Developing a style

Low Lying Clouds

What is style? In a nutshell, it is you! It is how you see. It is what you are about.

Developing a personal style is a must for successful photographers. It is something that takes time. It will develop when we don’t think about it. Think about it too much and you may hinder its development. There are some things, however that will help in developing your style. The first is to make photographs! Lots of them. Look at and critique your work. Then study other photographers and artists. Look at a lot of images. Shoot some more and critique more. Show other artists your work and discuss it with them. All of this will help, but you must give it time. Possibly years.

I remember the first time I realized that I was developing a style. I had printed a set of work for a gallery showing, and upon completion, I delivered the work to the gallery and as I laid it out and looked at it as a whole, I was taken aback. I could see myself in the images. It was wonderful and scary at the same time.

I have since paid more attention to my work and noticed a thread of continuity. Even my portraits feel similar to the landscapes. Style is what binds the photographs together. My style is what happens when I photograph by instinct. I see, I feel, I photograph. The photograph is me.