Virtually anyone who did not cut English class in high school can easily recognize a poem by Longfellow or Shakespeare, even if it is one he has never read before. The phenomenon of individual style, so profoundly felt in poetry, is also present in other types of creative self-expression.  While there can exist, in addition to individual style, a style that is characteristic of a certain period in history or geographic location, we can easily distinguish the paintings of Rubens or Rembrandt from others which bear the same characteristic features of all Renaissance painters. The individual style of an artist, as unique as handwriting, allows us to recognize the artist’s work as a combination of techniques employed and visual elements used: perspective, composition, palette, tonality, brush stroke and even the choice of subjects. This phenomenon feels completely natural to the viewer, just as it does not surprise us that a writer or a poet uses characteristic vocabulary, idiomatic expressions and rhyming patterns in his work.

It is only logical to assume that personal style plays as crucial a role in art photography as it does in any other artistic genre where an artist’s personality has overriding importance. In fact, not only is it logical, but it is also substantiated by facts. When looking at photographs, we cannot only name the artist who created them, but even take a peek into his soul. Certainly, the artist’s personality influences his work in any type of art, but in photography this effect is especially evident, for several reasons.

While artistic photography is just as powerful and universal a tool of creative self-expression, it differs greatly from the other visual arts. For one thing, photography is the only artistic field where art is not created literally by hand, that is using a set of techniques based on hand-to-eye coordination. On the contrary, photography depends exclusively on the artist’s internal sense of harmony, and the reflex, which allows him to react to its presence by pressing the shutter button. Secondly, a painter or a sculptor has much greater control over how the real-life subject he observes will be reflected in the work of art. A photographer is denied the luxury of altering reality once the shutter is released (I am not going to discuss darkroom and digital image manipulation at this point). The only point of interaction with reality available to him is timing, the all-important choice of when to release the shutter. The photographer does not have the option to “change his mind” and modify a moment of reality, which he has already captured, the way a painter may. Moreover, the method of image capture itself completely eliminates the possibility of any distortions brought in as a result of individual quirks of brush technique (something which enriches, rather than detracts from, the work of the painter). Thus, his photographs can be seen as the undistorted reflection of his soul.  

The understanding of art does not come all at once. It is a process similar to ascending a long ladder with treads at differing heights. Moreover, this staircase is unique for everyone. What is similar for everybody, however, is the fact that overcoming small gaps is effortless and often unnoticed, but ascending a steep rise does not come easily. Thus, it is relatively easy to realize that style is a very important element of the creative process, but understanding what style actually is, and learning to cultivate a personal style, is one of the most steep treads it is necessary to conquer on the ladder of creative development.    

I strongly believe that one should not try to devote any effort to developing a personal style, because that is as pointless as, say, trying to develop a beautiful handwriting. While it is possible to force oneself to write neatly, calligraphy requires close control, and as soon as we needs to write quickly we inevitably fall back to our natural handwriting. A photographer’s personal style becomes apparent when he works sincerely, without thinking about the opinion of others, and without forcing himself to create something that is foreign to him. In this context we can refine our earlier thesis about photographs acting as a mirror that reflects the artist’s soul.  

In order to avoid the temptation to shoot in order to please someone else, we should realize that we could never deceive ourselves. Any attempt to convince ourselves that “it is better this way because everybody says so,” or “no sweat, the client will never know the difference” is a hopeless endeavor because something inside will always feel not quite right. An artist must never create anything that would make him ashamed of himself because he could have done better, or should have done it differently.

The Elements of Style

Style cannot be developed artificially, but it can be refined. Let us identify a set of elements, which constitute style, as our first step toward understanding style, and finding ways of improving it.

     Perhaps one of the most important elements of style is the sense of taste. The ability to stop just in time, to say no less and no more than is necessary, to neither oversimplify nor make something more complex than it needs to be – these are all signs of good taste and of immaculate style.  

Another noteworthy attribute of flawless style is subtlety. While composing a picture in the viewfinder, we should remember that an understated detail might have a far more powerful psychological impact on a viewer than the same detail, shown prominently in the frame. On the other hand, there is the danger of making the detail so subtle that it slips the viewer’s attention, and thereby preventing him from understanding the photograph or even drastically changing its semantic content. It is extremely important to keep this in mind, and to make sure that no details that must communicate to the viewer the artist’s meaning are overlooked by the viewer.

The third attribute of good style is lightness. Lightness is difficult to describe, but very easy to spot. Interestingly, art photography is in many ways very similar to jazz. Lightness in photography, for example, is closely related to a musician’s ability to improvise readily even in the most difficult part of a melody. Lightness can be loosely described as the ease with which the photographer breaks a rule, while making a slight bow of acknowledgement towards it.  

     I would like to touch upon the role of humor in photography. There is a preconceived notion that comedy is superficial compared with drama, and that it is far less prestigious to be a clown than an actor in Macbeth. This may be so, but in my opinion humor can be a powerful tool in the hands of a photo artist, provided that it is used tastefully.

The last attribute of style that I would like to discuss is integrity. In a good photograph everything serves only one purpose: to convey the artist’s idea to the viewer. A photograph has the strongest impact on the viewer if the vibrations of all of its components are in resonance with the vibrations of the frame of the shot. In a mechanical system, such resonance can lead to destruction of the system, but in an image, it can create a powerful visual and emotional stimulus. In such a photograph everything is in its proper place and carries its own significance – from the color palette to the tonal range, the composition, prop selection; even mascara on a model’s eyes and her facial expression plays a meaningful part.  

     To summarize, style is one of the most important concepts in photography, and there are several important aspects that define individual style. The sense of good taste, subtlety, and integrity are attributes that are essential for good and recognizable style. Genuine personal style cannot be artificially created, but it can be refined and improved by consciously working with its attributes.  

This seminar is a edited lesson from Irakly Shanidze workshop:
Anatomy of Creative Process in Photography
Which can be found at: 
http://www.photo-masters.net/seminars.php?code=28

He also offers a workshop on the creative
 approach in fine-art photography at:
http://www.photo-masters.net/index.php?=en