How to find your music photography style

With so many amazing music photographers in the industry, we are never short of inspiration. But how can we as individuals find the style that has our fingerprint? When we think about standing out from the crowd, we often think we must create in ways that are completely different from anyone else and totally unique, however this can often lead to frustration as we struggle to find approaches that haven't been done already.

In this article we will discuss how to discover your own style that not only excites you but also your audience. We will think about what makes a style, what goes into finding yours, and why we think it is important for creatives to hone their style with confidence.

What makes a style in music photography?

Music photography is a great way to see how different creatives tackle the same problem. When there are multiple photographers in a photo pit all shooting the same subject, seeing the varying outcomes from each person can show how varied the possibilities are.

Each person's style can usually be broken down into:

1. What they include within the frame (focal length)

2. What sort of exposure is aimed for (bright/lots of detail, or dark/silhouettes)

3. What sorts of subjects they choose to shoot (heavy metal, hardcore, pop, EDM)

4. What editing techniques/software is used

5. How the final work is presented (seamless Instagram carousels, TikTok or Reels, borders around each photo, adding graphic design elements) plus much more.

So, with all these variables, there are endless possibilities for making your own creative recipe. Some people have standout elements to their style, whereas others stand out through developing their own unique mixture of approaches. Find what works for you!

Take a look at these three music photographers – Maryleen (maryleenphoto), Will (eyes_widephotography) and Soph (soph_ditchfield), and see how they have all approached the same gig in their own unique ways!

Maryleen has used a mixture of close ups and wide shots to capture both the small details and the overall energy of the band's performance. She gets lots of detail in her shots and uses varying angles to portray the chaotic nature of the show in a really captivating way!

Will uses his graphic design skills for a unique style of editing which ties each photo together beautifully while also adding to the overall energetic feel you get from the photos.

Soph shoots mainly wide shots to include background details of the band’s stage design, and this way they can also portray the energy of the gig through some fantastic action shots as the band and crowd move quickly and chaotically.

Why honing your style is important

One of the most daunting things about any artistic venture is having people who don't like your work. As creatives, we are often beautifully sensitive souls who care deeply about our art, so the thought of not being liked or accepted for what we do is understandably scary.

There will also be many people who tell you in the creative industries that you have to toughen up and expect lots of rejection, and while there is of course some truth in that, being tough is rarely in our nature because sensitivity is precisely where great art comes from.

So, allow yourself to feel bummed out if some people don't like or ‘get’ what you do, it means that you care about your art, which is quite possibly the only reason to make art in the first place! And if you care, chances are there will be others that care about your art too, and you will find yourself with the right audience soon enough.

It is also worth noting that it’s normal and ok for your style to change, too. Sometimes we can feel trapped down a route we went down that no longer excites us, and unfortunately the way social media and modern industries work it can feel very risky and foolish to switch up your style. However, when we force ourselves to make art that doesn't motivate us, it's likely that the quality will suffer anyway.

So, never stop finding your style, and keep trying new approaches that give you that creative spark and keep you with your camera in your hands! If you are excited to be taking photos, then there will be others out there who are excited to see them.

Jess (jessrphoto_) isn’t afraid to mix up her style and the subjects that she shoots. From energetic gigs to the tranquility of forests, and from clean black and white close ups to bright and textured wide shots, she doesn’t let herself be confined by one genre alone.

What goes into developing a music photography style?

Try out some things that inspire you

No one likes a copy-cat, however, when we are finding our feet with any creative pursuit gaining inspiration from others is vital. It’s important that we know what our own tastes are, and what excites us about other people's work. It is good to think of all creative endeavors as a collaborative process with everything that you derive inspiration from, even if indirectly.

As an exercise, don’t be afraid to have a go at ‘copying’ elements of someone else's style, as it is a fun and useful way to learn new skills. If you do this though, make sure you respect the other creative’s work by crediting them and bigging up their work! From there, you can add other elements into your mix and gain a more intricate understanding of what interests you about the art that you make.

Listen to your intuition

Finding your artistic style is about listening closely to your intuition, especially if you find yourself drawn to photographing particular elements that others might not look for. Maybe you love the way the stage lights catch the instruments on stage, or you find all the wires and tech on stage really fascinating, maybe you prefer getting that perfect wide shot where every member of the band is perfectly composed in the frame, or maybe you like to convey the messy chaos of energetic bands through imperfect, blurry photos. Whatever your eye is drawn to intuitively, that is what you must shoot, even if everyone else has their camera pointed elsewhere.