Style?

[Rob MacKillop]

Aaron [ @Aaron Quinn ] mentioned the following: "For me, a good portion of the reason I joined and visit without posting much is because I have no photographic style and wanted to see what style others have and how that fits with me. Copying in a way I guess but trying to get a sense of my own style and what I like to see once it's out of the camera."

This has led me to ask myself what style is, do I have one, and if yes, how do I achieve it, if no, do I need to develop one?

I must say at the outset that the last thing I am thinking of when setting up a shot is, "Does this fit with my style?", or "How can I make this stylish?". What usually attracts me to get my camera out is not so much an object or scene, but light:


cobbles by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

There is nothing much to look at in this image: it's all about light and shadow, and my editing highlights (so to speak) that. Another:


passage by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

In these shots I'm not really concerned, or even care, what the objects are in front of me, but the play of light and shadow is fascinating. The editing process will strengthen the impression my eye has seen.

Another thing that attracts me is line, angle:


architecture by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

Here the verticals vie with the curves for our attention. I do remember waiting for the lady with the bag to overtake the lady with the pram, as she seemed more determined in her stride - a little play unfolding as I set up the shot, but it was the lines that got me interested in the first place.

Here's another example which unites my interest in both light and lines, with almost a complete absence of an object:


angles stour by RobMacKillop, on Flickr


I often like to have contrast, whether light, lines, or, in the following case, subjects:


Guid Neebours by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

Here wild nature versus industry:


Different Streams by RobMacKillop, on Flickr


Finally, here is what I consider one of my best shots - though few people seem to agree, not that that bothers me.


Girl Seated by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

This girl was working as an art gallery security person, but she seemed to be a million miles away from the place, staring far into the distance, completely out of body. I took a hip-level shot, hoping to get something unusual that might say something which a carefully lined-up shot might not. I was delighted with what I got, and processed it further by reducing the detail and sharpness to zero. It gives a real sense of isolation, existential otherness, the awkwardness of the positioning in the frame, while the fingers between her knees speak of tension - I keep getting drawn to those fingers. In other words, the shot is a portrait of this girl in one moment, and seems to say something about the human condition: we have all felt this otherness before. It's my favourite of my own shots.

Do other people "see" this narrative? Not many. Does that matter? I'd say no. Not everyone has to understand everything - not even the photographer. We are feeling our way into expressing the shadows that flit around in the depths of our subconscious, and they are notoriously difficult to get a "fix" on.

So, do I have a style? Looking through the above, you might argue Yes. But I have plenty of images which look nothing like these samples. But by selecting these particular images, I might be putting forward a style. It's up to others to say. All I know is that, as I said at the beginning, style is the last thing I'm thinking about when setting up a shot.

Do YOU, dear reader, have a style?

 

[Tom Dunne]

Good on you Rob as you have obviously put a lot of thought into this and gone to the bother of outlining it all in your post.

In some way I feel your final paragraph has, to some extent, answered your initial question.
It's something I have never given the time of day to; I think it is very like discussing the meaning of "art". Sort of abstract in a way.
I'm not sure I know what a style means but maybe if you are shooting the same subject matter day after day, landscape being just one example, I suppose you could deem that as a style. Going on that maybe one could say that I have many styles or none at all as I will photograph anything and it is rarely light dependent. Great shots, as you know, (and have indeed achieved), have been taken in "poor" light and "bad" or dark light. It's all light. A lot of photographers I know or used to know, will not go out "until the light is right" and I feel what opportunities they are missing.
Like you, style, rules or conditions do not enter into it for me when I go out. I have enough on my mind trying to find an original subject to photograph and get a photograph that I can come back to again and again and still get the initial buzz that I got when seeing it in the viewfinder. Something that is all mine and that's what keeps me interested.
Equipment too, I have little interest in; just need a half decent camera that will take photographs.
If I was was to describe you Rob I would say that you are a versatile photographer and if Aaron is reading this I would say to him not to worry in the least about style, just take as many photographs as you can in your available time and soon you will develop your own "style", whatever that means, without you even noticing it.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I heartily concur with your last sentence, Tom: just keep shooting, and a style will emerge.

I think Aaron, being technically-minded, is looking for technical reasons we might choose to shoot a scene one way or another. Correct me if I'm wrong, Aaron. He is perhaps looking for things to do which might lead him to a style. All I can say, Aaron, is that I really play by feel - the analysis comes later. Intuition plays a big part, and hope! I get the feeling that if you try to be stylish, you might end up not being stylish at all.

Here's an exercise. Get you camera. Hit the click button a dozen times while randomly pointing it around the room. Don't for a second try to set up a scene. Then look at the shots you have - on a computer screen if possible. Try not to judge what you have taken. Instead, look at the angles, the lines, the colours, the light, look for contrast or rhythm, echoes, wonder about possible narratives or meanings. Can out-of-focus parts have a meaning for you (don't worry about what others might think)? Yes, you might end up with twelve "rubbish" shots, but the analyses might lead you to viewing your surroundings differently. Also, you will have perhaps learned a valuable lesson in not trying to control a scene. Every photo, no matter how bad by normal standards, will have something to say to you.

Maybe.

 

[Ivar Dahl-Larsen]

Aaron, a style as I see it, is when you recognice certain images to belong to a certain photographer, without knowing who did them on beforehand. In other words when you see images and realise instantly who took them. Then this photographer has achieved a style. Now for you or any other to do that, you have got to start and show people what you do. But a style is to me not important, but enjoying the moments of photography and sharing the images with the public, here for instance, is rewarding enough. Practise, practise and have fun. And to the gents above. Well said. And last but not least, you probably know by now which sort of images that appeal to you most, well go out and do likewise.

 

[Ivar Dahl-Larsen]

Aaron [ @Aaron Quinn ] mentioned the following: "For me, a good portion of the reason I joined and visit without posting much is because I have no photographic style and wanted to see what style others have and how that fits with me. Copying in a way I guess but trying to get a sense of my own style and what I like to see once it's out of the camera."

This has led me to ask myself what style is, do I have one, and if yes, how do I achieve it, if no, do I need to develop one?

I must say at the outset that the last thing I am thinking of when setting up a shot is, "Does this fit with my style?", or "How can I make this stylish?". What usually attracts me to get my camera out is not so much an object or scene, but light:


cobbles by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

There is nothing much to look at in this image: it's all about light and shadow, and my editing highlights (so to speak) that. Another:


passage by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

In these shots I'm not really concerned, or even care, what the objects are in front of me, but the play of light and shadow is fascinating. The editing process will strengthen the impression my eye has seen.

Another thing that attracts me is line, angle:


architecture by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

Here the verticals vie with the curves for our attention. I do remember waiting for the lady with the bag to overtake the lady with the pram, as she seemed more determined in her stride - a little play unfolding as I set up the shot, but it was the lines that got me interested in the first place.

Here's another example which unites my interest in both light and lines, with almost a complete absence of an object:


angles stour by RobMacKillop, on Flickr


I often like to have contrast, whether light, lines, or, in the following case, subjects:


Guid Neebours by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

Here wild nature versus industry:


Different Streams by RobMacKillop, on Flickr


Finally, here is what I consider one of my best shots - though few people seem to agree, not that that bothers me.


Girl Seated by RobMacKillop, on Flickr

This girl was working as an art gallery security person, but she seemed to be a million miles away from the place, staring far into the distance, completely out of body. I took a hip-level shot, hoping to get something unusual that might say something which a carefully lined-up shot might not. I was delighted with what I got, and processed it further by reducing the detail and sharpness to zero. It gives a real sense of isolation, existential otherness, the awkwardness of the positioning in the frame, while the fingers between her knees speak of tension - I keep getting drawn to those fingers. In other words, the shot is a portrait of this girl in one moment, and seems to say something about the human condition: we have all felt this otherness before. It's my favourite of my own shots.

Do other people "see" this narrative? Not many. Does that matter? I'd say no. Not everyone has to understand everything - not even the photographer. We are feeling our way into expressing the shadows that flit around in the depths of our subconscious, and they are notoriously difficult to get a "fix" on.

So, do I have a style? Looking through the above, you might argue Yes. But I have plenty of images which look nothing like these samples. But by selecting these particular images, I might be putting forward a style. It's up to others to say. All I know is that, as I said at the beginning, style is the last thing I'm thinking about when setting up a shot.

Do YOU, dear reader, have a style?

Stylish my man.

 

[Davie Hudson]

to state the obvious, yes i do a mixture of old master meets elvis presley lol

 

[Aaron Quinn]

I think Aaron, being technically-minded, is looking for technical reasons we might choose to shoot a scene one way or another. Correct me if I'm wrong, Aaron. He is perhaps looking for things to do which might lead him to a style. All I can say, Aaron, is that I really play by feel - the analysis comes later. Intuition plays a big part, and hope! I get the feeling that if you try to be stylish, you might end up not being stylish at all.

This... This is exactly my issue. I find myself over analyzing every single photo before and after the shot, looking to see the technical reason. I catch myself doing this every single time. It just seems to be the way my mind works.

I am enjoying this thread, good info and some things to really consider going forward.

It's a tough thing for me to see my photos the same as I see others. Consider a photo walk my son and I took recently - looking over the groups photos on G+ after the walk, there were a good number of photos that I found very interesting and quite liked. However, when I looked over my photos, some of them very similar to those I found appealing from others, I very critical of them and found no reason they needed to be shared.

I am going through this right now with this exact photo -

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Well, I like that photo - lots of energy to it. It really pulls you in.

 

[Tom Dunne]

Aaron, why do you need to see your photos the way you see others? When you look at your photos are you, in your mind, immediately comparing them with the work of others?
I wonder Aaron if all this might be a matter of self confidence. I have only seen two of your photographs, the factory floor and now this one and both will stand on their own two feet in any company, simply because they are good and interesting images and devoid of cliche.
Please allow us to see more of your work.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Here, here!

 

[Aaron Quinn]

Aaron, why do you need to see your photos the way you see others? When you look at your photos are you, in your mind, immediately comparing them with the work of others?
I wonder Aaron if all this might be a matter of self confidence. I have only seen two of your photographs, the factory floor and now this one and both will stand on their own two feet in any company, simply because they are good and interesting images and devoid of cliche.
Please allow us to see more of your work.

Very good point and thank you for the compliment. I do tend to compare more often than not.

 

[Glenn Clabo]

Aaron...I lived my entire adult life working with engineers. I really do understand what you are saying. Your education and your propensity to see things as right and wrong...calculated to perfection...etc...causes you to hesitate to let your freak flag fly. But you are among friends here...let it fly. Point your camera at something of interest that caught your eye...was interesting to YOU. The worse that can happen is we will say...that doesn't work...because. when you get to a point where you don't agree with us...that's when you know you have figured out who you are...what you want...as a photographer. It may take a while...but when it happens it's worth it.

 

[Davie Hudson]

As an engineer also Aaron I use photography to not think about right and wrong. It is in fact well known that I don't think about the shot whatsoever as a counterbalance to my professional life.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

On the other hand, I'm the least technically-minded person you are ever likely to encounter...

 

[Pete Askew]

What an excellent and interesting thread. I'll be back when I'm firing on all 6!