The Pursuit of Likelyness

Recently I had a chance to step back and think seriously about what got me started in photography at the beginning. I venture to guess it was the same thing that got many people into this field: A love of creating images. I see an image, a certain way, in my mind - and I want to create what I envision. Or I see something before me that strikes me as a visually powerful moment, and I want to record it to remember for years to come. When I got started with a camera, these were the reasons I pressed the shutter button. I wanted to create the image that I wanted to create. Later on - when I was shooting for others, I wanted to let them see their wedding, or their portrait, or their product in all of it's glory. To do justice to whatever it was, above all else. These are probably the same stepping stones that most photographers take. But somewhere along the line we can wander off...
          Technology being what it is, we are now able to communicate and network with one another - and others in various chosen professions - through the use of social media. In all honesty, social media is a great thing: It allows people who live continents apart to keep close to friends and family. It allows those who have not seen one another for decades to catch up. And yes, it allows entrepreneurs and businesses to connect with their clients in a personal way. But somewhere in the maelstrom, it has caused us to become more aware of what "everybody else" is doing, and to feel that we have to copy their stuff - rather create our images our way.
          Granted, I am a firm believer that if you see someone doing something that you think is really cool, and speaks to you on some deep level, then by all means try it as well. Incorporate the style, celebrate the technique, and improve your vision, if you feel that whatever this thing is will be your next step. But just copying the same things that others do, simply because it seems trendy? Not so much. Remember selective color images, with the red roses and everything else in black & white? Everybody did that. Who does it now? Or the "wine-glass" shot? Or the blue jeans and white shirt thing? Everybody did those. Now they look outdated. Guess what - in a few years the over-exposed, blown out background look will be dead. The scratchy, gritty look will be gone. It all goes like the wind. Only the desire to create images remains.
          I have come to see that I need to go back to what got me started in this way back in the beginning: A love of creating photographs. Whether it is exactly like what others are doing is not as important. Photography is not about pleasing other photographers, or copying the same trends everyone else is chasing. It is about creating images that speak to people. Images that are compelling. Images that CLIENTS want. That's what got all of us started. And that will never go out of style...