Consistency of style - Is it important?

[yeatts]

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I hope this is the correct forum to post this. Seemed like a good fit. Feel free to move it if it belongs elsewhere.

My question to the group is: How important is consistency of style to being a good, if not great, photographer? By style I mean the appearance of the image, rather than the subject matter.

I peruse a lot of images, including those on sites belonging to members of this forum. Many of you seem to have achieved consistency in your images - consistent tone, contrast, clarity, tint, etc. You have a “look.” I admire that consistency and find it pleasing. More often that not, my mind equates consistency of style with great photography.

Yet I struggle to want my images to conform to a singular style. My proclivity to tint one way or another, to apply more or less contrast, to be soft or edgy depends on the subject and my mood. The result is a growing portfolio of stylistically diverse images that don’t necessarily carry a “look” or personal signature.

Some of this may be related to my shortcomings as an operator of Lightroom - even though I’ve been shooting for upwards of 25 years it is only recently that I’ve become  invested in learning the art of digital processing.

In considering my question, I suspect there will be individuals here who say “Who cares? Just do what feels right” or “If you’re not selling your photographs, it doesn’t matter” but if one wants to consider himself a reasonably good (or great) photographer, is it important to eventually develop a consistent style?

[250swb]

I don't think photographers develop a style to become great, they have a style because it is part of the visual communication of what they want to say. If there is nothing to say other than 'look at what I've done this time' that's fine, people will look, if there is consistency you are saying 'look what I'm working at' and people will think as well as look. Some photographers find their voice through subject and style, others like to raid the proverbial karaoke machine, but I think if anybody has a work ethic about what they are photographing a style comes through eventually, so just keep working.

[wda]

I think you have answered your own question. It is the way images are processed and finished to suit the photographer's way of seeing subjects. Mastery of Lightroom pays dividends.

I spent a lot of time, as a novice, reading and watching tuition videos, all of which helped me develop my style. Google 'Julienne Kost' who has produced over 1,000 videos for Adobe. Find the subjects which match your needs. Watch and copy techniques she introduces. I call it my 'evening homework'. I found her tutorials superb. As you now recognize what you want, go after it.

[frame-it]

10 hours ago, yeatts said:

My proclivity to tint one way or another, to apply more or less contrast, to be soft or edgy depends on the subject and my mood. The result is a growing portfolio of stylistically diverse images that don’t necessarily carry a “look” or personal signature.

i do exactly the same thing with my photos.

[Ornello]

I grew up watching old B&W movies made in the 30s and 40s, many of them stylized by European cinematographers and directors (James Whale, Karl Freund, Josef von Sternberg, and many others). I love extreme close-ups (which were very common in the early sound era). Also, I studied the Hollywood glamour portraits of Hurrell and others:

https://georgehurrell.com/gallery/

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Take a look here at a small sample of my work:

Sometimes you get very lucky, and the composition spontaneously appears. Note here the diagonal lines formed by the rugby players' limbs from lower left (starting at the ball) to upper right, and from lower right to upper left:

The harder you work, the luckier you get!

Edited January 20, 2022 by Ornello

[hansvons]

19 hours ago, yeatts said:

My proclivity to tint one way or another, to apply more or less contrast, to be soft or edgy depends on the subject and my mood. The result is a growing portfolio of stylistically diverse images that don’t necessarily carry a “look” or personal signature.

That's a good reason why hot to have a consistent style. 

On the other hand, what determines the look of a picture? Besides colour rendition, often the contrast in the photograph. Shots at the magic hour, especially in Winter, are way different from shots under an overcast sky. What digital postproduction can do today is equalising such shots to a certain extent, making images artificially pop that aren't noteworthy under normal circumstances because the light is terrible. Such images look always over-sexed, artificial. Another topic is the ability to include the vast full dynamic range in one picture. We see that regularly. More often than not, the results look HDR-like, which I dislike. 

To avoid all of that and to find some consistency to understand what I'm shooting, I developed a workflow that mimics what film was able to bring to paper, to cine film or video back in the day. In the end, I mainly adjust just WB and Exposure. Very quick and straightforward. If a picture is bad, it remains bad. I leave it alone and don't try to rescue it.

But I'm not talking about the so-called film looks here. I'm talking about a contrast curve that the best film stocks show. In the end, the images look somewhat similar to Kodak Portra photography but with Leica colours. Such a workflow makes the results resonate with me because film has been the medium I've worked a decade with. I also look out for texture in images (which film naturally incorporates.) But I don't shoot at ISO 50 and add digital grain to the texture-less pictures, but rather experiment with ISO settings that bring some texture to the images organically. 

That way, light and exposure in the field remain the defining factors and taking photos is less arbitrarily. I can say that results improved visibly.

[hansvons]

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9 hours ago, frame-it said:

i do exactly the same thing with my photos.

I find that your work shows a consistency that is distinctively frame-it. Interesting blacks with some mushiness I really like, moody colours. You must look twice to grab the intent. 

[Photojournoguy]

Every YouTube video or interview I’ve heard where style was mentioned, and these are among established and skilled photographers, the message about style was always consistent: it comes organically out of how one sees, regardless of subject matter to your point. This includes snapping and post work, as how one sees in the viewfinder and in moving sliders applies.

I’ve found that I keep making the same edits to my photos - not because of dogma or wanting to define a style, but simply because I edit to my taste and what attracts me visually, graphically, emotionally. While subject matter is irrelevant, I do find myself attracted to certain elements that are consistent across work, whether graphic elements, positioning, etc.

Sounds like you’ve photographed for a long time but have only begun exploring Lightroom. I’d say it comes by just experimenting and seeing what it takes in editing for you to say “that’s my voice coming out.”

[Herr Barnack]

On 1/20/2022 at 3:46 AM, 250swb said:

I don't think photographers develop a style to become great, they have a style because it is part of the visual communication of what they want to say. If there is nothing to say other than 'look at what I've done this time' that's fine, people will look, if there is consistency you are saying 'look what I'm working at' and people will think as well as look. Some photographers find their voice through subject and style, others like to raid the proverbial karaoke machine, but I think if anybody has a work ethic about what they are photographing a style comes through eventually, so just keep working.

+1.

To quote photographer Jaymi Heimbuch -

Quote

...You Don't Find Your Style, Your Style Finds You

Your Style Is Crafted With Intuition...

https://jaymiheimbuch.com/podcast/011-3-tough-truths-to-finding-your-style-as-a-photographer/

[philipus]

Yes. Or, I mean, no