Dear Devlin,
I feel frustrated with my work, mostly my edit. I want a more high-end film vibe, but while still retaining what makes me, me!
I’m struggling to find the kind of preset I’m after, they’re either dark and moody or light and airy; nothing that fits the bill I am looking for.
I have considered having a custom one made, but being honest, I don’t know many people that offer this and the thought of deconstructing myself feels overwhelming.
Or am I not shooting the right content in the first place to help achieve that look?
As you can see, a blank slate feels needed ?
Any suggestions on how to go from here?
Thanks Devlin, you’re a legend.
Konfidence Krisis from Killiekrankie
Dear Konfidence Krisis,
Ok, first up, do not panic – you will get there. Let’s break this down and look at how to reach your goal. What does make you, you? It sounds like you are potentially struggling between defining your style and being influenced by fashion.
Are style and fashion not the same thing I hear you ask. They are both the same and different. Think of it like this. Style relates to you as an individual whereas fashion is about collective trends.
– Your style of wedding photography is the result of your unique set of passions, your skills, and your vision.
– Fashions are the trends that we see in how we shoot and how we edit. They reflect influences that we digest from around us. We feel drawn to trends as we want to feel like we are similar to people we admire, consciously or subconsciously.
It’s easy to get distracted by fashion and lose your sense of style. So I have some exercises that might help you to redefine this.
How to Define Your Wedding Photography Style
1. Take our What Style Are You Quiz
2. Head to a decent newsagent. Based on the covers alone, choose some magazines. They can be any topic or genre – they are all bursting with photographs. Take a pair of scissors and cut out anything that appeals to you from each one. When you are done see what the dominant elements are in what you have chosen. This defines your taste, a big part of our style.
3. Plan a shoot inspired by your tear sheets – on film. Want to project a high-end film aesthetic? Don’t just fake it – the only way to understand the nuances of film is to shoot on it.
For film presets, I would recommend looking at some of the wedding photographers that know film well and feature on DVLOP, Like Jose Villa, Nirav Patel and Nessa K.