Smartphone Photography Club

#24 Finding your Photographic Style

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When discovering your photography style, some typical negative thoughts you may face are:

  • I'm not creative enough to come up with my own style
  • My phone isn't new or expensive enough to take decent photos
  • I'm envious of photographers and discouraged when I compare my work to theirs

    • Style is a bit of an umbrella term in that it encompasses a variety of elements. Location, subjects, composition, framing, tone, mood, light, colour, and editing contribute to what the viewer sees and perceives as the overall style of a photo.

    Developing style in your photography starts with you.

    Consider the following questions

    • What interests you outside of photography?
    • Do you have other hobbies like collecting, gardening, walking, travel, dining, etc?
    • Where are your favourite places to go?
    • Do you prefer to be indoors or outdoors?
    • Is it more fun for you to take photos of cityscapes or landscapes?
    • Do you prefer realism over abstraction?
    • How do you express emotion in your photos, if any?
    • Are there any emotions you prefer expressing?
    • Do you prefer to capture people in posed or candid positions?
    • Do you prefer technical perfection over an emotional connection?
    • What are some consistencies you can identify in your process as a photographer?
    • Are there any patterns or consistencies that you can recognize in your editing, colour correction, or colour grading?
    • Do you prefer the approach of less is more, or more is more?
    • Do you have a preference for aesthetics that are sharp or blurred, or low or high contrast, etc?

      • My personal style comes from my love for the Struman Optics Cinematic Macro Lens. I enjoy taking photos of flowers with a 'real' blurred background at the same field of view and focal distance. When it comes to editing, my preferences often lend themselves to darker backgrounds and increased emphasis on colours and textures.

      Get Inspired

      A great way to stay creative in your approach to photographic style is to draw inspiration from your favourite photographers, social media, and your peers in photography communities like ours.

      As you embark on your style journey, it's important not to put too much pressure on yourself. It can be easy to become preoccupied with identifying your style and get caught up in the chase of identifying the perfect genre. However, this will ultimately rob you of the opportunity for your personal preferences to reveal themselves.

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      Be passionate, Be creative and Stay curious 

       - Mike


      Read the full article at https://www.smartphonephotographytraining.com/capturing-photos/photographic-style

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      Smartphone Photography ClubBy Mike James