Photography can never grow up if it imitates some other medium. It has to walk alone;
it has to be itself.
— Berenice Abbott – in “Infinity” magazine, 1951.
Develop Your Own Style
I never understood that expression! From the very beginning of my studies in Photography. I was told to read and digest everything I could get my hands on from the Masters of Photography.
Ernst Haas, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen,
Imogen Cunningham, Margaret Bourke-White and All the others.
I intentionally placed these names in this article. They were the first names that I ended up finding in the Library. We didn’t have the Internet in those days!! LOL
From first learning Proper Exposure and Composition. Learning about light and shadows to posing. Then Developing in the Darkroom (editing on the computer now). After reading and studying this stuff to trial and error. I was first starting to feel good about what I was doing. Then someone said; “You have to Develop Your Own Style”!! You kidding me? How on earth am I supposed to do anything “For My Own Style” after all this going through my head of all that I’ve studied?
Style?? What is Style? A Look? A Certain type of Feel? Develop Your Own Style???
That never made sense. Still Don’t! You shoot what you see. Train your Mind’s Eye to see something that you can say to yourself; “Now that would look good in a Magazine or on Someone’s Wall. Power of the subject. If it’s a Portrait make sure you can see what the person’s personality is like through the “Eyes”. The emotion. The expression. It all comes through from the eyes…
If it’s a Landscape or Still Life? Make sure you understand what the Main Idea/Subject is for the Image. If Not? The Viewer of that piece will Not Understand the point. I hate when someone says “Rules are Made to be Broken”. In Art those “Rules” are guides for us to be able to get the Viewers Attention. So the audience can get it. For them to See what your trying to do and for what reason. If an Artist Breaks the Rules. They better know what the Rules are! Otherwise the Viewer will just glance at your work and say oh that’s nice! I don’t know about you??? But when someone looks at MY ART. I want them to say “Whoa”!!!
Drama, Emotion? Contrast or Shadows? What do you want to show in your Art?
MarkG-Photography 