For a long time I studied other photographers like Joe McNally, Chris Knight, Joey Lawrence and in the process of learning, inadvertently, I was also conditioning myself to get in my own way of creativity. I have followed these photographers, I analyzed their approach, composition, color grading and somewhere the visual got in the way of the inner workings of the humanity of their work. What did I like about their work?
I liked the way they capture their subject. I liked where they captured their subject and I devoted so much attention to how their images looked. I took all that information and tried to emulate it through trial and error. I noticed the richness in Joe McNally imagery, he told every story in a vibrant effervescent way. Joey Lawrence’s de-saturated treatment to color grading of such impactful stories as We Came From Fire gave the story realism as if the color would get in the way of emotion. Chris Knight approach to contrast and dramatic portraiture is based on the master painters and he is superb at maintaining that classic portraiture lighting. I tried and got lost in trying to emulate the look and feel of their work.
Every one of these amazing photographers have a unique visual representation of their subject, but more than that, it is a visual representation of their essence of the intangible aspect of their human exploration and experience. I lost focus of that element. I emulated for too long, I replicated their color grade, experimented with variations of their approach, meanwhile, I was getting further and further away from self-exploration.
There comes a time when you, as a photographer, should stop learning from others and start learning from yourself. You should accept what you are and how you capture it. There is something about your approach that may be unique and valuable and you should embrace it. So, what is it? What have you learned from your own work?
You should go back and look at your work and see what is consistent. What are you embracing subconsciously? It may be that you embrace shadows, or subject matter, is it form or essence? Is the story over the technical, is it the color or style? If you are like me, you had no idea. You needed someone to point it out to you, someone who saw you for you and not in comparison with others. That is when my view changed and I started to look inside rather than outside. How will my work turn out from that moment on? It is a process and a journey, stay tuned.