "style". Don't push it, it will come.

Also, PaigeW is 100% correct. Developing a style is important to your customers.

 

[KenC]

My style is all over the place.....some days hazy others contrasty one day I'm warm next day I process cool..... I look at some photos and all their images have a consistent style about them. What helped you develop yours or how can I try with mine?

This is how everyone develops. You'll find after a while that you have one, or several, and then they will continue to evolve.

 

[12sndsgood]

Yeah I would just keep working on diffrent types of photos. I have been trying to do all sorts of diffrent styles and looks, find out what I like, find out what I really don't like and grow from that. I'd like to think your style will come out of that trial and error.

 

[Judobreaker]

Don't actively develop a style, evolve into it. Actively developing means choosing your path beforehand and working towards it, which rarely results in something original.

Your style is very much related to your taste. Experiment, try, fail, try again and keep creating photographs you think are nice.
Ask people what they think, take any criticism and value it. Keep comments in mind while shooting, but still keep making sure you like your photos.
This way you'll develop your own style without even noticing. A style isn't just something you should choose, it's who you are that determines your style.