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My Style

My photographic style has been something that has always eluded me. I have always felt that I don’t have one. I watched other photographers, on my level and professional, that had very established styles and I wanted my own. I figured it would just develop over time; 5 years later, I’m starting to doubt that.

It is impossible for me to look at this from a objective standpoint. I can step back from my photographs, but they will still be mine and I can’t view them as an outsider, this makes it hard to see my own style. I would say that I like a-lot of colour, I rarely do BnW. I recently discovered having a full tonal range (from 100% black to 100% white) makes images pop and give a professional shine. I wish someone told me that years ago, I feel it’s one of the secrets to photography. 

I’ve also shot what’s in front of me. Landscapes, exterior architecture. I also shoot long exposure as I think its fun, unexpected and an unexplored field. I’m now getting into more people photography. 

I shoot disregarding the rule of thirds; I may follow it at times, but it is by chance. Though rule of thirds is a valuable learning tool, pushing novice photographers in the right direction, it must be dropped once the photographer is experienced, to stop it restricting the creative mind. It pushes people into making the same composition over and over.

I carefully watch of empty space. This is something that keeps working well in making a strong photograph. I make sure my eye doesn’t get stuck in an image. 

Something I noticed after doing a installation at university was how I shoot for a contemporary context. Throughout the pioneering days of photography, photographers were highly trained and admired people. A photograph took hours to produce a print. Photographs would often be looked at for more than a few seconds by the end user. Now, in the digital age, where a photo can be developed in seconds with a common smart-phone, an image may only be viewed for a single second. 

Traditional photographs were often in a series. I shoot individually, rather revisiting a spot or identical concept. Perhaps this is why my photographs seems so disjointed from each-other, and don’t create a style. I’ve learnt a-lot about shooting in a series in the last few months and that will effect my future photographs. 

I am still pushing forward, trying to create some sort of style but I’m not sure which direction to head. I wanted to put my thoughts down on paper, so I can look back, figured I’d put it here. 


Kalem

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