First off, I'm not seeking for fame, I'm looking for direction. So right now it's not PP, it's not TT, for me it's ??
I started 365 end of Jan 2012. I had a ball. I was like a kiddie in a sweet shop - trying everything: landscape, portrait, nature, still life, creative, surreal, HDR, high key, monochrome, macro, abstract, diptych, montage... I FAVed and followed, challenged, critiqued and commented. Most of all I learned.
At the end of my year (Jan 28th 2013) I posted a review. During the final week I had three photos on the PP, after only 2 in the entire rest of the year - I was flying!
Then I did fly. I flew off on my travels for three months and started up my 2nd year in May and I'm struggling to find my way...Do I have a style? Should I specialise?
At the moment I am bouncing about all over the place. The only consistent feature that I can identify is my love of colour. Can I ask you to spare a few moments to scroll through the past two or three months of my images? I feel that it's time to specialise to improve, but with which genre or technique?
I have to agree with @jsw0109 , do what you love! If you love it alll, do it all! What's wrong with bouncing? I don't think I have a style, and not really looking for one, and I'm well into my third year. Jeff loves barns, and his love shines through in his photos.
I am exactly the same way. I do everything, portraits, street photography, abstract, macro, high key, low key, food... I too feel I don't have a specialization, thus my skills are only average in each genre. I think I do good portraits, but my mood for photography bounces all over the place. Sorry, I'm not any help, just saying I can totally relate. I think in my opinion, one day we'll have the utmost control over the camera than anyone else. Not everyone can do everything. Atleast, that's how I satisfy myself. :-) You WILL achieve mastery but it might take a bit longer than others who specializes and practices in one particular area.
I am all over the place with mine - I prefer to take nature shots - but I also love the city, pets, food - you name it. Agreed with the others - your project - whatever you love - go for it!
I get into a rut from time to time but break out when the opportunity presents itself. I do enjoy the sunrise but will happily capture a flower or a bird. When I'm on a cruise, the preferred subject is anything unusual.
I don't believe you have to stick to a style, capture what ticks the boxes for you.
Bounce away ... I'm bouncing through my fourth year ... and not a consistent as in earlier days ... but ... it's a great record of events and places! And I'm having fun!
I loved when you did those clever Dickens shots. I like mixing it up and doing many different kinds of things photography and subject wise. I don't think we need to have a specialty, unless there is something that you are most drawn to.
Do a monthly color challenge. I follow this group on flickr. You could follow the monthly color challenges but only post them here. It's all good. It will help you focus while you develop your own style. Don't be in such a hurry. The best photographers spent years practicing. http://www.flickr.com/groups/365daysincolour/pool/with/9499731619/#photo_9499731619
Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions so far. I definitely go along with the advice from Jeff and others to follow what I enjoy, and, yes - you'll have noticed if you've taken a peep at my photos - that IS being CREATIVE and using COLOUR as Jann said. I'm an artist at heart.
BUT... I guess I was hoping for some indication as to any consistent areas of strength that you might recognise in my images, because I seem to be unable to assess what I can do well. It's hard to be objective about your own work. @jsw0109@nanalisarocks@ikamera@jankoos@tonydebont@elizabeth@jannkc@amandal@dmortega
I did look through several months of your project and for what it's worth, here is mho: Color is definitely your strong suit and it looks like no matter where you are (England or France) you have ample subjects which feature color. When you are photographing landscapes and architecture, I would recommend being particularly aware of the colors you are shooting, whether full out bursts of color or monochromatic color palates, and really capturing the depth of the color. Some of those shots (particularly the skies) appeared a little washed out. There are two ways to deal with that- working the camera or post processing- so take classes, read photography books, whatever you can to understand the technical aspects of color and I think that will raise some of your shots to the next level. I felt your family portraits were good- especially the ones with lots of color (big surprise!). I felt the weakest shots, although fun, were the stuffed toy shots. That's purely subjective- because some folks probably love them! I felt your strength definitely came through in your creative processing too. They were not only colorful, they were very imaginative. So if I was to direct you to a certain kind of photography and specific areas to work on (as in a strength to focus on and "strengthen") it would be color, landscapes, people, architecture and whimsy. Just two more thoughts about color. First, I have found that taking black and white shots has improved my perception of color. Shooting in black and white trains your eye to perceive nuances in tone. Try shooting black and white for a week and then going back to color and you will be amazed at how much more color you see. Secondly, abstracts also improve the way you see colors interacting. For example, take a dark blue bowl and put it on a yellow table cloth, but just shoot the rim and watch the colors pop. Study the color wheel and work with primary and secondary colors but focus on parts and blocks of color rather than entire objects. I find this strengthens the way I see colors working against each other or together. I hope that's helpful and maybe what you are looking for. I think that although you might not see it, you do have a photographic style- joyfully colorful. And shooting what brings you joy is definitely the key to the 365 project in my opinion.
@olivetreeann That is a seriously thoughtful and perceptive summary, so many thanks for your time and interest, Ann. I will try out your suggestions and shouldn't have too much trouble concentrating on the colour wheel as in another life I used to be an art teacher!
You have a wide variety of styles and subject matter so I can only suggest that you give yourself regular challenges (a week of colours, a week of monochrome, a week of landscapes, a week of harsh lighting, a week of emulating other photographers etc)
@steampowered Thank you for your time and help. I shall certainly try the idea of concentrating for a week at a time on a variety of disciplines. But I do get sidetracked very easily!
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I don't believe you have to stick to a style, capture what ticks the boxes for you.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/365daysincolour/pool/with/9499731619/#photo_9499731619
BUT... I guess I was hoping for some indication as to any consistent areas of strength that you might recognise in my images, because I seem to be unable to assess what I can do well. It's hard to be objective about your own work.
@jsw0109 @nanalisarocks @ikamera @jankoos @tonydebont @elizabeth @jannkc @amandal @dmortega
Thanks for mentioning colour challenge. Colour is essential to me so i might try that!