I look back at the older posts that I wrote and see that there is a thread going through some of them on the topic of the creative photographic process, influence and creating a personal photographic style, which is probably one of the hotest topics on the search lists for emerging photographers. I though it would be a good idea to put some of them together as a review, a reminder, and a way to refresh them and expose to some new readers who might have not seen them yet.

Ten photo tips that can change the way you shoot

Now, more that ever, digital cameras have reduced the technical limits to producing high-quality images. Almost everyone who has a camera and a small amount of training can make satisfactory photographs. Yet, despite the ever-growing popularity of the medium, and the billions of photographs created all over the world on a daily basis, very few images reveal the unique personal style of the photographer. Finding your own voice and identity in the photographs that you make is possibly the most challenging aspect of your photographic journey, and remains one of the most difficult tasks even to the very experienced photographer.

Photography is about WHY not HOW

Being a photographer is not about the camera or the technique, it is about what you have inside your mind. It is the sum of all your life experiences and your point of view. It is where you’ve been, how much you cried, how much you’ve loved and been loved, how much you have experienced pain and how much you care. Photography is not about the HOW but about the WHY. It is about the reason behind your images and not about the exposure or the focus.

Finding your Style and Identity as a Photogrpaher

Don’t go looking for a style. Instead go look for your identity as a human being and let your style develop on it’s own. If your journey is sincere and continuous, if you do what you do because you are committed, because you have no choice, if you keep asking the difficult questions and keep getting up when you fall, your style will be a reflection of who you are as a person and so will certainly be unique. You must strive to find your own identity as a photographer in order to create your own visual style, and not the other way around.

What is an original photograph? Do you create original work?

Now here is a big challenge. How will you tell if a photograph was copied, if there was any influence or if the two photographers just happened to be at the same place and see the same image? And how will you tell who was there first? Will the senior photographer always get the credit due to his seniority? Will one of them risk loosing his reputation?

Where does Influence End and Creativity Begins?

When I was a young and inexperienced, yet-to-go-to-school photographer, I loved the amazing landscapes captured by Ansel Adams in the US southwest. I actually took a road trip to go visit all these locations in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and all over the southwest. I remember trying to find the exact angle that was used by Ansel Adams and take the exact image he took.

 

The image of the number 5 used for the post is Charles Demuth, The Figure 5 in Gold (1928), Museum of Modern Art, New York as it appears on the blog OBJECTS-BUILDING-SITUATIONS MUSINGS ON ARCHITECTURE WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY