Establishing your style photographically…

There are a few landscape photographers whose look I really admire. I eagerly look forward to see what new work they’ve posted. Their work is always consistent. I really, really like their photos but I really, really don’t want my pictures to resemble theirs.

When you’re first starting out, one of the best ways to learn is to copy something that you like. Usually by doing that you’ll become more familiar the composition, the lighting and the processing that you’re trying to emulate and practice makes perfect. I recommend that to anybody who is starting out. It really will accelerate your learning process and level out the steep curve in the beginning.

In a short time you’ll master that “look” if you’re persistent. What then? Do you want to be a clone of the next guy on Flickr or 500px?

What you really need to develop your own sense of style or look is time because by evolving, you’re growing creatively. The things that I look at when I got back into landscapes, well… I cringe. I hope that what I shoot this week, I can look back upon four or five years from now and think to myself, “what was I thinking when I shot that?”

Growing means never standing still, never being complacent and never falling in love with what you’ve just done. Your best photo is always the one you’re about to take. All my bad photos are behind me and all of my good photos are ahead of me.

Happy shooting,

Dan

~ by Dan Jurak on February 11, 2012.