{"id":105988,"date":"2018-07-27T22:10:23","date_gmt":"2018-07-28T05:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=105988"},"modified":"2018-07-27T23:02:09","modified_gmt":"2018-07-28T06:02:09","slug":"what-is-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/27\/what-is-style\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Style?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

A question I’m curious about: what is style, why is important, is it important, how do you define style, and how to determine your style?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

According to wiktionary, “style” comes from Latin “stylus” (which means pen, a pointed instrument or a tool for writing); stilus.<\/p>\n

From the proto indo European, it means “to stick, compress, or condense”.<\/p>\n

Thus the way I interpret style; it is your ability to make an impression on someone. Your style is your personal stylus; your own pen and tool to express yourself!<\/p>\n

\n
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So I think the problem is this: we too often consider style with aesthetics, and to have other people recognize your photos.<\/p>\n

However I think we should think about style as your ability to make an emotional impression on someone.<\/p>\n

Also, style should be your ability to imbue your own soul into your artwork or what you create.<\/p>\n

\n

I also think style is mastering your own aesthetics for yourself. It’s about knowing what aesthetics taste good and look good to your eyes; and creating art which you like to look at!<\/p>\n

In photography this means,<\/p>\n

\n Make photos that you like to look at!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you like looking at your own photos, you’re a good photographer.<\/p>\n

\"2018-07-19 <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
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Switch it up<\/h2>\n

I do believe having visual consistency within a certain photography project or during a phase of your photography is good. But don’t become a slave to a certain visual aesthetic or look. For example don’t be a slave to only black and white or color; if you desire, do both!<\/p>\n

\n

Is having style important?<\/h2>\n
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
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\"Singapore <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
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For myself, I believe the strength and worth of a photographer is this:<\/p>\n

\n His or her ability to make an impact on the viewer.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Whether the impact is positive or negative isn’t so important to me. To me, it’s better to provoke a negative reaction than a mild or no reaction.<\/p>\n

In other words,<\/p>\n

\n Better to make a photo that 100 people intensely hate and 1 person really really loves, instead of making a photo that 10,000 people “mildly like”.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Consistency versus variation<\/h2>\n
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\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

With aesthetics and style, try to balance these two things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Consistency: Within a certain photography project or essay, keep the same aesthetics. Same camera, lens, film, or post processing or filter style. <\/li>\n
  2. Variation: Mix up the subject matter, the distances in which you shoot, or the type of images. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For example in my SUITS<\/a> book,<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Consistency: I kept the same aesthetics (all color, Kodak Portra 400 35mm film, and 35mm lens) and also shot all men in suits. <\/li>\n
    2. Variation: Different scenarios and distances and compositions. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The objective in your photography is this:<\/p>\n

      \n Avoid boredom.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      Only that but,<\/p>\n

      \n Stay motivated to keep shooting!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      \n

      Challenge yourself<\/h2>\n
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      I started making photos in 2010, and dedicated myself to monochrome until 2015. In 2016 until now, I’ve been having more fun shooting color!<\/p>\n

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      I think in photography the best way to keep shooting and having fun is to challenge yourself in a playful way!<\/p>\n

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      And also, shoot photos which visually stimulate you! If you’re enjoying the process of making photos, you’re never gonna run out of motivation to make photos!<\/p>\n

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      \"Hanoi <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
      \"hand <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

      Your life might be long; so why waste it trying to impress others with your photos?<\/p>\n

      \n
      \"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
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      \"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
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      \"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
      \"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
      \"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

      My final suggestion:<\/p>\n

      \n Impress yourself with your photos, then share those photos with others.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      JUST SHOOT IT.
      \nERIC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Dear friend, A question I’m curious about: what is style, why is important, is it important, how do you define style, and how to determine your style?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":105957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eric-kim-singapore-street-photography-24mm-lumix-lx100-2018-8800144-1.jpg?fit=4272%2C2856&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105988"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106000,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105988\/revisions\/106000"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}