PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Personal Development for Photographers
Whatever profession we choose we should always be looking for personal development, as a photographer this can be achieved in many ways.
Taking inspiration from other photographers.
Taking inspiration is not the same as copying. I would never set out to take an image in the style of another photographer, but sometimes although unintentional it is unavoidable. Look at other photographers' work, but try to inject your own personality (Create your own signature).
I own very few photography books, but I do enjoy looking through the New York and Paris images of Elliott Erwitt. The images, dating from the 1940s to the early 2000s, show how even the most mundane situation can be photographed with humour or as a record of society that stand the test of time. The overall impression is that Erwitt is presenting the image as an observation leaving you to find the story.
Sometimes it is good to look at a photographer who's style is so different from your own that you could never recreate it. After seeing an interview with Dougie Wallace I had to buy Stags, Hens and Bunnies (A Blackpool Story). His direct in your face style is the polar opposite to my more casual fly on the wall approach. Seeing there is another totally different approach to documentary photography shows that we have a choice.
Go where other photographers go
I tried a camera club when I was in my late teens / early twenties and quickly found it was not for me. Now after many decades I have found that camera clubs have changed. There are camera clubs around the country, but the one I chose to join was Bridport Camera Club in Dorset. There are 4 main competitions each year with subjects such as Nature, Landscape, but also more varied ones such as Night, Break 3 Rules, Abstract and Light. Competitions give you the incentive to try different photographic genres, maybe ones that you have never tried before. A guest judge gives their appraisal of all the photographs so even if you do not win you still get valuable feedback on your images