Photography Style Isn't What You Think It Is
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 4. 07. 2024
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Watch this video about style instead - âą Why You Havenât Found ...
Its a far better video. :D
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:45 Looks Are Skin Deep
03:16 The Vibe Of Style
04:52 Evolution
06:54 Inspiration
07:53 'But I Am Boring'
10:26 The Key
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đ Book on the WHY of photography I recommend:
geni.us/LhQWkpZ
The Mind's Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers: Henri Cartier-Bresson
geni.us/w8z5
Why People Photograph: Robert Adams
geni.us/G5Bos
Peter C. Bunnell | Peter C. Bunnell: Aperture Magazine Anthology: The Minor White Years, 1952-1976
geni.us/pmOBS
Photographers on Photography: How the Masters See, Think, and Shoot (History of Photography, Pocket Guide, Art History): Henry Carroll
geni.us/XVrGS
Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography: Roland Barthes
geni.us/BkdVZE
On Photography: Susan Sontag
geni.us/HkiEY
Letting Go of the Camera: Essays on Photography and the Creative Life: Brooks Jensen
geni.us/TWAu
Approaching Photography: 'A Seminal Work...Revised and Updated': Paul Hill
geni.us/9jM9t
John Berger: Understanding a Photograph: John Berger
geni.us/mNBR
Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series (Penguin Books for Art): John Berger
geni.us/B7plw2
Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite: Paul Arden
geni.us/An8TeZi
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative: Austin Kleon
geni.us/ddlRxQj
It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be: The world's best selling book: Paul Arden
geni.us/mNJf
Life Library of Photography (Complete 17 Volume Set, Plus Index): Time-Life
geni.us/jeL2
The History of Photography: An Overview: Alma Davenport
â Recommended playlists:
Connecting With Your Passion For Photography
âą Rediscover Your Passio...
Improving Your Photography
âą Start Improving Your P...
Disclaimer: Some of these links go to one of my websites and some are affiliate links where I'll earn a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.
Check out Edward Steichen - czcams.com/video/naTdHu1t-4k/video.html
Is there a photographer who has influenced your own photography the most?
loved your video on Edward Steichen so much I bought a book covering his Vogue years really like the classics
Interesting timing on the Steichen suggestion, just before I opened this video I got confirmation that "The Family of Man" has shipped. My first influence would have to be my father... Have you covered Arnold Newman?
I know some photographers but I don't think they influenced me really in my style. I LOVE Tim Walk's work so so much I recognize it right away ; but my work is very simple : contrasts of colors.
I would say Cindy Sherman
Generally, now days most would say I am probably most influenced by Karsh but in reality I would say I am influenced by a multitude of different photographers and film maker, with me going in different directions dependant on my mood and the kind of image want to create
I would say other photographs from various photographers have influenced some ideas, even some not "famous", and no particular one. I don't try to copy photos. I do like Ansel Adams, but not sure I could describe a "style", other than black and white, which is all he had. :-)
This is the only CZcams channel that I get excited about when a new one is released. I like your honesty, how you donât talk about gear and mostly you introduce âmasterâ photographers that I havenât heard about before and also new photographers. Your channel has increased my photographic creativity, which makes me happy, so sir, I thank you!
I think my "style" is trying to produce photographs that please and excite ME. If I accomplish that I'm happy. Of course, I hope other people in my audience will like it, too, but if they don't it doesn't matter as much because it pleased and excited me and I'm happy. I recently entered two photographs in a juried show that had 81 entries. One of my photographs earned 3rd place and one of them was awarded Best of Show. I really liked both of them, but the one that earned 3rd place was my favorite. When I first saw the RAW image on my computer my heart skipped a beat. By the time I finished processing for the final print my heart was singing. I was feeling a sense of excitement and at the same time a feeling of well being and contentment that I can't explain. I couldn't wait to show it off. I knew that not everyone would like it, but I liked it and it was a winner with me. Now, I can''t wait until the gallery finishes the exhibition so I can bring it home and hang it on my wall. The one that won Best of Show? I like it, too, and just about everyone who has seen it likes it and exclaims about it, but it doesn't give ME the same sense of affirmation that the 3rd place winner does. I hope it sells at the gallery.
_âHowâs it, howâs it!?â_ I say that in everyday life now.
Iâll never forget the day I knew I had a âstyleâ I had a photo in a gallery with many other photographers. My friend ran up to mine never seeing it before saying âI knew this was yoursâ when she read my name. I asked her how. She said I reminds me of your poetry.
Nice.. I also write free verse ...poetry perhaps. Yes , photography too use mostly vintage rangefinder glass. ...
@@chrisloomis1489 cool! I shoot mostly Fuji cameras last couple years. Doing travel and street mostly. Also like to shoot black and white with old film cameras.
@@davidmayden4942 I'mj using old film cameras, too. I have film in three different cameras of various ages. I'm taking the same photo with each camera to see which image I like the best. It's taking a while!
Another wonderful and insightful video. I'm so thankful for your vlogs. When I started Photography last year (age 42) every vlog was gear reviews, what's in my bag etc, but no one focused on the soul of the art. You sir really do exactly what is needed to help those develop from an artistic perspective and not one of technology. Thank you and keep up the great work.
As a trained video-editor I like how you illustrate the point in your editing: you're not afraid of using jump cuts. It's the sort of thing that well meaning advisers will discourage you from using. Bu why not. It's just the easiest, straightforward way to do it. As for the question of photographers: Carl de Keyzer and Harry Gruyaert.
Many years ago I studied to be a florist. After Iâve finished our given missions, it could be to do Ikebana style, a funeral bouquet or whatever, we always could see who had made a certain arrangement! We had the same flowers to choose from and the given assignment but our own style would still show. Style was in our hands, our thoughts and actions. It showed naturally. I find it much harder to to find that with photography, I donât know why, but I think it has to do with me listening to much to âwhat others will sayâ and taking photos as they are supposed to look like (right aperture, âstyleâ; gear etc).For me your videos have made a huge difference in my way of thinking! Canât thank you enough! đđ
Your photos reflect you and your growth, and finally your independence.
I agree with this message. Style evolves organically; you shouldn't force it. I recently reviewed my last year's photos and realized that I'm increasingly drawn to minimalist and intimate compositions in landscape, and inclusion of negative space when I shoot wildlife. My videos are also beginning to evolve a certain look, as I've tried different setups and just gotten more comfortable speaking to a camera. It also means noticing what lenses and focal lengths I tend to gravitate to, and what processing methods I've adopted. Few of these changes were consciously aiming at a style, but I can tell what is working best for me at the moment.
Great vid as always. Style is an evolution. If said style remains static then the photographer is not learning, ergo evolving. I totally get what you said about listening to others. I downed my camera for over ten years because of such noise. Now shooting again, I have found my voice, and largely ignore commentary. Maybe if I were a commercial photographer, I would listen to advice more, but for me photography is a journey I enjoy as a solitary traveller. It's the world through my eyes, and my images reflect this.
This channel is one of the gem that I found on youtube. Feels so great.
hahahđ€Ł the intro, so funny
I think style is something that you develop over time and without realizing it, it also changes in the same way as we also change without realizing it.
Iâm actually caught up in this idea as of late. Iâm still an amateur but I feel like great photographers found their style early on. It sort of defines them as an artist. Then again itâs all about perspective đ€·đŸââïž.
"Fashion is what you're told, but style is what you tell yourself"
- Quentin Crisp
Picasso: "Style is often something which locks the painter into the same vision, the same technique, the same formula during years and years, sometimes during one's whole lifetime. The different styles I have been using in my art must not be seen as an evolution, or as steps towards an unknown ideal of painting. Everything I have ever made was made for the present and with the hope that it would always remain in the present."
Photographic Style: that point in a professional photographer's career where their work product attains professional recognition and paid success, and from which point they then continue to do the same thing regularly if not exclusively, to maintain recognition and paid success.
Few weeks or months ago I've complained that audio quality is not very good - I had difficulty to understand you correctly. I don't know what have you changed (or not changed at all ;) ) but 2022 series audio is much better now. Thank you!
Thank you! I switch off videos that tells me I need to develop a style especially for Instagram.
I only happened to find your channel a few days ago, but the amount of impact you've already had on my perspective as a photographer has been so helpful. After all the effects of covid and lockdowns, I've slowly become detached and even afraid to pick up my own camera for myself, so use to making images for other people that I neglected my own personal work. You've given my photography a new lease and courage to pick it up again and for that I am eternally grateful! Please continue to do your great work in inspiring the photography community!
I wish I knew how to, on purpose, express myself with my photos. I never have anything I want to communicate with my photos. I just shoot and edit in a way that I like, and that is about it.
The viewers can if course get meaning out of my photos, but that is all on them.
I think this is your best video/message yet. I have watched all of your videos and purchased your course and I am very grateful to you. My style is within me and it has nothing to do with what I photograph. It isnât how I photograph. My style is the reaction and feeling I want to bring from the photograph.
This is very interesting, as nearly everyone says to have a good portfolio you have to have a style. I have no idea what style I have personally, and just take images of what grabs my attention at that time. Maybe in time my style will eventually come through.
here's what happened to me.. in the effort to put together a (blurb) book of the stuff I had been shooting the last 3 or 4 years..I had to necessarily go back and go thru all my images.... and after a bit it hit me right between the eyes as to what my 'style' was. I was like: OHHHH I get it.. I mean I had all that time been photographing in and around that style - but it took just stopping and looking to 'see' it
I have discarded over 40,000 photo's not because I was looking for my style but I was searching for quality of the photograpgh. That comes with knowledge of the limitations of the camera and the effects of light on the camera and subject. Contrast is the key.,that deliniation of light will give you a great photo no mater the subject is. I have done macro, landscape, street, and people. My favorite subject is flowers and I have some amazine photo's of them. So much so that I have started to grow my own.
Thank you for your fantastic and thought provoking videos. Thanks for educating us that being a photographer is not about what camera we have but how we see the world.
Wow! This reminded me of when I first started photography with a 1.3 MP camera, and how I loved taking pictures of what I liked. But along the way in an effort to improve myself, I got caught up in the technical aspects of what makes a good picture and slowly lost interest. Now it finally clicked that what made the pictures good was my personality. Excited at all the ideas that are popping in my head. Thanks!
i personally struggle with repetition i guess. often i get bored easily. so i always feel the urge to have to do something new (which could be good because of improvement) but then i somehow have the fear that exactly this "i-don't-wanna-do-this-again-attitude" makes me miss something or get unsatisfied just because i didn't want to take the photo.
You are a great teacher and photo-philosopher. You kindled the the thoughts in me. Regards
Thanks for another inspiring video. So much noise on CZcams to do with gear and stuff. It's great to see a channel that follows a road less travelled.
I am influenced by Joseph Sudek's still life photos. So simple, but so dramatic.
I've been thinking so much lately about what is missing in my photography. Your video just gave me the talk I was needing, thank you so much for it and keep doing these amazing videos, I am a huge fan.
This video really resonated with me. Thanks Alex.
I started thinking about "style" a while ago after having my work showcased in several exhibitions and photo festivals. The term in use in the photo community at the time was "unique visual language" which confused me a lot, because it implied that style is about looks and I instinctively knew that style is about somenthing more personal and deeper. I also felt that visual language should change according to the specific project or genre I was working on. So I decided on a different approach. I asked myself what is a good image for me? What was my photography all about? After endless tries at this (and believe me I chewed this the way a dog chews an old shoe) I arrived at an answer that seems to suit me for now. I felt that my photography is about passion and I set for myself 3 criteria for a process that will hopefully yield a good image at the end. 1. Am I in love with the image at the moment of photographing it?
2. At the culling stage do I still feel that the image has the potential to recreate the way I felt when I took it?
3. After post processing do I still feel that not only I love it (which is really good enough) but that it can convey the way I felt to an audience?
This process has me listening to my inner self and maybe that's where style comes from.
That is not to say that I shun outside inspiration (photography, literature, cinema, plastic art) but that outside inspiration is a kind of reference or assisting tool to my personal creative process.
So I really don't know what my style is, but this is a sort of compass currently guiding my steps on my photographic journey. I wanted to share this with you guys, to contribute to the discussion. Please tell me what you think.
You are a lecturer, a very generous man, thank you, I really admire your work!
Wow, thank you
First of all:
Thank you so much for your great channel. You're speaking to my heart right now.
I'm currently studying photography and I kind of lost myself. A short time ago I discovered your channel by accident and I can really only say that you are an extremely big enrichment for me right now.
Thank you again!
Does it make sense to speak about style rather than "the way you treat a theme or a story"? This is to me the most important. The style serves the theme, the story, the purpose and make it coherent. Style would impose to always do the same, same colors, same framing, which at the end would makes us prisoner of it. We can have multiple styles, abandon one for another based on feeling, mental disposition, mood of the day. Being in one style drives to boring images, when over used. Limited to a strong story telling or short theme, makes you more creative as supporting the narrative.
Another great video! Not one single tip, trick, Vs. or "how to". Bloody marvelous! :)
A simple... Thank You for what you do, please continue...
Yay pep talks. Yep, getting a critique from a pro who tells me what they want to see in a photo or set of photos (it has happened a couple of times) is a bummer but it also helps me define and understand where I am going, what I am sharing. It also helps to have some really good photographer friends who I can talk to and listen to their own struggles and successes (their success fuel my love of photography) and who will share their insights about my work. And am very glad you pointed out that
-a style can evolve
-a style is sometimes shaped by the subject matter
For some photographers who do only one type of photography, landscape, for example, then a consistent style makes sense. But I love photographing all kinds of subjects, so I have various styles, which can flourish and/or morph over time and place and subject. So, thank you. Great, as always.
I think social media or really Instagram in general has made us "think" we need to have a set style so our feeds have a consistent look. Photographers today are more concerned about how their photographs look to the masses than how they look to themselves than ever before. I know this because I struggle with the same thing, the Instagram disease. I started to photograph things that are liked than things I enjoy myself, I started to become someone else. Now that I stepped away from majority for social media, I need to learn to rewire my brain and look to myself to create photos that are meaningful to me and not the masses. Thank you Alex, I needed to hear this.
That's so true.. you get judged sooo much by clients that can see another do a photoshoot and decide it's better
I think the style we become, is an artifact of our journey and our level of satisfaction. I think this video is significant. Thank you
Great perspective and excellent timing, I was just speaking to someone about this very subject. While it is good to look at other photographers work I sometimes find myself trying to compare my work with others instaed of just photographing. Thanks for the "Pep Talk"!
Most people want me to see the world through their eyes, where as you make me want me to see the world through my own eyes.
A remarkably enlightening conversation!
Alister Benn of Expressive Photography asked this question in an email he sent out today, "Who am I trying to please with my photographs?" I think the answer dovetails nicely with this video. I think one's style is a way of saying 'this is interesting to me' and 'this is how I want to express it'. When I do both, then my style shows.
As for a major influence on my photography, I would say my parents who were amatuer photographers who were interested in photographing family and travel. The influence they had was to photograph what I was interested in. So I never really struggled with trying to please others. But oddly neither actually influenced me technically.
Perfect. Alex, thanks for sharing your insight and knowledge.
I've always liked the comments about liking someone's style. I always want to ask them to describe the "style" in words. I certainly would have trouble doing that, unless, maybe, it is very off the wall.
we need people like you!
Truly important words. Thank you for your work. For support and guidance, for being that friendly mentor that understands and motivates and you know that he has been there so he speaks the truth.
I appreciate your videos. They are thoughtful and meticulously documented. They inspire and educate. Thanks!
When you pick up a camera, you have something to say. Only you can say that something. Thanks for the encouragement
Excellent words of advice. I will watch this video several more times. đ Thank you.
One word: Great!
Thank you so much
Thank you...I watched this video at the right time, I think? I need to go with what I like and not be influenced by other's.. great video thank you..
Great video. As it happens, I only realized over the past six months what my style is, and it happened in just the way you described. I wish I had seen this beforehand! It would have saved me a bit of worrying about it :)
Q: How do you know if a person is a photographer? A: They take pictures.
Wonderful as always Alex. I so enjoy your content, always thought provoking.
I am loving the videos you are doing now. Very empowering.
Great video and info. I enjoy your insight and am trying new things. I look forward, every week, for your show! Thanks!
I think style means complacency, that someone have found something you have mastered and are no longer adventurous in your seek for knowledge and skill.
Styles are kind of a certain pattern your brain is already drawn to. You just need to work alot, like you can't tell what a picture is by looking at just a few pieces of puzzle. For photography, if you shoot alot, style will emerge. Definitely. Just shoot what you enjoy, what you feel like you it. That's the way for me.
Inspirational - again. This is a subject that has bothered me. How you describe and discuss style fits my current evolution perfectly. Thank you đ
Thank you Alex for the pep talk. I needed it. đ Great content, as always. â€ïžâ€ïžâ€ïžâ€ïžâ€ïž
Thank you Alex, excellent advice as always.
I've embraced the Bruce Lee philosophy and adopted "The style of no style". ;-7
But honestly that label "Boring" has been applied (by other people) to my writing, my photography and my self so often I just don't bother 90% of the time.
Brilliant advice, very helpful, thank you.
This video is timely for me. I wish I could decide on a subject and stick with it. But I guess it's no big deal if I can't. Thanks for the video!
It's like true love: do not go looking for it - you will know the moment it is there.
Another great video! To me you are the most inspiring photography teacher on CZcams. Thank you!
So... once again you've made me think. After some hours of pondering this video I've come to the following conclusion: Style is not a reflection of what you see but how you percieve what you see. The camera and all of the "rules", tools and techniques of photography are simply the vocabulary tools at your disposal for translating that perception into a physical medium. The better your understanding of that vocabulary the more eloquently you can speak.
Thanks, youâre totally right âŒïžđđ»
Thank you for the pep talk!
"Style" is mostly something constructed in hindsite. Nobody said: "Let's create a style, and we call it 'Art déco', 'Impressionism' or 'Straight Photography'". People just followed their intuition and di what they liked. And many artists, when finding out that people like what they are doing, keep doing it over and over again - thus finding their "style". Somewhat boring.
Freeman Patterson EFIAP F.P.S.S.A, probably influenced me the most. In my many decades as an enthusiast photographer, the things that I remember and value the most were the two titles of his books, "The Joy of Photography" and "The Art of Seeing".
As far as personal style of photography, I think many photographers are looking for creativity and originality within their comfort zones instead. Also, one can say it is similar to positioning in marketing.
I find it so weird that some people on Reddit has said that they recognize my photos, because my photos have so many different visual styles. Only a couple has said it, but still.
The thumbnail of Sinead O'Connor by Herb Ritts caught my eye but he didn't get a mention in your video? Some of the most stylish photographers seem to be forgotten these days; Herb Ritts; Peter Lindbergh; Patrick Demarchelier; Steven Meisel; Sarah Moon; Paolo Roversi etc. etc.
Thank you so much.. it's about a process and finding who I am.. I can see it in my Instagram page its shaping and involving daily or however it may take me.
Great explanation Thank you so much.
Within 10 seconds I hit the like button
When a commentary mildly disturbs me, even though the examples are deeply moving, itâs usually a sign I need to pause and look back a ways. At my age, thatâs perhaps back to the 1960âs. So, I can see several styles in my work. The labels might be snapshot, blah landscape, rushed reclining Buddha, hackneyed Tokyo pedestrian intersection, and semi-competent South African wildlife from a Land Cruiser awkwardly positioned. Latest might be kitten with eyes actually in focus thanks to Nikon firmware. Near future will be post cataract surgery no eyeglasses early delights while playing. Still, I do get some moments of satisfaction along with many of the oh no moments. Yes, my style is mostly oh no moments. Likely a fairly widespread style.
Already liked the first sentence. Great one again.
Love your Martin Paar photo selection :)
This channel is so good!
just loved it, thanks.
Thouroughly enjoyed this and needed to hear it đ
Picasso: "Style is beside the point. Nobody would pay attention if one always said the same thing, in the same words and the same tone of voice."
A style will no doubt come out in your photos - they are expressions of you and how you see the world. It becomes apparent as you go through your photos. You'll see themes, looks, subjects that you like and that come out a lot. I'm not sure this is always something you do on purpose or even something that you should worry about. The look is part of it, but people experiment with different looks all the time.
And nothing wrong with being a bit of a chameleon either, changing things up from time to time.
Alex I love you videos⊠Thank You!
My thoughts on style in painting⊠every painter has some deficiencies in there skill with a brush. Style is how they.compensate for those deficiencies.
I think over the years more than one photographer has influenced the way I look at things almost generates a list in my head
Peter Lindbergh helmet Newton Bill King Minor White Edward Weston on and on
You did this with the books last time where we had to pick one lol
Great video!
Thanks!
Game changing
Thank you. đđ·đ
Thank you for this excellent presentation. If I understand your point, a successful style is simply a way of presenting a subject that successfully presents your underlying vision of the world. As such, I doubt that Irving Penn or Edward Steichen spent much time worrying about their style; it developed naturally as they experimented with ways to successfully present their vision.
And, for me, the big questions become: (1) Is my vision truly clear to me? (2) Is what I want to say somewhat useful or important to others? and (3) Am I getting that across in the images I present? If I can answer these questions positively, then I probably have a meaningful style. And more importantly, if others spend time looking at my images, they will be rewarded with something worth their while.
At any rate, thanks for your thoughtful musings on this topic!
Amazing video!!!
Why am I continually notified of this as a 'new' post? Thanks!
I have no idea. Are you a subscriber?
My own homepage often keeps suggesting the same videos over and over, or ones I've watched previously.
That sort of thing (how and when it shows up on your homepage) is totally outside of my control.
love your vids. Ted talks
You got a new follower! :)
Thank you.
I keep getting told by other people that I have a 'style'. I'm not doing anything special, just doing what I enjoy, choosing subjects, pressing the button, selecting shots and editing as I see fit. Should I be worried??