You Don’t Need a Photography Style
You don’t need a photography style.
A lot of people think they do because they want to differentiate themselves from others, have this particular “look” or “feel” to their photos, or they know other photographers for their styles so they think they should have one as well.
But personally, I’ve found this concept of style to be more limiting than anything.
And if we’re not careful, it can actually limit or ruin our photography.
Let me explain.
Creating Your Own Box
Over the years I’ve thought a lot about what style is and what style means.
And the biggest realization I came to in my own photography is that:
The moment you set up a style for your photography, you create a box around it as well.
Say I want that bright daytime sunny aesthetic, with pastel yellows and blues.
Or maybe I want that cinematic night street photography look.
Or maybe I’m old school, have been inspired by Ansel Adams and want the immersive black and white landscape photography - with deep shadows, interesting textures, and heavier contrast.
All of these are appealing on their own but sticking to one style or look means that’s all I’ll get.
And the more I delve into that style or look of photography, the more I associate with that, and the less I feel right about doing something else.
You’ll see this with content creators on YouTube all the time, right?
Some people are so deep into their niche they become afraid to put out a different kind of video because it’s not what they’re known for.
Even if it’s a really good idea, they’d rather not make or put it out because they’re worried of what people may say, or worse: get no views.
The same goes for photographers, artists, even your favorite musicians.
Having a style can be great.
But it can also box you in and limit you from trying something else for fear of inconsistency with your audience, and also with yourself.
And then you’ll start thinking about “well this doesn’t match or look right on my Instagram”, rather than just taking photos.
Therefore, a style will make you less free to take different pictures of different subject matter, in different times of day, with different photo edits.
And it’ll make you think you can only take photos in one specific way.
The same goes for having multiple styles.
Although having multiple styles seems like the obvious solution, it’s more complicated that having no style.
And the less stuff we have to think about, the easier and better time we’ll have taking photos.
So you may say you want a style now, but be careful what you wish for.
Less Experimentation
Having a photography style can not only box you in, but may also lead you to experiment less.
Once you have a look or style of photography you like, you’ll start closing doors.
You’ll start seeing and noticing great opportunities for great photos but wont go for them because it “doesn’t fit your style”.
This is a dangerous road for an artist because the creative process is one of experimentation and innovation.
I forget who said it, but the quote goes something like this:
“If you’re not experimenting, trying new things, and getting better, you’re just getting older.”
So I’d actually encourage many photographers to consider having no style or discard the idea of style to begin with.
Because it’ll give you the freedom to do any and everything again.
Sure at the beginning having a bunch of looks may be confusing, and it’ll be hard to get a sense of who you are as a photographer and what you like.
But in the process, you’ll take a bunch of new maybe even better photos.
Take these images for example.
A couple of years ago, I was experimenting hard with my sunset photography.
I’d gotten used to taking standard static landscape shots and felt like there was something else I could do, especially with the vibrant colors of the skies.
So, I started doing some handheld long exposure photography at the peak of blue hour.
This led to some weirdly amazing photos and a deep dive into abstract photography.
Paired with multiple exposures, I found there to be an endless combination of streaking city lights, stars, and sunset colors.
Furthermore, I found that I could push vibrancy and saturation to levels that wouldn’t make sense for normal “real life” photography.
And that was a lot of fun.
These right here are some of my favorites.
Now some people might not like it, I’m really happy with how these turn out.
It was a lot of fun and also gave me a newfound understand of light and color and led me to feel more like a painter who’s paintbrush is the camera itself.
So that’s what I mean.
I would have never experimented and learned these things had I chosen and stuck to a photography style.
I would have never known what was possible and what else was out there.
And these many photos that I’m proud of because of their strong visual appeal would not exist today.
So keep experimenting - it’ll lead you down new roads with unforeseen possibilities.
It Can Make Photography Boring
Many people don’t think about this when it comes to “style”, but it can make the craft boring.
Sure at first, it’s cool to pair up a bunch of similar photos.
And looking at them on your Instagram profile might seem nice and cohesive.
But after a while, you’ll soon realize that going out and taking photos becomes the same thing over and over again.
You’re going to the same spots with the same cameras to take pictures of the same things.
Because if you took a picture of something different, it might not match your “style”, the look will be off, and then you just wasted your time.
And this repetition, can kill some people.
At least one of those variables needs to change every now and then to keep things novel, fun, and interesting.
Meaning: mix things up.
Personally, I try to change at least one or two variables when I’m out shooting, or at least force myself to try something different.
This could mean:
shooting in a different location
trying a different film simulation recipe
working on a composition I’m not used to
taking multiple versions of the same photo
fixing a weakness I noticed in past photos
The list goes on.
Changing these variables gives me something else to focus on while also making it interesting.
Sure, it might be a bit stressful because the process is less streamlined from what you’re used to, but I think the novelty is worth it long term.
If I ever find myself in a pattern or routine of doing the same thing for too long, I’ll mix it up.
You wont have the consistency of a “style” persay, but doing this every now and then can really help keep photography fresh.
But Andre, I still want a style.
So let’s say you heard and get what I said but you still want a photography style.
Here are a few weird things I learned about style over the years that might help how you think about it.
And they may sound contradictory to the points above, but both can be true at the same time.
Style is Inevitable.
The way most great artists got their style was not by trying to have a style.
Rather they were aiming at something different, and style happened.
Study your favorite painters, writers, and photographers.
Many of them didn’t create a style because they wanted a “style” persay.
But rather, they were trying to express or create something - something which could only be done in that way.
Take Pablo Picasso for example.
People will look at his later works and what he’s known for (like cubism) and say, “My 9 year old daughter could have drawn that.”
But what many don’t know is that Picasso could draw and paint realism pretty damn well.
If you look through his earlier works, many of them look like more than just your daughter’s chickenscratch.
They’re just not what he’s known for.
But the reason why his later works are so good is because the deformity presented expressed something his earlier works could not.
But I don’t think he woke up one day and chose to have this particular style.
Rather he kept experimenting with everything and developed it over years and years of painting while trying to express whatever it was he was aiming for.
And as time passed, his looks became inevitable - based on the person and artist he was.
Now obviously, I don’t know what he was actually thinking throughout the years, this is just my speculation.
But I think it helps get the point across.
You don’t choose your style.
Second weird example, based on a quote by I forget who said it:
“You don’t choose your style - it chooses you.”
Style, in a sense, is made up by the viewer, the audience, and the art itself in retrospect, based on what we associate with the artist.
I don’t think many great artists could have chosen their style even if they wanted to.
I feel like style is more of a calling, a pull in a certain direction of creativity, and what we end up with is what we end up with.
I see this in many examples of great writers like Robert Greene.
He mentions all the time about how he always wanted to be a novelist.
But the books of his that ended up being the most successful were self-help psychology type books like The 48 Laws of Power.
And although he may have preferred to be more successful or well known through novels, he had no control over that.
You don’t choose your style - it chooses you.
So those were two things that I’ve learned over the years that have helped me to greatly understand style.
As a whole, I want you to understand that:
Style is not bad, but you don’t need a photography style.
I think too many photographers get caught up in the idea of style that they lose sight of what photography is about: taking photos.
This creates a box around our photography, leads to less experimentation, and can even make photography boring.
The ironic lesson here is that once you give up on the idea of style, you begin to develop yours.
By focusing and taking more action on the craft, you’ll experiment and innovate more.
This will lead to more beautiful possibilities and unique combinations that will give you, like Picasso, your own style.
And it’s better to understand style as something we can’t help, an inevitable part of our being that sheds itself onto our art.
Furthermore, you’ll soon realize that this isn’t a thing you can control.
If it happens, it’ll happen on its own accord, not because you picked or chose it.
Style is a combination of what you create, what the world thinks of your work, and you as a person.
So don’t focus on style, focus on photography - and if you have a style (which everyone does) it’ll eventually come out through your art.
Because style is inevitable. And you can’t choose it - it chooses you.
Alright, thanks so much for reading.
I hope this helped and you found some value in it.
Let me know your thoughts in the YouTube comments about what you think about style and how you approach style in photography.
And, if you wanna learn more and build a strong foundation with photography, check out Photography Essentials - it’s free.
Also you can help support me by either adding to the travel fund or grabbing a copy of my latest zine “The Sinking Sun”.
Thanks as always, have a great day.
