How do you develop your own photography style and why is it that some people say that it's so
important to develop your own photography style but don't really show you how to well today I'm
going to unravel this mystery and give you some practical tips to get your photography moving
in the right direction as well as sharing one thing that I think might have held me
back from developing my own style first of all let's have a look to see what style is
exactly by using Google so Google what is style in photography in photography style generally refers
to the way in which a photographer approaches their subject matter and creates their images
now that doesn't really answer the question so let's try something else let's do what all
the cool kids do and use chat GPT you can find my password there we go so again what is style
in photography in photography style refers to the unique visual approach or aesthetic that
a photographer a photographer's style is often shaped by their personal preferences developing
a distinctive style is an important aspect of Photography okay so that's just a little bit too
wordy for me but there are a few things that we can take from that the idea of how you approach
your subject and also how you distinguish yourself from others these are two really important things
so if you take photos like everyone else you'll get the same as everyone else so if we look at
this mountain it looks nice however there are thousands of photos exactly like this
but how about this it's exactly the same location but has something about it this is where that
style comes from it's looking at a scene and trying to see it in an interesting and different
way to the norm as you develop it your style will give a certain look to your photographs and draw
the viewer in from the simplest reaction of hmm that looks nice too wow that's amazing it makes
the viewer feel something but it still sounds a little bit vague doesn't it so I've got five
things and they all seem to work together to help develop your photography first of all look at the
work that you really love and ask yourself why you really like it what stands out and what draws you
to it the Tetons and Snake River is a famous shot by Ansel Adams it's just a classic leading line
into a grand landscape with some epic clouds above it to me this epitomizes landscape photography you
have a river a mountain range and some weather and they all work together this next one is from
Galen Rowell the light is coming in from the side on the Machu pachade Peak and Galen lines this up
with with a tree in the foreground and I really like squashing things together like this and this
is what drew me to this image I do this a lot with long lenses and this is why I love a good
telephoto lens over a wide angle lens any day of the week this third shot is from Kyle Volarez,
sorry Kyle if I pronounced your surname wrong Kyle is a South African photographer and the
shapes in this desert are mesmerising they lead your eye into the frame and the contrast in the
shot between those shadows and where the sun is hitting those sand dunes just makes this shot
look epic so again some great side light within a unique landscape feature now I've only shown
you three examples for the sake of keeping this video short but the more that you look at the
more you'll start to see trends of things that you're drawn to Style's not something that you
can develop overnight and also it's not something that you can show off in one photograph instead
it's something that you develop over time it can change over time but it generally comes across
in a body of work or a group of photographs now start oil can relate to absolutely anything from
a certain colour palette to a certain subject or a certain genre but when you look at a person's
body of work you'll start to see that style the more photographs you see from that person next I
want you to look at your own work well at least the ones that you like and then ask yourself
what you like about them what stands out what makes them unique but also what you don't like
about them in this Panorama I took of Kimora thin slate mine I like the mix of Industry with the raw
landscape how it's creeping in but not taking over and how the two fit together so well with this one
I like the Simplicity of it the pastel colours and then that one Hill sticking out of the fog
with this next one I like the difference in the layers between the Tranquil Hut next to the lake
where the Towering mountains of the dolomites in the background now I'd love to shoot this
one in different lighting conditions and also different seasons now once you've looked at all
of these photographs you might see differences and similarities between other people's work
and your work and this might show what's missing from your photography and it also might show you
that you're on the right path other locations very similar or very different to your favourites is it
the light or is it something completely different the aim is not to copy those photographs from your
favourites exactly but to take different elements that you like from different photographers and
make them into something of your own now before we get on to the third point is there something that
has helped you develop your photography style if so let me know in the comments below it'll
be great to pull a lot of this information from lots of different people because I'm absolutely
fascinated by this subject now when you first look at someone's work you might not see their style in
just one of their photographs but you will see it in a group of their work but then the next time
you see one of their photographs you will see that style so with this in mind just go out and
photograph things as much as possible and from as many different angles as you can imagine this is
by far the best way to get to know your camera get to know how it works and get to know what you like
to shoot after all if you haven't photographed something how do you know if you don't like that
genre of Photography I've photographed people animals Sports buildings big things small things
the stars and Landscapes and I know I much prefer photographing Landscapes over people however this
is probably my shyness coming through I just get that imposter syndrome when I'm first starting
out on a portrait shoot so when you're out in the world look at it objectively what stands out to
you and what interests you Ansel Adams once said if it excites me there's a good chance it'll make
a good photograph now what excites me are bits of light hitting a landscape where there is patchy
clouds and that dappled light even in the middle of the day this gives texture and detail more
than just a well-lit scene or one of those golden sunrises and I suppose that's a little bit of my
style coming through now if this all makes sense but you're still unsure as to how you can develop
your photography style try setting yourself a project it can be any kind of project it might be
the 10 biggest mountains in your country it could be boat houses it could be phone boxes or maybe
you've got a favourite location you keep going back to try photographing it in different seasons
or in different weather conditions in having this in mind it will give your photography purpose and
it'll really help with your motivation instead of just going out there and photographing things
for the sake of it also if it's a project that's ongoing over a series of years you'll actually
see your photography develop through that set of images it will take time but this is all part of
the process one of my friends is a tennis coach and he once said to me if you only serve the ball
every now and then you won't know the difference between a good serve and a bad one whereas if
you hit thousands and thousands of serves you'll start to understand what works and what doesn't
and this is the same for photography if you only take a few pictures every now and then you won't
understand the process you won't understand what goes into getting a good photograph but if you
take thousands and thousands of photographs you'll start to get a deeper understanding of Photography
and this in turn will help you develop your own photographic Style now the one thing that has held
me back is photographing what I think others think is a good photograph instead of just photographing
what I like I did this for a long time when I was first learning photography and even though I got
some photographs that were nice I didn't really get anything from them and a lot of them were
carbon copies of other people's work whereas when I started to forget what others thought I started
producing work that I really liked as well as having a better understanding of what goes into
a good photograph and I think this is the main thing if you're producing photos that you like
that you'd be proud to hang on your wall who cares what anyone else thinks now if you struggle to get
your photographs in focus in this video I show you exactly how I do it to get way more Keepers than I
used to and it's surprisingly straightforward once you understand the process I'll see you next time