It might seem like a strange idea to encourage people to copy other photographers, but there can be a huge benefit in doing so, particularly for newer photographers. This excellent video discusses why you might want to take time to emulate other photographers more often.
Coming to you from Westcott Lighting, this thought-provoking video discusses why copying another photographer's images can be beneficial. Of course, this is not meant to say that you should steal and copy the work of others for your own personal profit. Rather, the idea here is that if you are newer to photography and trying to find your own personal style, copying the process and work of others will help you to discover your own aesthetic preferences. I have absolutely found this to be true in my music. My early attempts are littered with not so subtle references and recreations of the work of other composers, and while I would never use that music for anything nowadays, as it just sounds like ripoffs of other pieces, I would have never found my own style if I had not tried to recreate that other music and buried myself so deeply in the process that I saw how it came together and how I could make it my own. Check out the video above for more.
I agree, I’ve always thought that if you set out to copy someone’s photo, by the time you’ve actually done it, you end up with something new anyway