your personal shooting style

[nedy77]

For those of you when have been shooting for awhile and have found your niche.

Your photos can be reconised by some people, or people like your kind of style(certain distinctive composition/colours/post-processing etc)...

after awhile, you look at your own work/portfolio and it has become monotonous(but still good).

would you change your style(that have become your signature) because you want a breakthru or you want people to think you can be more creative (but risk losing your signature style)

or would you stick with what you are doing best (but risk people thinking that you are unimaginative and uncreative)

 

[night86mare]

would you change your style(that have become your signature) because you want a breakthru or you want people to think you can be more creative (but risk losing your signature style)

or would you stick with what you are doing best (but risk people thinking that you are unimaginative and uncreative)

why do you shoot?

 

[nedy77]

why do you shoot?

lets just say i shoot with the intent to get paid work in future.

ok i know there will be different camps.

some people shoot as a hobby for themselves, so these and this group of people probably don't need to bother too much about creating a signature

or fine art artists who shoot for "fame"

how about people who shoot for a living(or intend to shoot for money) and need to bother about market/public perception

 

[night86mare]

lets just say i shoot with the intent to get paid work in future.

then you have your answer there.

 

[derricksony]

I always try to try different shooting style.

 

[Kit]

For those of you when have been shooting for awhile and have found your niche.

Your photos can be reconised by some people, or people like your kind of style(certain distinctive composition/colours/post-processing etc)...

after awhile, you look at your own work/portfolio and it has become monotonous(but still good).

would you change your style(that have become your signature) because you want a breakthru or you want people to think you can be more creative (but risk losing your signature style)

or would you stick with what you are doing best (but risk people thinking that you are unimaginative and uncreative)

Honestly, I can hardly recognise my own style and I didn't let that bother me too much. In a way, I live through every photo I take. Going through the normal thought process to conceive a design intent for what's there there and then. Style is rarely on my mind and I don't believe my work can be instantly recognised as mine nor do I feel that its critical. I don't believe that keeping what you know best equates to being stagnant. On the contrary, trying to be different just for the sake of it or for fear that you might be viewed as being unimaginative can be disastrous. Constantly learning and evolving is the better route.

 

[Kit]

and yes, about 30% of my annual income comes from taking photos.

 

[derricksony]

haha, me is 30% of my income spent (not earn) on my gear...

 

[nedy77]

ok lets not say that a shoot person shoots to please others or wants acceptance in society

lets talk about actual market conditions where a style can be a branding

and let say for example:

in portraiture,your portfolio style is always high key(or low key), with a plain background and same lighting and same angle, just different people & outfits.

Boring & uncreative? or its ok because its your style?

 

[Kit]

Its your photos. You can define it any way you want. However, if you are shooting for a living, make damn sure your clients like it.

 

[sabee]

I got no style. Sometimes when I browse through my old photos I go, holy crap! Who is the photograhic genius behind this incredible piece of work before quickly remembering that it was me.

Just kidding.

But I doubt any one style will ever grow on me or out of me since just whatever looks good works for me.

 

[Kit]

in portraiture,your portfolio style is always high key(or low key), with a plain background and same lighting and same angle, just different people & outfits.

Low/high key are photographic techniques. If you view using these techniques as having your own signature then how do you differentiate yourself from the 2 million others who had used these techniques before?

Your signature encompasses a lot more than just what meets the eyes. Your working attitude, ethics, attention to details, people skills and a whole lot of intangible assets are your signature too.

 

[night86mare]

in portraiture,your portfolio style is always high key(or low key), with a plain background and same lighting and same angle, just different people & outfits.

Boring & uncreative? or its ok because its your style?

if you do it right, no one will care that it is repetitive.

 

[wildcat]

Its your photos. You can define it any way you want. However, if you are shooting for a living, make damn sure your clients like it.

I think this is the main difference between photography as a hobby and photography for the purpose of selling. :bsmilie:
The customer is always right!

For myself, photography is just a hobby, but I am the kind of person who likes to learn as much as I can within a particular field, try out as many things as I can, and be good in as many things as I can, then once I have achieved that, I will pick out specific things from the what I have learnt, to form my style.

That was something I learnt during my 3-4 years of serious cycling (one of the longest hobby I've had, since I continued for a total of 8 years including one preparatory year where I was just doing stationary cycling in gym). I pretty much applied the same workflow with photography (one preparatory year with a G1 just shooting as I please, before I moved on to my current Nikon and posting here in CS to get feedback and learn at a faster rate).

 

[nedy77]

thanks for your insights.

i know some people do not intend to create a certain style, but tends to shoot in a certain way that he have become comfortable with, and hence the certain delivery of the image have become "his style"

Low/high key are photographic techniques. If you view using these techniques as having your own signature then how do you differentiate yourself from the 2 million others who had used these techniques before?

not refering that Low/high key is the main style differentiation,

i am saying then when you look thru a portfolio, all the photos are high key & have the same tone/background, maybe all the models have wind blowing in their hair etc..... maybe all 10 photos featuring 10 different models look the same, but all have the "wow" factor


maybe creativity doesn't apply to all kinds of photographers and photography genres

for eg, a food photographer for hawkers coffees shops can't afford to get too creative; a photo of a plate of chicken rice should look exactly as it is. try to do a closeup with a thin DOF and the stall owner probably cannot accept that.

in this sense,maybe wedding photography can be used as an example for discussion?

 

[night86mare]

i am saying then when you look thru a portfolio, all the photos are high key & have the same tone/background, maybe all the models have wind blowing in their hair etc..... maybe all 10 photos featuring 10 different models look the same, but all have the "wow" factor

let's put it this way, when you are a professional photographer, you do what the client wants.

if the client wants you to do a low key shot, then you have to know how to do it, if you turn around and insist on doing a high key shot, then i suspect you will not be in the professional line for long.

wedding photography is slightly different, the clients have been looking for a particular style of photographs that they can appreciate and like, and when they find you, they expect you to deliver what you have been delivering. therefore, you shouldn't have to worry about the style, non-creative part.

 

[nedy77]

again thanks for all the opinions, hope to hear more

let's narrow down to wedding portfolio/website presentation:

would you like to present your work in a way where you can showcase "a certain style" and the client can identify you, but ends up displaying images that looks identical and monotonous

or would you display "different styles" but then you don't have a "specialty". For eg, you post fun photos in bright colors, romantic photos in neutral tone, abstract silhouette photos in low key etc etc, but ends up that clients don't remember you after browsing thru so many websites

i am not looking for answers, just want to hear opinions

 

[nedy77]

i mean, how many of you (professionals or hobbiest who've been shooting for awhile) have actually come to a stage where you sit down, look at all your past work, and realised that you been doing the same stuff all along.

did you ever think that you are capable of more,and want to show more different stuff

or do you think that, ok you've found "your style" and its good that you have found your niche


or maybe something like a "mid-career crisis/mid-life crisis".... when you suddenly sit down and think: "where am I going"

 

[bmnna7]

Hello, I'm a newbie and new to this forum. OK, about style. James Cameroon is a good example.
Just when everyone thought he is stagnant...He came out with Avatar...Style only matter to the very famous personalities...;phttp://www.clubsnap.com/forums/images/cs/smilies/tongue.gif

 

[nedy77]

Hello, I'm a newbie and new to this forum. OK, about style. James Cameroon is a good example.
Just when everyone thought he is stagnant...He came out with Avatar...Style only matter to the very famous personalities...;phttp://www.clubsnap.com/forums/images/cs/smilies/tongue.gif

ok that's a good one.