Why You Are Unique In A Sea Of Photographers
There are hundreds if not thousands of photographers in your surrounding area right now. That's the reality of the modern world we live in and it can make standing out feel hopeless and downright impossible. I wanted to be a professional photographer right as the industry was doing away with them. Every day was another headline about how there was no money in photography anymore and you would never be able to fully make a living off just using a camera.
I was 21 years old and had to idea how to use a camera other than twisting a few dials and using a light meter. I was depressed, anxious and scared. I felt so strongly about what I wanted to do that I didn't listen. I made it my life's work to prove them wrong and show people that it was still possible to achieve your dreams. If you are reading this right now hoping that it's still true, I can tell you with 100 percent certainty it is.
The first thing you need to do to help stand out is to stop looking at other photographers on social media and just shoot. Worrying about how good others are doing or what they are selling will tear you up inside. You already know what you like and what you want to shoot. Maybe it's boudoir and you need to find a willing model to practice with, or it could be band photography where you want to work for an artist as their touring photographer. It doesn't matter what path you've chosen, just start working in that field any way you can. The closer you are to your work and your process the more refined it will become, don't get distracted.
Once you start shooting more subjects you enjoy and can spend more time learning the subtleties of your specific industry then you will start to develop a style. Every artist is different when it comes to what they notice or obsess about vs another and it's at this point that you will see the magic happen. When producing good work becomes second nature you are more comfortable and able to experiment with your work. Refining things you like and tossing out the ones you don't. It's okay to try on other artists styles, intentionally work with excess or limit yourself to find out what really inspires you to create your work.
Finally, once you start to step into your own style, branch out and apply it to other styles of photography. Those who stand out today are the ones mixing genres and editing techniques. Maybe you like to use film emulations and also mix that with editing techniques you learned from landscapes. It's really about mastering one skill set and then learning how to adapt it to other areas of Photography. If you aren't trying new things and constantly failing then you aren't improving, isn't that what we all really want at the end of the day?
