Finding A Photography Style : Why Changing My Style Saved My Photography

for many photographers, finding a photography style is the ultimate struggle.  for me, i picked up my light, bright and airy photography style fairly early on in my photography journey and it was that style that helped my work become highly recognized in the early years.  three years later, the style that used to drive me to pick up my camera was doing the opposite.  it was suffocating me.  i completely felt suffocated.  i felt limited.  i felt uninspired.  i felt that every image i had to take needed to be light, bright and airy and i just wasn’t feeling it anymore.  after much thought and bravery, i decided to go with my heart and change my style.

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Finding A Photography Style : Why Changing My Style Saved My Photography

as photographers, i think we work so hard to identify our style and embrace it.  we work so hard at becoming our style that, the moment we aren’t inspired by it, we feel that we can’t change.  at least that was my thought.  i kept telling myself bethany, you have spent years associating your style with your name, it’s what you are known for.  you can’t change it all now!  it was then that i began feeling trapped with my photography.

because my style was very light, bright and airy, i was limiting myself to shooting only during the brightest parts of the day and only incorporating specific creamy tones into my images.  don’t get me wrong, those images were beautiful and images that i am still immensely happy with and proud of.  but they were just taking so much work.  i was having to think entirely too much.  i was limiting myself to only photographing at certain times and with certain elements.

but what about all those other times that i wanted to photograph, but the light was darker or the tones weren’t bethadilly branded?

i just wouldn’t pick up my camera.  and that’s when i knew something was just wrong with the whole situation.

having a photographing style should be a reflection of who you are.  you should have a style for you and for nobody else.  i started realizing that i was photographing my images for the sake of a style and for other people who liked my style, and not necessarily for myself anymore.  i wanted to change so badly, but i didn’t feel like i could.  until one day.

suddenly, i told myself who says you can’t change?  who says you have to stay the same way forever?  one of the things i am most passionate about is change and the process of evolving as i grow as a photographer.  so wouldn’t that naturally happen the same way with my photography style?

it’s like a haircut.  just because it looked great in the 80’s, doesn’t mean it looks great now.

times change.  people change.  styles change.

what i am trying to say here is that change is good.  change is natural.  and the moment you feel like you aren’t being true to yourself, it’s an obvious sign that change is needed.  as we grow as photographers, we should be changing.  if we aren’t changing, we aren’t getting better.  if we are staying the same, we aren’t really learning.  growth = change.  and vice versa.

i am not saying that you can change your style every day.  you can’t pick a style week to week, but instead you should embrace a style as a whole to strive for.  remember, your goal should be consistency and changing too often will make your portfolio look unharmonious and confusing.

the main change i wanted to see with my photography was with how i was using light.  using the brightest light possible just wasn’t working for me anymore.  it was limiting me to only being able to pick up my camera during certain times of the day and it was making me miss other moments because the light wasn’t “good.”  i wanted my new style to embrace the here and the now.  to be able to take a great image that reflected me, no matter the light source.

from the moment i decided to be true to myself and allow myself to change with my photography, i began to pick up my camera more.  i began seeing my life in a new way and feeling inspired to photograph again.  changing photography styles truly saved my photography.  it made me fall in love with photography all over again as i pour more and more of myself into my images.

and when you are happy with your photography, you are encouraged to pick up your camera.  and when you pick up your camera, that’s when the magic happens.  it all happens with finding a photography style that is true to you.

stay true to yourself.  allow yourself to change.  be happy with your work.

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