Although I feel that my sense of style is well developed and clear to me, an article like this is so beneficial for reexamining my own sense of style, a consciousness that is good to practice on a regular basis. This reexamination may prompt no changes, or it may prompt large ones, but I like that it keeps me conscious of who I am as a photographer, and that I do not find myself running on automatic.
Albin
May 18, 2017 12:10 pm
Have to say, going back to the Baltz in part 2, that the graffiti and street signs jumped out at me right away and I’d bet scrubbing those with Photoshop would make a lot of viewers mistake the odd one out – some further googling indeed indicates he didn’t like words and scribbles on his buildings.
Apart from that, enjoyed the series – I keep recommending Geoff Dyer’s book “The Ongoing Moment” for a high art contemplation of the last century of mainly US photography, that proceeds on the basis of very good images of “the same thing” – the book is up there with Susan Sontag’s and john Berger’s.
Thank you, Albin, I appreciate the feedback! I’ll look into Geoff Dyer’s book.
Oggie Ramos
May 18, 2017 9:34 am
Hi Spencer,
I really dig the series and find them insightful as all your posts offer useful points we can all ponder upon. Reminds me of some people I know who are enamored with a particular photographer’s style, follows each of that photographer’s comment and critique to the letter, but ending up as clones. I guess it’s not exactly wrong to take the finer points of photographers one admire but not to the point of not exploring outside the perimeter of those photographers’ “boundaries” so as to end up not evolving a personal style that mirrors one’s unique way of seeing the world.
Oggie, well put, and I’m glad you enjoyed the articles. It is true that listening to one photographer more than any others, and copying their suggestions perfectly, can turn people away from their individual style and more toward someone else’s. That’s a shame, since the world loses out on how that photographer would have approached things naturally.
Duffy
May 18, 2017 7:37 am
Hi Spencer, I really enjoyed this series. In your conclusion here, “Personal style is at its best when it embodies an artist’s unique way of looking at the world,” I think you nailed it. Following a checklist may improve ones craft, but craft is not Art. There is no checklist for uniquely seeing the world, or for following ones intuition in capturing that view. As a life long guitar player as well, there is a guitarist’s credo that is applicable; “When I first started playing the guitar, I wanted to be the greatest guitar player ever… Then later I decided to be the best musician I could be… Finally I realized that playing myself in tune was what really mattered… Thanks again for entertaining me, while making me think! Duffy
I’m glad to hear that you liked the series, Duffy! Personal style is one of those things that hides behind the surface, but it becomes clear when you look at many well-known photographers’ work and notice consistencies throughout their portfolio. The importance of creativity in photography cannot be overstated, and being true to your own vision is a crucial component of that.
As a writer and photographer, I remember worrying about personal style occasionally. For a time I was the photo editor at Runner’s World magazine. I remember how the publisher and I would play a game, grabbing a thick handful of 8×10 photos from the files and running through them as rapidly as possible and shouting the photographer’s name (captions were on the backs and not visible). Rich Clarkson! Mark Shearman! Tony Duffy! Stan Pantovic!
It was so easy to recognize a photographer’s style. And I think an important point is that none of them had made the slightest effort to develop a personal style. They simply did shot and printed in the way that seemed most magnetic and wonderful according to their own tastes individually. I think that’s what we need to be concerned with – being ourselves, and letting it guide our sense of style. Speaking for myself, photography has always been about discovering who I am – my aspirations and what inspires me about the world, which will inevitably be reflected in the photos I make. I started in photography in 1966, fifty-one years ago, and it’s been a wonderful journey.
Thank you, George, I like your perspective on things. I think that style is such a subtle part of photography that it is impossible to force, really — you can copy a list of elements over and over, but it isn’t possible to put yourself into the photo without letting it happen more naturally. I’m happy to hear that you are enjoying your photographic journey!
Thank you, Pierre, I was happy with how that one turned out!
sceptical1
May 16, 2017 6:15 pm
Hi Spencer,
I really enjoyed your examples and like what your prefer to shoot! It is interesting that I like to keep playing around with different styles and see how they evolve. I am not against trying to copy other styles to see how they see the world, but I never really like “adopting” their style. I keep changing to suit mood and taste. That said, there are two things that I tend to capture a lot more often then not if I am shooting in my “preferred” style. Note that I am frequently shooting for clients and the rage right now when photographing dogs is very shallow depth of field with bright backgrounds, frequently shot into the sun. Great, they sell, I shoot them and if you catch an animal with a great expression (I try hard to evoke that) then the picture stands out. That said, I don’t prefer this and am constantly also shooting with a deeper depth of field, depending on how compelling the background is. The other frequent ingredient I am looking for is deeper shadows (especially on cloudy days) and reflections. Often I am looking for water. For example, a dog on the beach with a reflection shot at something like F11 – F16 – F22 (depending on where the sun is) If I can get a reflection on a cloudy day, I try for a deeply moody look. If done right, the images feel mystical to me.
I agree — there is a clear difference between practicing with another style and adopting it completely. Your example of shooting high-selling photos with a shallow depth of field, versus f/16 photos of your own style, is a good one. A lot of iconic, mainstream styles are fine, especially if you’re trying to sell photos, but they also take a way a lot of the individuality that make your photos unique.
SteveW
May 15, 2017 11:42 am
By the way, your landscape images are brilliant. Very impressed by “A cold, windy sunrise at Stokksnes” and the melting iceberg. These shots have a very ethereal quality.
Thank you, Steve, glad you like them! I do enjoy using the D800e — it’s very natural and easy to set everything I need. It will be a while before I feel the desire to update it, I think. I’m also planning to use a laptop almost exclusively over the next few years, since I’ll be traveling regularly, and the D800e (and D810) files already take up a decent amount of space. For my work, I think 24-36 megapixels is a sweet spot.
SteveW
May 15, 2017 11:35 am
Don’t sell that D800e. I did after “upgrading” to a D810 and I’ve regretted it. Files from my D800e had some three dimensional quality which I don’t seem to get out of the 810. Sometimes I think buying the latest and greatest is more marketing than necessity.
Although I feel that my sense of style is well developed and clear to me, an article like this is so beneficial for reexamining my own sense of style, a consciousness that is good to practice on a regular basis. This reexamination may prompt no changes, or it may prompt large ones, but I like that it keeps me conscious of who I am as a photographer, and that I do not find myself running on automatic.
Have to say, going back to the Baltz in part 2, that the graffiti and street signs jumped out at me right away and I’d bet scrubbing those with Photoshop would make a lot of viewers mistake the odd one out – some further googling indeed indicates he didn’t like words and scribbles on his buildings.
Apart from that, enjoyed the series – I keep recommending Geoff Dyer’s book “The Ongoing Moment” for a high art contemplation of the last century of mainly US photography, that proceeds on the basis of very good images of “the same thing” – the book is up there with Susan Sontag’s and john Berger’s.
Thank you, Albin, I appreciate the feedback! I’ll look into Geoff Dyer’s book.
Hi Spencer,
I really dig the series and find them insightful as all your posts offer useful points we can all ponder upon. Reminds me of some people I know who are enamored with a particular photographer’s style, follows each of that photographer’s comment and critique to the letter, but ending up as clones. I guess it’s not exactly wrong to take the finer points of photographers one admire but not to the point of not exploring outside the perimeter of those photographers’ “boundaries” so as to end up not evolving a personal style that mirrors one’s unique way of seeing the world.
Oggie
Oggie, well put, and I’m glad you enjoyed the articles. It is true that listening to one photographer more than any others, and copying their suggestions perfectly, can turn people away from their individual style and more toward someone else’s. That’s a shame, since the world loses out on how that photographer would have approached things naturally.
Hi Spencer,
I really enjoyed this series. In your conclusion here, “Personal style is at its best when it embodies an artist’s unique way of looking at the world,”
I think you nailed it. Following a checklist may improve ones craft, but craft is not Art. There is no checklist for uniquely seeing the world, or for following ones intuition in capturing that view. As a life long guitar player as well, there is a guitarist’s credo that is applicable; “When I first started playing the guitar, I wanted to be the greatest guitar player ever… Then later I decided to be the best musician I could be… Finally I realized that playing myself in tune was what really mattered…
Thanks again for entertaining me, while making me think!
Duffy
I’m glad to hear that you liked the series, Duffy! Personal style is one of those things that hides behind the surface, but it becomes clear when you look at many well-known photographers’ work and notice consistencies throughout their portfolio. The importance of creativity in photography cannot be overstated, and being true to your own vision is a crucial component of that.
Kam
Dam
As a writer and photographer, I remember worrying about personal style occasionally. For a time I was the photo editor at Runner’s World magazine. I remember how the publisher and I would play a game, grabbing a thick handful of 8×10 photos from the files and running through them as rapidly as possible and shouting the photographer’s name (captions were on the backs and not visible). Rich Clarkson! Mark Shearman! Tony Duffy! Stan Pantovic!
It was so easy to recognize a photographer’s style. And I think an important point is that none of them had made the slightest effort to develop a personal style. They simply did shot and printed in the way that seemed most magnetic and wonderful according to their own tastes individually. I think that’s what we need to be concerned with – being ourselves, and letting it guide our sense of style. Speaking for myself, photography has always been about discovering who I am – my aspirations and what inspires me about the world, which will inevitably be reflected in the photos I make. I started in photography in 1966, fifty-one years ago, and it’s been a wonderful journey.
Thank you, George, I like your perspective on things. I think that style is such a subtle part of photography that it is impossible to force, really — you can copy a list of elements over and over, but it isn’t possible to put yourself into the photo without letting it happen more naturally. I’m happy to hear that you are enjoying your photographic journey!
The sand dunes shot is really lovely :-)
Thank you, Pierre, I was happy with how that one turned out!
Hi Spencer,
I really enjoyed your examples and like what your prefer to shoot!
It is interesting that I like to keep playing around with different styles and see how they evolve. I am not against trying to copy other styles to see how they see the world, but I never really like “adopting” their style. I keep changing to suit mood and taste. That said, there are two things that I tend to capture a lot more often then not if I am shooting in my “preferred” style. Note that I am frequently shooting for clients and the rage right now when photographing dogs is very shallow depth of field with bright backgrounds, frequently shot into the sun. Great, they sell, I shoot them and if you catch an animal with a great expression (I try hard to evoke that) then the picture stands out.
That said, I don’t prefer this and am constantly also shooting with a deeper depth of field, depending on how compelling the background is. The other frequent ingredient I am looking for is deeper shadows (especially on cloudy days) and reflections. Often I am looking for water. For example, a dog on the beach with a reflection shot at something like F11 – F16 – F22 (depending on where the sun is) If I can get a reflection on a cloudy day, I try for a deeply moody look. If done right, the images feel mystical to me.
Thank you, Sceptical, glad you enjoyed it!
I agree — there is a clear difference between practicing with another style and adopting it completely. Your example of shooting high-selling photos with a shallow depth of field, versus f/16 photos of your own style, is a good one. A lot of iconic, mainstream styles are fine, especially if you’re trying to sell photos, but they also take a way a lot of the individuality that make your photos unique.
By the way, your landscape images are brilliant. Very impressed by “A cold, windy sunrise at Stokksnes” and the melting iceberg. These shots have a very ethereal quality.
Thank you, Steve, glad you like them! I do enjoy using the D800e — it’s very natural and easy to set everything I need. It will be a while before I feel the desire to update it, I think. I’m also planning to use a laptop almost exclusively over the next few years, since I’ll be traveling regularly, and the D800e (and D810) files already take up a decent amount of space. For my work, I think 24-36 megapixels is a sweet spot.
Don’t sell that D800e. I did after “upgrading” to a D810 and I’ve regretted it. Files from my D800e had some three dimensional quality which I don’t seem to get out of the 810. Sometimes I think buying the latest and greatest is more marketing than necessity.