The Art of Seeing: Finding Your Visual Voice

“What style do you shoot in?” or “I see a lot of [insert any photographer's name here] in your work.” These types of questions and statements, I'm sure, have been presented to you, and if you've ever wondered why, we can find out together.

How many times have you stood looking at images online and known, straight off the bat, exactly who it was that took that photograph? One thing that is learned and garnered over the course of one's photography journey is the realization that having a particular style, nuance, or flair about the work you produce helps shape and define the work that you pursue—or the work you eventually get hired for.

I am, of course, talking about a photography style. It has occurred to me over the last while, as I progress on my own photography adventures, that a certain look or feel has finally started to emerge from the images that I produce. For so long, I had spent my time editing images as they came, one by one, which was fine, and I am still very proud of the work I produced in the past. But in terms of consistency—how they actually look or feel as a collection—I have felt personally that they were somewhat lacking.

Having a unique style is important because it does many things for you as a photographer. It helps set you apart from your peers; it helps to attract the right kind of audience that you want (and, of course, the right kind of clients); but most importantly, it reflects your own creative voice and how it is that you want the world around you translated into this art form.
As I mentioned, finding one's unique style is a lifelong pursuit. It's a journey, not an overnight process, and it evolves alongside your own creative interpretations. Let's look at a few ways we might be able to expedite this transition, and I hope this inspires some newcomers to the world of photography to translate what it is they truly seek.

Explore and Experiment

The first thing I would highly encourage anyone—regardless of where you are in your photography life—to do is to experiment. There are loads of photography genres out there, all equal in their own right, and each can teach you so many things.
I predominantly am a landscape photographer, but I also enjoy travel photography. But this type of photography, as amazing as it is, seldom pays the bills on its own. Over the years, I have developed a fairly substantial portfolio in interior design, architectural, and food photography. There are many lessons that I have learned doing those commercial genres that boosted my creativity in the field. These aren't limited to things like exposure blending and focus stacking; it's about how you see light in a room versus how you see light on a mountain.

I, of course, like many others, played around with street photography and macro photography. And while I greatly admire those genres, I think I will just leave it at me admiring them—I have great respect for the discipline required for both, but they weren't "me."

If we may stick with outdoor landscape photography for a moment, even within this genre, there are many subgenres that you can explore. The most obvious ones would be long exposure photography, black-and-white photography, and, of course, the wonderful world of minimalism. All of these subgenres have so much to offer a landscape photographer, let alone any other style of photographer, as they teach you vital compositional rules, shutter speed control, and so on.

So again, I would highly encourage anyone—particularly those starting out—to experiment and explore. Not just your camera, but your surroundings. These will all help in defining your own particular style and your own unique voice.

Study the Work of Others

One of my own personal favorite pastimes, and how I came about defining my own style and work, is the simple and humbling pursuit of studying the work of other photographers. I am sure you, reading this, like me, have many photographers that you admire. I could give you a list as long as my two arms and legs!

One of the beautiful things about studying the works of your favorite photographers is twofold: first, it helps you discover what it is within photography that makes you more passionate about the art. But also, if one of your favorite photographers sells a book, for instance, you can directly support their work by purchasing that book. Then, at your leisure, you can peruse it as you see fit, which I do many times with the books I have bought in the past. This is a wonderful thing to do—get yourself a nice cup of coffee, find some spare time, and just dive in. I highly recommend it.

As you review the work of your favorite photographers, ask yourself the questions: What is it that I enjoy about this one particular photograph? Is it the color? Is it the composition? Is it the way they handled the lighting in the frame? When you are able to analyze other people's work like this, it gives you great insight into your own work and where you might want to take that work. This is a huge benefit to how you progress as a photographer.

A word of warning, if I may: always use other people's works as a source of inspiration, not a blueprint. Sure, you can go to the same locations as some of your favorite photographers, and sure, you may replicate the work that they do—albeit with different lighting and conditions—but always, when you are at a location, try your best to put your own stamp on the scene. Keep in mind the questions you asked yourself when looking at your favorite photographers' works, and ask yourself those very same questions when overlooking the scene in front of your camera.

Reflect on Your Own Work

This leads us very nicely into the next way you can define your own photography style: deeply and introspectively reflecting on your own work.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this is something that I have very much been doing over the last year or so, and it has paid me back tenfold. Honestly, I regret never starting it earlier in my process. When you look back at your own body of work, you have to ask yourself the hard questions about your work and what it means to you. Are there recurring themes or techniques that I seem to be gravitating toward? For me, this was a very easy answer once I looked. I have, over the last many years, been so drawn and taken with seascape photography. Recognizing that has opened up a wonderful world of creativity for me personally in the work that I create.

Another thing you can do is simply ask for feedback from somebody else. Now, this is obviously easier said than done because there is nothing more challenging than putting your work in front of the eyes of your peers. Of course your mother loves the photograph—it's your photograph! But when you can get some honest, perhaps even stony critique from someone you admire, this can pay off massively in the long run. It is well worth putting your ego aside for.

Finally, it's so important to simply be self-aware in recognizing what it is that excites you about photography. If you are one of the lucky ones who finds yourself drawn to a particular genre, then absolutely lean into that. Not only will you learn a lot, but this will take you one step closer to defining your own particular style.

Define Your Vision and Goals

So now that we have laid down some foundational work on how you can develop your own photography style, the next thing I would suggest is to define your vision and your goals.

Once you get over the initial excitement of photographing anything and everything, and you inevitably start to niche down, you will start to define a clearer vision for your photography. This will be one of the greatest steps you can take. I am by no means encouraging you to leave any particular genre behind, but there will be certain outliers that will consume you. As you start to go down that rabbit hole, having this clear vision will help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

When it comes to setting goals for yourself, these do not need to be lofty goals like "I am going to travel the world with my photography" or "I'm going to have X amount of clients by the end of the month." They can be simpler goals, at least for now. Develop an idea of storytelling within your images. Figure out how you might evoke a deeper emotion from the photographs you take. Even very simple ones like I want to take 10 photographs in nature today or I want to try a new genre this week are valid.

I would highly encourage you to physically write down these goals and visions. Stick them somewhere that you can always see them—on the fridge, in your van, or in your office. This will act as a constant reminder of what it is you want from your photography, and it is very satisfying to be able to tick off the to-dos that you set for the week or month ahead.

It's also hugely important to remember that this is your expression and nobody else's. Don't feel like you will ever do anything "wrong" when it comes to the images you want to take. There is no right or wrong in art; there is only what resonates with you.

Develop a Consistent Editing Style

This particular step, I think, was the longest penny to drop for me, and that is to develop a consistent editing style.

As I mentioned above, I used to import a batch of images and edit each of them as I saw fit on that specific day. This led to my culling being kept to a minimum, and then I would inevitably feel incredibly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of images I had to edit. This, in turn, led me to not pay a great deal of attention to the one, two, or five images that really stood out from the bunch.

I don't think post-production has ever been as powerful as it is right now. Regardless of what software you use, you have a huge amount of creative control at your fingertips, and I would highly encourage you to figure it out and explore every option. It really is in the "digital darkroom" where the images you captured in the field come to life. This is where you ultimately convey the feeling or emotion that you set out to capture in the first place.

A wonderful benefit of today's editing software is the simple creation of presets. While everyone you see online seems to be looking to sell their own, it's very important to know that it's actually quite simple to create your own. These can act as a wonderful starting point for you when you get home from a weekend shoot or any photography endeavor you may find yourself on. 

Now, don't get me wrong—if you feel a certain creator's presets very much align with the vision you have set for yourself, this is another way you can directly support that creator, so don't be afraid to buy someone's presets if they speak to you.

But all this being said: practice, practice, practice. When you begin to edit in a consistent manner, you take another step forward in creating your own photography style. And as I mentioned before, please do not be afraid to push your sliders to the limit. Do not ever feel like you are doing anything wrong, because you simply are not. You have the creative freedom to express your vision in any way you see fit. If you want a structured walkthrough of building this kind of workflow, the Mastering Adobe Lightroom: How to Use Lightroom course is a solid place to start.

Embrace Your Unique Perspective

Another huge thing that you can lean into when defining your own style is to embrace your own unique perspective.

Being as unique as you are, you have your own personal experiences and interests, and these all help to shape your photography style. So please, lean into them! Don't shy away from any of the feelings you have when you stand in front of a scene. If you embrace your own perspective on a building, for example, you then begin to see it in a whole different way, and this only stands to deepen your connection—and ultimately the viewer's connection—with both you and the image.

I absolutely encourage all of you to shoot what it is that you love, what it is that excites you, and what it is that keeps the camera in your hand. If you push the boat out too far into a genre you don't care about, you may end up feeling burnt out, keeping the camera in the bag when it really should be on top of your tripod. So please, don't be afraid to shoot what feels most authentic to you. As I've mentioned throughout this article, you are what shapes the images that are created.

All of this combined—your unique perspective and your authentic self—will aid you in finding your creative style and make you stand out just that little bit more from the crowd.

Be Patient and Evolve

Patience is a virtue, as they say, so please be patient and allow yourself to evolve. Let the evolution come at its own pace. I have been photographing for many, many years, and as I mentioned, it's only in the latter half of these years that I am truly beginning to find my own perspective and creative voice. This is, and shall be, an ongoing process that we all must endure and, hopefully, revel in.

I highly encourage you to embrace change, as these changes will only stand to benefit your pursuit of a creative style. Trust me when I say it's a wonderful process. And please, experiment with every tool and technique that you can muster, because this is a journey entirely of its own.

Wrapping It Up

We have made it to the end! And if you skipped all of the above and came straight here for the "show notes," we basically looked at all the wonderful ways we can define our own creative style and voice in this medium.

The key takeaway I would love for you all to have—apart from being inspired—is to simply enjoy the journey and not to rush the process. As we have discussed, it is with slow intention that we grow in this art. Through the exploration of genres and subgenres alike, you can, of course, carve your own creative voice and ultimately a photographic style so distinct that people can eventually say, "Oh, that looks like a picture Neil took."

Let's have a small call to action, shall we? This seems to be my running theme here on Fstoppers. Go and grab your camera when you get the chance and head out to take some photographs—but do it now with a very clear intention. Come back to me then and post a photograph that you took five years ago versus the one that you just went out to take. Tell me: what has changed since then? Is it closer to your own vision and goals?