(Accidentally) Discovering Your Photography Style
Every photographer wants to have a unique style of composition and editing that is unmistakably “theirs”. In some ways, this should be easier today than ever before. We have more tools for editing, more cameras for getting the shot, and even the ability to travel and get those epic pics that photographers only dreamed of a few decades ago. But there is also more competition than ever. Nearly everyone has the ability to take photos, and modern apps make it easier than ever to take a novice’s pic and make it look pretty good.
On top of this, we’re inundated with photos of all kinds. We rarely take the time to study the greats — even though we should — and so our biggest influences become the trendy photos pushed by social media, instead of the ones that really move us.
With all of these headwinds fighting against us, how can we discover our own unique style?
Well, for me, it happened somewhat accidentally.
Let’s Start from the Beginning
I’m something of a new photographer. While I’ve been shooting since 2016, there are a lot of photogs out there that have been going for several decades. I share this bit of insight to let you know that while I feel happy with the style I’ve discovered, it may change as time goes on.
My photography journey started in earnest in 2016. I bought a Canon T5i and began taking product photos for our, then start-up, Rustic & Main. I didn’t know what I was doing, but the camera took the best photos I had ever taken. It was probably a year later that I discovered this thing called Adobe Lightroom as well as Peter McKinnon and his YouTube editing arsenal. I was hooked! Finally, my pictures started to have some life to them.
But it would be several more years until I found “my” style.
A First of the Roll Accident
A #FirstOfTheRoll at Yellowstone Lake, October 2023
For those not familiar with film photography, there is something many of film photogs appreciate — the first frame on a roll of film They don’t always turn out great, which is part of the fun. Often, we’re just trying to advance the roll to the true first frame. But sometimes you end up with a cool half-exposed image like the one above.
The image you see above of Yellowstone Lake is unedited. The colors are a result of underexposure for the shot, plus some overexposure of light (that’s the white side) when the film was loaded.
The result just happened to be this blue-green, uber-vintage vibe that stopped me in my tracks.
I had well over 200 shots on film from a trip out West that I was editing and, to be honest, I wasn’t crazy about them. The composition was good, but something was missing. I just couldn’t feel the shots the way I wanted to. The way this accidental shot made me feel.
Feeling First. Color Second.
One of the issues I had early on as a photographer was trying to find one style to fit all of my photos. Or better yet, one preset that I could use for everything. But alas, different scenes demanded different editing to “feel” right.
The same thing happened when I came across this accidental film frame. For this scene, I loved the green & blue cast that this shot had, but rather than focusing on the color, what I really loved was the feeling associated with it.
I got this feeling of nostalgia and a dream of a distant land. It’s the same way I feel when I see a true vintage photo and think, “Man, it would have been awesome to be there and see that first hand.”
How My Editing Process Changed
The next frame on that roll was properly exposed, but I edited the colors to match the accidental shot above. Here are how my edits turned out.
While I still like to have similar color themes for a scene, I am much less concerned about how much they match and more about how each individual shot impacts me.
I found that I really like color, more than I wanted to admit in the past (I don’t know why), but I like very vintage and natural tones.
Here is an example of how other shots from the trip turned out.
Different, yet Similar.
To me, this is what makes a “style”. The photographer can snap scenes from different locations with different subjects, and yet still have a style that is uniquely theirs
There is a similarity to their photos that we may not be able to put our finger on, but their name is the first one that comes to mind.
The Kodachrome Influence
One of the biggest influences of my style is Kodak Kodachrome, particularly the shots from around 1940 (see below). Color film was finally becoming a common reality and Kodachrome gave the world these wonderfully bold colors. Remember, in the 1950s and 1960s TV and movies where proudly announcing themselves as “Now in Color” or “Filmed in Technicolor”. So, in the 1940s photographs with color was a big deal and the images were often staged to showcase the colors that would fill the frame.
It’s really this particular era of Kodachrome that has the biggest influence on me. Actually, I like quite a number of things from the 1940s including the clothing, history, and many of the values of the era.
While I can’t exactly replicate Kodachrome, nor would I want to, there is a feeling I am after that I get from images like these shown below.
Final Thoughts
When trying to find a particular style of photography that you can call your own, look for the feeling you’re after rather than the colors themselves. Find inspiration in everything, not just photography, and see how you can incorporate that into your photos.
Lastly, don’t overlook happy accidents. When I first saw the shot of Yellowstone Lake at the beginning of this article, I was upset that I hadn’t captured the full photo (not realizing that I had on the next frame). But, I kept coming back to it and thinking, “How can I do this on purpose?” Now, that accident is my go-to when I need inspiration for editing photos in the future.