Having a Signature Look

It’s all part of knowing who you are as a photographer and it defines you to the world around you. Some say it’s a crucial element to photographic success. So, why should you have a signature look?

I’m Dave Williams, and I’m here every week on Scott Kelby’s blog for #TravelTuesday.

I always used to say that my style was to not have a style. What I’ve since realised is that actually, I was still busy finding it! Regularly taking the time to assess where you’ve come in your photography journey helps to highlight key turning points and to appreciate the journey you’ve been on, as well as helps to make sure you’re moving in the right direction. On a side note, doing this can also help, at times, when you’re perhaps feeling lost or disillusioned in photography.

The key part of your signature look is this: – When people buy photography they are often actually buying the face behind the photos. You’re being booked for your look and for the style of image you’re creating. When you get booked it’s because it’s you—it’s the personality in you that’s transposed into your photography which people are buying. It’s your signature look.

Landing on your look—your style or your image—is a journey. It comes from looking at a lot of photos by other photographers and learning what concepts you like, what concepts you want to imitate, and what you want to ditch. Take all the points that you do like and try to figure out why. It’s a journey of self-examination.

Taking the time to analyse your work, so as to properly work out if and how you have employed the concepts you’ve landed on as being things you want to imitate and replicate in your own way, is key to moving forward. It’s not necessarily about what is right in terms of technically correct photos, it’s much more about the art of photography. Finding your style is about the look, not at all about the histogram.

While you can try to imitate the looks you like, be careful to not compare yourself to that work or try too hard to exactly emulate it, but simply use it to push yourself in the right direction.

Thinking of the right pro words to define your photography can aid in reaching your signature look, too. The creative words which come to mind when you look at your work, which describe your work, and which resonate through your work are those which you can confidently take forward with you in creating your next images.

Another important thing to keep in mind when finding your style is to assign yourself personal projects. Having personal projects gives you a chance to try to apply a look to a series of images, perfecting and honing that style, and then further refining the style, which ultimately results in—your style.

Having a style is important for success in photography. Find yours!

Much love

Dave