Trying to find your photography style in photography? Here are 7 things you can do to find your photography style and take images you love in this guest post by Rachel Korinek from Two Loves Studio!
Hey friends, my name is Rachel Korinek (from Two Loves Studio) and I have been shooting for over 6 years now, but back when I started, Pinterest and Instagram had only just come out and they weren’t the social giants they are today. Our time wasn’t completely being invaded by social media and so I was lucky in a sense that comparison wasn’t so in your face as it is today.
There’s nothing lucky about finding your style, it’s actually quite simple. It’s down to creating a volume of work. Shooting, practicing and working out what you like and don’t like.
Being a part of Gen Y, I know what it feels like to want a quick fix. A pill that I can take one night and wake up the next morning having all these new skills. We’re marketed to that way, and there is this ingrained sense that quick fixes are possible. That’s what sells.
Finding your style IS possible for everyone. All it takes is time, practice, determination and passion. All things you have within you. Having said all that, there are some things you can do to keep yourself on track and get there quicker.
Here are 7 tips to find your photography style, get you inspired and into action on working on your craft and getting closer to your stylistic vision.
7 Things You Can Do To Find Your Photography Style
#1 Produce A Volume Of Content
Finding your style really is simple and comes down to practice. Like it or not, it’s a fact that practice makes perfect. So to find your photography style, you want to be a content producer rather than a consumer of content.
So instead of scrolling endlessly on Instagram just consuming everyone else’s image, you want to instead channel that time and focus on creating your own image. To find your photography style, the more you create, the closer you will get to finding it.
#2 Trust The Process, Don’t Force It
The best news is that taking photos and the photography process is enjoyable. Approaching each session with passion and courage will allow you to enjoy the moment between your food, your camera and your creative eye.
If you trust that with time and shooting a volume of work your style will appear, then you don’t need to force it (or endless seek it). It’s there, within you. You just have the trust the process and you’ll find your photography style. Promise.
#3 Focus On Upward Comparisons
There are some seriously amazing places to hang out and get inspired. Namely, Instagram and Pinterest, yet even with the best intentions to do our style research we can end up feeling worse about our photography.
It’s largely due to habit and we can’t be too hard on ourselves.
But we need to remember that style research and inspiration should be about analysing elements in the work of others to pinpoint what we like and connect with.
When we just think ‘everything’, I like everything about someone else’s work it becomes about comparison and can lead you away from being able to find your photography style. Focus on work that inspires you into action. If it leaves you feeling bad about your creativity, then unfollow.
#4 Use The 80:20 Rule
If you’re having a tough time juggling your consuming vs producing, then using the 80:20 rule is a good way to get you back on track and creating a volume of work to find your photography style. There are a few ways you can look at the 80:20 rule, but here we’ll look at it as:
Spend 20 percent of your time doing things that will bring you 80 percent of the results.
Simply the pursuit of style won’t get us into action. Practicing and trusting ourselves that with time, passion and determination we will get to you to find your photography style.
Now, you don’t need to be shooting 80% of the time, but doing anything other than consuming should take up most of your time. Shooting, taking pictures, practicing styling, or creating a new background is what will get you 80 percent of the way there.
Instead of spending hours looking at the work of others on Instagram, use that time to shoot something.
Using the 80:20 Rule, you can go from this to this.
#5 Focus on ONE Pinterest Moodboard
Let’s face it, there is so much good stuff out there it is hard to know where to begin and we often get paralyzed with overwhelm. Being inspired by many things isn’t a bad thing, but it is if we overwhelmed.
The trick when trying to find your photography style is to focus on the ONE THING that inspires you the most. If you’re not sure what that is, then just ask your gut. No doubt it will tell you right away.
Pick the one thing that really moves you and focus on putting that into practice. That could be bright photography, it might be moody photography. It could be shooting cakes, or using vintage props. It could be shooting overhead flat lays or minimal 45-degree angles.
Really explore this one idea and pin your inspiration images onto a Pinterest board. It doesn’t have to be a huge regimented task, inspiration will lead you.
If you want to spend time on my Pinterest boards, then by all means. Pick one theme and start pinning!
My current focus is working on my shadows.
#6 Look Outside Of Your Niche For Inspiration
Tunnel vision can totally happen when you’re trying to find your photography style and only look at creatives and ideas in your niche. It can also trigger downward comparisons much easier.
Go and follow or subscribe to creatives outside of your niche.
At one point, I found that I was only following food photographers and well it got a little too much. Think about what other types of photography or art inspire you. Look at the images of wedding photographers or architectural photography.
So you can look outside of your niche and see elements that you’re drawn to.
Think about how you could integrate that into your style, your work, your personality.
#7 Get Off The Social Apps
It is absolutely mind-blowing how much time we spend on our phones bring engrossed in apps. Even when we think we are being good! The only real way to track the total time that you spend scrolling our social feeds is with a usage app.
(Total side note here, when I track my usage the thing that amazes me is that I pick up my phone every 15 mins! That’s the scary part).
Track the time you spend aimlessly scrolling on social media, and map that over a week. You’ll probably come up with a few hours that we’ve literally wasted in our feeds.
Now think about what you could have achieved and how much closer you’d be to finding elements of your style if you had put that time into planning, shooting, creating.
Before I let you go and get into action, let me ask you this?
Would a soccer player be any good if he/she studied the field of play all day every day BUT never took to the field, got into action and practiced? The answer is no.
Spending 3 hours a week studying what others are doing on Instagram won’t make you a better photographer. If you only get one thing from this post, it’s this:
Use your time to create content that inspires you and do your best. The rest is down to time and trust.
Be a producer, not a consumer. Take Action NOW. Think about one thing you can do right not to get the ball rolling. Let me know in the comments below what you can do today to get started!
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