Finding your vision and photographic style

[dragon76]

If it has people in it and shades of brown and black, it is probably Manet. If it has landscapes and architecture, blue and green, it is probably Monet.

Here ends today's art history lesson.

Actually, when I was working at a gallery, we had a Manet retrospective. The number of people who came out of that disappointed.

Max

Some of their works are very similar and apparently, people can tell from their brush strokes but I never could (and still can't)

Mark, that there is a real benefit of art history. We have a rich legacy of visual art to draw inspiration from, and not just other photographers, but painters as well. I am constantly amazed by people who take photography seriously but wouldn't dream of setting foot in an art gallery

Definitely, it's not only an inspirational source but a lot of lighting technique can also be learned from portraits of eras such as Renaissance and Baroque.

[Rider in the Sky]

No, this is true. One can produce work to fulfill one's own creative drive and hope that it sells, or one can produce work for someone else and hope that it meets one's own artistic criteria. However, each scenario has its own, main goal and that determines how the work is approached. So, if you are producing work to embody your own vision and keep reminding yourself that you also need make it appeal generally so that you can sell it, you are going to compromise that vision and, perhaps, the authenticity of the piece. Conversely, if you have been asked to produce a product shot and you shoot it so that it meets your own, aesthetic criteria, it probably won't meet the needs of a product shot and please your customer. It goes back to staking out what it is you are trying to achieve before you try to achieve it and sticking with that.

I feel this also applies to Kim's quest in her thread "Any Ideas".

[bnnrcn]

Hi Christina, I'm late again because I'm still away from home and still have limited internet connection I agree about Mike's definition about vision.

I just would like to say that don't push yourself to have a vision as IMO it already comes naturally. To make it come naturally , I would suggest you should read about some photographers and their work and you should watch a lot of images on the internet to see how vast the world of photography is. And of course you should read some articles about the 'vision , style and creativity 'as Donald suggests

[Max von MeiselMaus]

Max. Some of their works are very similar and apparently, people can tell from their brush strokes but I never could (and still can't)

Nooo, apart from being impressionists, quite different. Monet a light, airy, colourfully vibrant feel and Manet much more earthy. In terms of brushwork, Monet dauby, broken impasto (thick paint, where the 3D texture of the paint plays a part in forming the image). Dotted on. Gives the impression of colours made of specks. A bit like the pointilists, but not quite so pointy. Manet, smoother brushwork and larger areas of colour. Duller colours and graphically bolder.

Try bringing up a Google images page for each artist. You can really see the differences when you compare the two.

And completely agree about looking at the way painters have used light for dramatic effect. Rembrandt was the master of chiaroscuro and I love the diffused lighting of Flemish still lives.

See? Inspiration everywhere!

[Rob Ekins]

Christina,
I love that you have asked yourself these questions and then had the guts to pose the questions here.
For me that answers more questions about you as an artist wanting to grow than the three pages that followed

[Brownbear]

Continued thanks to all...

Just in case anyone is interested, the links provided by Donald (and also the recommended search by Allan) are wonderfully insightful. I'll be reading all of the articles by Alain Briot and referring back to them frequently.

Below I've are few insightful paragraphs that I have copied from the articles, with the liberty of placing in italics a few aha moments (for me) - plus one about Frida Kahla.

https://luminous-landscape.com/how-t...graphic-style/

Subject is what you photograph/Style is how you photograph it.

You can photograph several subjects in the same style
Choosing a subject is answering the question “What do I want to photograph?” Subject choice is about what you photograph.
Choosing a personal style, or rather developing a personal style, is answering the question “How do I want to photograph my chosen subject?” Style is about how you photograph.

Developing a personal style is not the same as choosing a subject. These are two different choices. The former is easy, the latter is difficult. If you have not chosen a subject yet I recommend you do so before considering what your personal style might be. Of course doing things in this order is not an absolute requirement. One can develop a personal style while shooting a variety of subjects, without having a particular predilection for any of them. However, if you want to set up a structured environment in which to develop your personal style, choosing a subject first will make things a lot easier.

As I said earlier, you can photograph different subjects with the same style. This means that potentially you can develop a personal style shooting a variety of different subjects at the same time. While this is feasible, and may result in success in terms of finding a personal style, it will also make things more complicated, because you will have to think about how you are going to photograph several entirely different subjects. I therefore also recommend that you work with only one subject while developing a personal style.



Vision
Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. - Jonathan Swift

Your Personality
A photographer’s work is given shape and style by his personal vision. It is not simply technique, but the way he looks at life and the world around him. - Pete Turner
Inspiration lights the spark of creativity. Together, if well integrated, inspiration and creativity result in a personal vision for your work. Your vision, when expressed successfully, results in the achievement of your personal style.

Vision is a subject that is rarely discussed in photography. Yet, as we are going to see, it is a very important subject because without vision an artist will create commonplace photographs. They may be the most technically perfect photographs one can take, but they will still be commonplace photographs. With vision your photographs go beyond being just commonplace images.

http://www.naturephotographers.net/a.../ab0609-1.html

Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907 - July 13, 1954) was a Mexican painter, who has achieved great international popularity. She painted using vibrant colors in a style that was influenced by indigenous cultures of Mexico as well as by European influences that include Realism, Symbolism, and Surrealism. Many of her works are self-portraits that symbolically express her own pain and sexuality.

http://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/

Therefore in when referring to photographic style - I need to find something that is uniquely me. ( independent of mood)..

Thank you.