Got Style

I have just finished a couple of very intense weeks of shooting and am trying to collect my thoughts and analyze what parts of that work really 'worked' for me. What was it on a particular assignment that felt right, or didn't?

It's really about style. Do I have one? What is it like? I know that there are things that I want to show and say, and when I shoot, if I have those things in my mind and am successful in making photographs that bring those things to life, I am happy. I know that I have done something. I know that that's my style. It may not be my style a few years from now, nor was it my style a few years ago, but it is today. I need to have a connection to the idea and to the subject and the rest is making art.

That's why I love to work with subjects and clients who want me to create photographs for them that are in my style. It's simply a matter of creating the environment and working with the subject to make my ideas into reality. I'm happy, and when they see the results, they are happy. That's what it's about.

If you're being hired because you are a photographer, but the client is simply looking for a commodity shot, and not what floats your boat, take your life jacket! (sorry ;-) You may be a capable, competent professional, but if it's not the kind of work that you feel is your style, think twice. It will probably work out perfectly well! But will you be happy?

This is why we specialize. Right? You want your visibility to reflect where you want to go, not wherever you might have been, unless of course you've been on the right track for a while. I don't think Coca-Cola is inclined to show images of their famous mistake, "New Coke", in their marketing materials. Like most/all photographers, we have have several of those efforts somewhere on our hard drives, but they probably should stay there. Your style is you and you want people to want you to create for them what you do best. I like to create interesting, informal studio portraits in my small space in Lowell, but I also really enjoy location portraits, which anyone who does this kind of shooting knows, come with a whole bunch of logistical fun, but the results can be worth it many times over. But it's important that I show that kind of work because it is my style, what I love to shoot, and what I want people to want me to create for them.

Comments

[Jan]

I am still in the process of finding my style. And sometimes when I seem to be lost or worried that I don't have one emerging, I go back to photos I took 5 years ago (yes, they stay hidden on my hard drive, away from any critical eye but my own), I cringe at those photos I took back then. And I am curious if I will have the same reaction to photos I took yesterday 5 years from now.

I can usually tell the photos you take Adrien because of your style. Whether it be on the internet, around Lowell or the local magazines it's a style I admire.

In the end, as long as we resonate while we do what we love to do, I believe it's how and why our styles emerge. It's our unique voices on paper (or the screen nowadays).

[Adrien Bisson]

Hi Jan,

Thank you for reading this and for commenting, and for your kind words about my work!

You certainly do have a style that shows in all of your work, and it is a compelling one! The technical quality of your work seems so second nature to you that your images show a very developed sense of light, texture and composition. But while they are initially attractive, there is always something different about your perspective and how you work to hold the viewer's interest.

As for worrying, join the club! If I don't have a certain level of stress when I am going out to shoot and while I am shooting, I know the results will not make me happy. I don't think you ever really "make it", or reach a point at which you are satisfied. If you do, it's probably time to seek other avenues of creativity.

Thanks again!
Adrien