What is a photographic style?
Basically, it's your personal way of seeing and presenting things. You have a style in the way you dress, speak, write, your way of being, your sense of humour, what touches you or leaves you indifferent, all these details represent your personality. The same goes for your photographs. Whatever your personality is, it will reflect on your art.
As an artist, authenticity is key. You have to know yourself and not lie to yourself, not try to be someone else. You also have to be able to love yourself with your strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes our style is already there, but we just can't verbalize what it is.
How to find your photographic style?
The best way to find out is to experiment. Landscape, macro, street photography, city photography, sports photography, portrait photography, fantasy photography, abstract photography. One should also experiment with post-processing, as it is part of the creative process in photography. Maybe you hate post-processing? Well, why fight against yourself? Maybe it's part of your style? It's art there are no rules!
A style is not necessarily limited to making macros for example, but it could also be. A style can be a predominance for a colour or a finish with a soft or hard effect. It may be in your love for silhouettes or blurry ones, even in your way of framing.
For me, it's hard to explain. It's an emotion that I feel when shooting, a sense of wonder. I am attracted and generally inspired by the moment. I feel it, I had fun taking this photograph, I marvelled at what my lens offering to me. When I started photography, I was in a state of significant psychological distress. Photography helped me to focus on the beauty that surrounds me, and I have kept this credo ever since.
I practise photography as a form of daily meditation and when you think about it, photography is a print of light. What a beautiful form of meditation, isn't it? In photography, I am in pleasure, creation, and beauty. If I lose the fun, it's not for me.
Process by Elimination
My daughter and my husband compete in mountain biking, and I love photographing them in action. So, I volunteered for events and took pictures of everyone during the races. After a season of cycling, I had no more fun. It seemed to me like 2000 such photos per race! So, I understood that sports events are not my style. Not in this format. I need more creative freedom.
Same for portraits, I don't like it! I find it boring! I only like to photograph people who are important to me or during an emotional moment that touching me. In this moment photography becomes more personal and I like it. I have a lot of fun photographing my daughters, my brothers, and sisters with their little families. To me that means something, but strangers, no thank you! Makes me realize, that's normal, I'm more of an introvert person.
In post-processing, I process minimally. I feel like my photos lose their souls when they're edited too much, and don't like them much anymore. It's probably linked to a desire to surround myself with the most has possible authentic people and to be one too. Like what our style is very close to our personality.
“If you can be yourself, you will not be in competition. All you have to do is get closer and closer to that essence. »
~Barbara Cook
Scalable style
Art and the process of creation, a journey, not an end. It is completely normal that our style evolves and that we have periods with different predominance. Pablo Picasso had a blue period, a rose, a period under the influence of African art, then moved on to cubism, and the Russian ballets to go on a surrealism period.
Everyone evolves, I hope! Everyone goes through their life and develops themselves. Our style being close to our personality, it will therefore also change at the same time as us. It is therefore possible that someone who has made huge changes in his life has a very different style than before.
My photographic style
So, how to describe my photographic style?
I would say I have a style with bright colours and a clear finish. My photographs are generally calm, romantic, or empathetic. Natural light and sun are predominant. My style is instinctive and based on personal desire of keeping myself wondering in what surrounds me.
What if people don't like what I do?
They just must unsubscribe! Let them look for artists who are closer to their vision of life! It's perfect, there are as many artists as styles! Beautiful minds meet, that's all! You can't connect with everyone on everything, you must be aware of that and not feel hurt if someone doesn't like it.
And you, what is your style? Have a good introspection!