As a consequence of spending the last 15 years working in photography and writing for photo mags or websites, it turns out that most of my friends are also photographers. Meet-ups are dominated by gear or industry talk and someone is always on hand to loan the other kit.
We’re a varied bunch; one buddy shoots weddings full-time, in fact he’s the best in the area and has seen his business grow rapidly over the last few years. Another friend specializes in live music - a genre that demands coolness under pressure and the ability to pick out that golden split-second moment. One of the gang is even an expert in compositing and I’m constantly in awe of the images he creates using elements from multiple frames.
There’s no doubt that focusing on one field of photography can be a fast-track route to making it big in that genre. But here's a question; does it limit your creativity?
Most of the time I'm out in the field, quite literally, shooting landscapes
The majority of my work is landscapes, but I also shoot a lot of family portraiture, sports, macro photography and also a load of corporate gigs too. What’s more, I love shooting video as much as stills. In short, I’m a generalist photographer and, as the headline to this article suggest, I think that’s okay.
Don’t get me wrong, I respect the years of effort professionals pour into studying one genre of photography, whether it be studio work or even architectural photography. It takes extreme focus and dedication to have that centered vision and rise to the top of your field. But being totally honest, if I stuck to one genre, I’d feel I was missing out.
Landscape photography gets me out and about within nature, while switching to family portraiture allows me to connect with people and give parents timeless photos of their offspring. Sports photography gives me the excitement of being on the front line of a match where the defining moment of the game could happen at any second.
Dipping your toe into other photography genres teaches you new ways to capture interesting images. You can take a technique from macro photography and use it in portraiture to come up with a fresh image. Alternatively, you can use kit that I’d usually only break out to shoot a sports match to add a twist to a remote landscape view.
Sometimes I like a change of gear and shoot action for excitement
People tend to fall into specific genres because they are so passionate about the technique or the subject, but I think all photographers should push themselves harder to give other types of photography a try. Even small changes can leave big impressions. I remember spending the day with a professional who worked out of a studio using fairly heavy flash day after day. I challenged him to only use continuous LED light for the day’s sessions and at the end of the shoot, he remarked how that was the first time in memory that he finished up a day in the studio without a headache from the flash.
Portraiture keeps my people skills on point, when was the last time you gave it a try?
Of course, some genres are so specialised they may be restrictive due to your lack of kit or experience level - obviously don’t give underwater photography a whirl if you are a poor swimmer or don’t have the correct housings. But all joking aside, there are very few barriers to one photographer stepping into the shoes of another, even if it’s just a temporary try out. For the most part, camera bodies and lenses are interchangeable between genres and composition and timing are transferable skills too.
Wildlife photography can be unpredictable and requires a different skills set
So here’s my challenge, call up one of your own photographer friends who works in a completely different genre to yourself and ask to join or shadow them for a day. At worst, it will be a few hours spent that you’d rather get back, but at best, it could open up new creative doors and even help your photography career change tracks. Me?. . . . I’m going to keep shooting whatever takes my fancy – life’s too short not to be impulsive and photography is the perfect vehicle to indulge spontaneity.
. digitalrev.com2017-7-7 03:00