I came back from the Dallas I Heart Faces Workshop expecting to hit the ground running with my part time photography business. But all the work ahead of me has me a bit nervous and ideas continue to bounce around in my head without being tied down. There’s also the issue of the equipment I want to buy with the money that I don’t have right now. Then there is pricing, proofing methods, marketing, the list goes on!
But before I can do any of that, I need to figure out one MAJOR thing first:
Who Am I?
I am Briana, a 24 year old wife and kitty-mom to 2. I enjoy romantic comedies and travelling, love cute shoes but hate feet. But that’s not what I’m talking about.
Who am I as a photographer?
Um….Good question.
And before I can design my logo, create my webpage, business cards and marketing materials, I have to answer that question.
Crud.
How does one answer that question when they’re just starting out? What is my style? Right now I’m very schizophrenic in my styles. I appreciate so many different photographers’ work, but if I try to be like all of them, I’ll never find myself. I wish there was some sort of “Find your Photography Style” quiz or analyzer that would spit out my answer (If there is, please someone share it with me!). And as much as I wish I could write a tutorial to help all of you facing this dilemma, I obviously don’t know the answer.
So I’ve decided to experiment by picking some favorite photos of my own and of photographers that I admire. Hopefully through that exercise I can identify what I value most in a photographic image, and thereby define what I want to bring forth in my images as a photographer.
First we’ll start with some of mine:
This photo ranks up there because of the dreamy feel to it, and the fact that it focuses in on such a tiny detail. But the main thing is that the mom loved the fact that her daughter had “monkey toes”, and if I can help her visualize them for years to come, I’m happy.
This shot makes me laugh because this little girl was so much fun. It’s such a natural shot, and it captures her playful personality. I love catching emotions.
This one is a very candid and natural shot again. It caught her happiness and that feeling of being in love.
This is probably my favorite shot to date. Pure happiness on her face, and such a fun and beautiful action.
Alright, so from those pictures I deduce that I like catching candid, natural emotions. I like capturing the essence of the subject’s personality or relationship, and I love the little details that mean more than you realize.
So now to analyze what I love from more seasoned pro’s photos:
Amy Karp – She does absolutely beautiful work, and I had the immense pleasure to learn from her while in Dallas. But this shoot of hers particularly caught my attention and admiration. It involves a lot of elements I love: a dreamy, romantic feel; elegant, vintage pieces in a natural environment; and a subject whose personality comes through. If I had to pick my favorite out of them, it’d be this one.
But like I said, if I HAD to pick one. To see why, check out the rest of the session’s entry here.
Jose Villa does stunning work as well, but this wedding was from the mind of another fantastic photographer, Jessica Claire. Again, we see the vintage pieces out in nature, giving it a dreamy, romantic feel.
Another photoshoot that had me drooling was the Swarovski spread shot by Patrick Demarchelier for Vanity Fair magazine. It tells the story of the Three Graces, and what strikes a chord with me is the story, the characters, the old architecture, and the fairytale aspect.
So what does all this say about me? I’d say my style is:
- natural
- emotional
- personal
- candid
- romantic
- storytelling
So as I plow ahead into the land of logos, website, marketing and branding, I need to come back and check everything I create against those 6 words.
Did you try this for yourself? What did you come up with? I’d love to hear whether this helped you or not.
