Having your own photographic style can make your work instantly recognizable, even if people don't know it's yours. But is this something only professional photographers need, or is it also important for hobbyists and amateurs? Let’s explore this topic and its importance for anyone who loves photography.
Coming to you from Peter Forsgård, this insightful video dives into the significance of having a unique style. Forsgård shares his experiences from a recent trip to Strasbourg, where he faced challenging weather conditions. Despite the rain, he continued to shoot, demonstrating that bad weather can offer unique photographic opportunities.
Forsgård emphasizes consistency in developing a photographic style. He explains that having a consistent style helps you know what and how to shoot, making the process more intuitive. This consistency is not necessarily about subject matter but about the way you capture and present your images. Forsgård’s reflection on his own work in Strasbourg illustrates how having a distinctive style can make your photographs identifiable, even if they vary in subject. This approach not only simplifies the creative process but also helps in building a recognizable identity in the photographic community.
Identity and recognition are crucial elements Forsgård discusses. By consistently photographing in a certain way, you create a signature style that people can recognize. This identity helps in connecting with your audience, whether it's family, friends, or a broader social media following. Forsgård advises reviewing your past work to identify common themes or techniques, which can be the foundation of your unique style. This self-reflection is vital for any photographer looking to refine their craft and stand out.
Another important aspect Forsgård covers is personal fulfillment. Developing a unique style can increase your satisfaction, making the craft more rewarding. This personal connection to your work can drive you to improve and evolve as a photographer. Forsgård shares his own struggle with maintaining a distinct style due to his diverse interests in photography. His honesty about this challenge adds a relatable touch, encouraging you to embrace your journey and continue experimenting until you find what works for you. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Forsgård.
Just to play Devil's Advocate here:
It's possible to have a successful and satisfying career doing quality work without ever achieving a style that's widely recognized. This is the reality for the vast majority of craftspeople, as it is for me as an event photographer. I do good work, my clients like it enough to pay me repeatedly, but I've never achieved any kind of fame and probably never will. That's just fine with me.
This is true, but generally, you will find that said career is limited as a result, as you will primarily only be selling to clients looking for consistent, predictable execution, and those sorts of clients tend to have much lower budgets and the scale will always be limited by the volume of work you can do.
There is nothing wrong with that, though. Being the headshot photographer who can consistently deliver an elegant, generic business headshot or a food photographer who can consistently capture menu images at a competitive price and reliable efficiency or the real estate photographer who can make sure that every new listing is shot quickly and consistently certainly has a market.
But... if the goal is to push into the world of commercial work that involves projects working with massive brands the unique voice starts to become super important.
This is what sets apart say a "menu" photographer who may charge a restaurant a few grand to do their menus and someone like scott choucino will often is getting hired by companies to shoot food products with budgets north of $50,000.
Finding one's own style is not about career or fame, or even identity - it's about the artistic and philosophical journey one undertakes in order to question various aspects of human condition. Style is nothing but the way of thinking which is the unifying element across genres - thus it is prone to change.