Develop your style by continued practise

Develop your style by continued practise by Jackie Ranken

We all have our own preferences in life. We develop our appreciation of taste from a very young age by being exposed to different experiences.

When an experience resonates with us, we should make the effort to understand it better, that way it will hopefully re-occur in life more often.

‘Our biology doesn't dictate which foods we come to adore or dislike over time. Rather, our preferences are quite malleable, or "plastic”, and change depending on which flavours we get exposed to, when, how often and in what contexts.’
bio psychologist Julie Mennella

When it comes to photography this development comes from dedicating time to ‘seeing’. Not just seeing (understanding) what is in front of you but really analysing the content within the frame. Taking the time to develop your understanding of visual communication. Put simply, seeing the relationships of shapes, lines, textures, colours, hues, form and space.

• How does the image make you feel and why?

• What is it communicating to you and is this communication relating to a personal experience or is it new?

• Regarding your personal preferences; what works for you and what doesn’t work for you?

• Is it an effective communication or not?

Just as with food we need to be exposed to many different styles of photographic genera and learn the technicalities of making those images by continued practice. Practice in the ‘making’, then time for studying the results. And asking the questions above once again.

As a photographer who is learning the craft you should practise various styles until you feel that you know them inside out. You should be able to pick up your camera and make an image without having to stop to think about the mechanics of using the gear. Get the craft right first, then the ‘flow’ becomes easier.

This was certainly the case for me when I started to practise multiple exposures. I had to learn how to navigate the camera’s menu so that I could quickly choose the most appropriate option for many different lighting and subject situations. I tried so many random ideas resulting in many failures and fortunately some successes.

I had to go through a rough patch of making images that looked quite of control before I worked out the techniques that suited my aesthetics. The main thing was to keep going and enjoy the ride.

Personal style develops from channelling your photography practice into making photographs that resonate with you. It may be high contrast black and white, or soft pastel dreamy ICM captures, multiple exposures or whatever presses your button. It’s all up to you to make enough images to develop your taste.

Have fun practising.