As photographers, we’re often told that we need to “find our photography style” but let’s face it, it can be a daunting task!

Since this often isn’t a concrete thing that you can grasp hold of, learn how to do in a tutorial, or have someone else show you, how do you even start to find your photography voice?

That’s exactly what we are going to look at today!

I’m going to give you 4 tools that you can use to help you find (or refine) your unique photography voice and style…

Tool #1: Look at other photographers work

Note that I said look, not copy - we definitely don’t want to try to “steal” other photographers' work and say that’s our own photography style.

The idea is simply to draw inspiration from other photographers you like, rather than simply imitate them.

If you use Pinterest, you could create a board and start pinning photos you love. If you’re more of an Instagram user, try saving photos you love from the various photographers I’m sure you follow on Instagram.

Instead of trying to copy the styles you see, instead, think about what it is about it that appeals to you, and see how you could fit that into your own work.

For example, I do actually like a lot of the light and airy photographs you see online, even though many of them can look a bit cookie cutter. For me, I don’t want my photographs to look exactly like that, but what I do love from that style and what I try to take into my own work is the simplicity of it. It’s nice and clean and minimalistic.

Another photographer I love uses the colors in her images in such an important way, and it taught me that as much as I love simplicity, I like to have a bit more color in my work!

Another photographer I love shoots almost exclusively in black and white. That doesn’t mean I need to shoot exclusively in black and white, it’s more that I love the way she plays with light and shadow.

And I love yet another photographers work because it is so ethereal and dreamy, which has inspired me to find the beauty in the mundane, even though her work is all portraits.

So I’ve taken what I loved from photographers I admire - simplicity, clean colour tones, good use of light and shadow and finding beauty all around us - without copying anyone.

So create a board or a saved folder - whatever works best for you - and start to see what it is you like about these photos you admire, without trying to copy each one.

Tool #2 - Look at what’s already around you

As I said before, you don’t suddenly become a completely different person when you pick up a camera, instead, you are bringing your own unique perspective, personality and experiences to your photos.

What do you like to do with your time? Are you best suited to loud parties and socializing, or do you prefer smaller, more intimate groups?

What about the clothes you wear - do you gravitate toward bright jewel tones that you wear together, or do you wear bold prints, or are you more classic or muted? Do you wear flowing dresses or jeans and flats?

Look at your home. Is it warm and cozy, bright and bold, or calm and serene. What colours do you have? Do you have lots of sentimental Knick knacks everywhere or do you like your spaces to feel more minimalist.

I know that by looking around you at your home, your clothes, your surroundings, where you like to be, how you like to socialize and your favorite things to do - they can all help you see the direction you perhaps should be heading in with your photos too. At the very least, it can help you see if there is a disconnect between what you think you want to be your style, and what the rest of your life is telling you.

Tool #3 - Go through your OWN work

I’d also like to challenge you to create a portfolio of YOUR favorite work, especially if you have been shooting for a little while.

Go through all of your images and pull the ones that were favorites or that evoke an emotion in you, even if they are not the most technically proficient ones. This isn’t the time to be critical of focus or having the perfect composition, we’re really looking at the big picture here.

Once you’ve selected your favorites, grab a pen and paper and jot down the reasons why you liked them. What it is about them that spoke to you? What colors do you see showing up? What light? What emotions? Where are they taken? Is there some type of editing you do that you love on some images?

What we are looking for is consistency between them!

Tool #4 - Shoot from the heart

Maybe this goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway…

The key to infusing your voice into your photos is to shoot from the heart.

Often you get stuck in thinking too much about what you should be shooting, or what you think others would want to see from you, or what they might think, so much so that we forget to shoot what WE love.

Social media influences us in many ways, and as much as it can be a force for good, it can also hinder us as photographers. It can make us second guess our work, compare ourselves to other photographers, and shoot for other people rather than ourselves.

Like many of my fellow photographers, I still find myself doing that today, so I’m willing to bet many of you do the same, whether you fully realise it or not!

Remind yourself of why you picked up a camera in the first place.

In fact, imagine you are shooting EXCLUSIVELY for yourself. If you were the only person to ever see your photos, what would you shoot? What risks would you take? What would you not care about?

Above all, remember that there is only one YOU in the universe. Our unique blend of insights, personality, fears, experiences and desires inform who we are as photographers.

As a photographer, you just need to give yourself the space and time to figure out how to infuse your photos with YOU!

When you might find all this hard….

One thing I want to stress before I go, is that I do feel that being able to find your voice and style is about 1000% easier when you understand the HOW behind photography. I’ve always said photography is part technical and part artistic, and it’s hard to be artistic and soulful with your photos, when you don’t have the technical knowledge that will allow you to put that into practice.

That’s when it’s easy to feel disheartened because what you were intending to create is different than what you actually created, because you don’t have the skills to bring your vision to life.

We do have some free classes that can help you with all aspects of your photography, from mastering your camera, to light to composition and even editing, so be sure to check out the links below where I’ll link to some of them for you, and be sure to subscribe to our email list so you can hear about the ones we have coming up too!