When starting out, many photographers struggle with defining a photography style for their photos.
This isn’t uncommon, and it’s easy to see how beginners can get overwhelmed. They have an abundance of choices when it comes to niches, camera gear, and editing techniques.
As you develop your craft and become better at it, you’ll strive to make your images more appealing.
For some, this is a natural progression which ultimately leads to the discovery of your photography style.
Do you prefer bold colours and deep black levels? Are you drawn to light and airy work? Or maybe you prefer a dark and moody look? How about black and white edits?
With photography, you can go many different ways.
For those that are struggling with a direction, developing a unique style will help alleviate indecisiveness, resulting in the creation of high quality work.
Allow me to explain.
Why Photography Style Is Important
There are lots of photographers in the world.
To take your photography to the next level, you need to make your work stand out.
Creating a unique style is important because it helps the audience connect to the artist.
You can look at any great creatives to see how this works.
David Bowie’s haunting vocal style is instantly recognizable. The surrealist art of Salvador Dali is unmistakable. Stanley Kubrick’s use of one-point perspective is a calling card in all of his films.
All great artists have a fully defined, unique style. They develop their talents and execute their vision.
A byproduct of defining your photography style is that you become recognized as an expert in your niche. Through this status you gain credibility, which makes you stand out amongst your peers. This will bring about opportunities that photographers with an unfocused approach rarely see.
If you’re struggling to define your photography style, there are steps you can take to help shape it.
1. Emulate work you admire.
“Good artists borrow, great artists steal.”
– Pablo Picasso
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
I’m not saying go out and directly steal from someone else – but it’s rare that any art is completely original.
I would bet your interest in photography was sparked after seeing work that resonated with you.
This is a perfect place to start. It’s very common for creative types to use this emulation technique in the beginning.
There are tons of great photographers waiting to be discovered. You can find them at local art galleries, social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, as well as online photography communities.
Following those you admire will keep you connected and provide daily inspiration as you work toward your goals.
2. Pick a niche.
Emulating others will automatically place you in the same niche.
While you should always play to your strengths, there are many different types of photography niches that can be explored. Each one presents its own set of requirements that need to be met when shooting and editing.
Here are some popular ones you might consider:
- Food
- Fashion
- Sports
- Fine Art
- Travel
- Still Life
- Macro
- Portrait
- Astral
- Real Estate
- Street
- Wedding
- Event
- Landscape
- Wildlife
Working in a specific niche gives you a foundation to build on. It also forces you to make solid decisions that pertain to that type of photography.
For example, if you’re shooting wildlife you’ll need a powerful zoom lens because you can’t (or shouldn’t) get close to the subjects. Contrast that with shooting landscapes – a niche which predominantly calls for a wide-angle lens for capturing as much of the scene as possible.
With outdoor photography, you need to be mindful of how natural light affects the photo, whereas studio-shot niches like fashion and food require artificial light.
Through layered decision-making, you’ll pick up the knowledge needed to create stunning photos. When you’re comfortable and excited about your niche, you’ll see that your work has limitless potential.
3. Always Be Learning
As a photographer, you should always be aiming to create photos that evoke emotion. If you can’t illicit an emotional response in people, you won’t have much of an audience.
So how can you do this effectively?
By gaining as much knowledge as you can about what you’re shooting.
Immersing yourself in photography will be your best plan of action, and the learning process should be ongoing. Staying engaged ensures you’ll produce high-calibre work you can be proud of.
While great photos can be shot on most cameras, true professionals will always have gear that caters to their niche.
Translation: you need the right tools for the job.
Identify what your niche requires. What focal length produces the best images? Do you require a flash? How about a tripod? Is a full-frame DSLR needed or will a mirrorless model work just as well?
Additionally, you should be mastering the fundamentals of photography. Things like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and composition.
Learning the ins and out will help you focus on shooting efficiently, rather than worrying about whether or not you’ve nailed the technical aspects of your work.
4. Presets Are Your Friend
For some photographers, the editing process can be just as rewarding as shooting.
With powerful photo editors like Lightroom and Capture One, you can transform your RAW photos into masterpieces. This can be done by manually adjusting tone curves, colours, and exposure until you get the look you want.
Or, you can use presets.
Presets are a godsend for working photographers, who need to pump out their work quickly. They allow you to adjust various parts of your photos with a simple click of your mouse.
You can develop your style by sifting through presets and seeing which ones catch your eye. From there, you can manipulate them to your liking. Presets can also be built from scratch and saved in the editor, making it simple to give multiple photos a uniform look.
If you’re the ambitious type, you can sell your own preset packs as a side hustle. When marketed properly, they have the potential to generate a substantial profit.
5. Trial & Error
You’re going to make mistakes.
You’ll mess up the exposure. A photo will come back blurry. The composition will be off. You’ll accidentally shoot in JPG instead of RAW.
Whatever the issue, don’t get discouraged. You learn valuable lessons when you screw up. It’s a great teaching tool that you need to take as just that.
Be grateful when you mess up. Focus on how to not make that mistake again and move on. You’ll always have another chance to take a great photo.
Trial and error pays off in the long run by helping you solidify your unique photography style.
You may discover an angle that you really like shooting at. Or a lighting technique you never even knew you wanted.
Try things out.
Trust the process and embrace it.
Defining your photography style is a huge step in solidifying your career as a photographer. But keep in mind, you don’t have to stick to a single style as you progress.
In fact, you probably won’t.
All artists evolve as they mature and you’ll be no exception.
Your photographs may have common themes or elements, but you can definitely modify them in accordance to where you are in your photography career.
So get inspired, do some research, and play around until you find something that strikes a chord. You might be surprised at how easy it is to come up with a photography style just by taking action on a few simple steps.
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