Developing your own photography style (Blog #14)

- August 02, 2023

Welcome to my latest blog, in which I am going to give you some pointers about how to develop your own, personal photography style. First, let's try and define what we mean when we talk about 'style'. The Merriam-Webster definition runs something like this: 'A particular manner or technique by which something is done, created or performed... usual it is unique.' In creating your own photography style you are trying to create something that is unique to you, and which ultimately is going to make your photographs stand out from the pack.

Before I get going, though, I must say that I haven't yet found my own photography style. I have experimented with several 'looks', but that final style is still a work in progress. What you will see further on in this blog are some of my recent photographs which show the style I am currently using, but which may change over time.

Where to start looking for your style? Instagram is bursting at the seams with photographers, both professional and non-professional, just dying to get as many people following them and their photography as possible, all in an attempt to build their audience and, in some cases, their brand. These photographers, like anyone else selling any type of product, have to try to differentiate themselves from others and make their product stand out, and to do this they attempt to create a unique style. Even if you are just an enthusiastic amateur or hobbyist, creating you own photography style and thereby hopefully generating an increasing number of followers, will make your efforts worthwhile, if not in monetary terms, then at least in terms of personal satisfaction.

I know when I started out with my photography journey not long after we were hit with the Covid-19 pandemic, I created an Instagram account and followed every photographer I could find. I was curious to see what types of photos people were creating. I knew the sort I liked and the ones I didn't. As a first step, you should also create an Instagram account, follow people, and see what styles are out there.

Style is related to subject matter, composition, the colour palette used, whether it's monochrome, or is the photographer breaking rules? So start to filter the stylistic components you like the most. You aren't necessarily going to copy these styles, but you'll get some useful ideas by looking at other photographers' work.

You might already have a hefty collection of your own photographs, so you could start to curate them by first binning the really bad ones. Then look through the remainder and see if you can discern any patterns in your work. Do you tend to take lots of landscapes or beach and coastal scenes? Do you like street or urban photography, or shots of everyday objects? If you edit your photographs, do you tend towards a certain 'look' or is your editing a bit random?

Adopting or developing a definite style is an aim, but doesn't have to be set in stone. As you develop as a photographer, so your style may also develop.

Here are several of my most recent photographs, which have all been edited to give them a certain look, a certain style, which for the moment is my style.

A few general comments about them, first. They were all shot on my android phone and edited using Snapseed either on my phone or on my tablet.

The first thing you'll notice is that they all include water, whether it's a lake or the sea. I hadn't realised this until recently, but now that I do I see that water is a major subject of most of my photographs. I spend a great deal of time in the English Lake District, which is a beautiful part of the UK. Photographing the water of the Lakes against a hilly or mountainous backdrop produces some stunning images. I like going to the coast and can't resist taking photographs looking out to sea. Also, people don't feature heavily in my photography, but if they do, they aren't prominent.

I hope you'll agree that all of these photos have an antique, old fashioned, and faded look about them. Photograph #4 is darker than the others, but generally what I am aiming for is an image with plenty of light on it, not over exposed, though. It is this faded look that I am aiming for, but it doesn't work for every photograph. It took me nearly 2-years to find a style I was happy with, and even then I stumbled across it by accident whilst playing around with the various Styles in the Snapseed app one day.

I don't intend to go over the merits or otherwise of each image, nor do I think that everyone will agree with my treatment. I have numbered the photographs so that if you want to comment on them you can signify which one you are talking about.

Photograph #1.