So can style become a barrier?

If one has cultivated a distinct personal style and, especially, if that style has lead to success at some level (commercial, recognition, personal satisfaction...) could that style at some point become a hindrance?

The weight of vision, years of established technique and expectations (from self and others) must be difficult to shrug off when seeking a change in direction, a kind of momentum that keeps to the rut...

Whereas I can't agree with kjsphoto's Khmer Rouge extremist approach to all that has come before, I respect that he has a right to his point of view and thank him for the food for thought that he has provided.

So, when personal photographic style has become established, even iconic, yet doesn't feel right anymore, how does one "shake it up" successfully?

I think the only barrier to shaking it up is psychological. It is no harder to do it if you are successful with it than it is if you are a newbie just playing around with everything for the very first time - you have to allow yourself the freedom to step away and try something new. Obviously, there may be commercial pressures to keep you doing what you're known for, but if you've really mastered your "style", you can always go back to it and do it again when economics/social pressure demands. Look at Sally Mann's work as an example- she did this huge body of work that made her quite famous, all about her kids. Then she goes off and starts taking wet-plate photos of decomposing corpses. Radical 180 from what she was known for. Another juicy tidbit - Ansel Adams did color work too. Most people have never seen it, but it's out there.

Look at the work of John Davies, the British photographer. He's a world class international photographer, his style developed at college studying with tutors like John Blakemore, Thomas Joshua Cooper etc, basically over the past years his style has remained the same but the subject matter has changed.

Ian

For a professional it can be. Client’s expect a certain style, because that’s probably why they picked the pro’ in the first place. So changing style and risking cutting off one’s food supply whilst successful could be something of a gamble. Others have suffered hardship when their style has gone out of fashion, Bob Clark comes to mind. Presumably there is nothing to stop a successful artist producing work under a pseudonym whilst trying to shift to a different style or subject, certainly writers do it as a matter of course.

seems to me that one's style is able to change, not dramatically sometimes
but through influences one might take in, it slowly turns into something else.
i don't know what my "style" might be, and while i do work commercially
i don't worry about "personal-style" i just make the photographs the best i can
and make sure my client is happy ...
and when it is making photographs for me or for "fun" i don't worry about anything
except for having a good time, and maybe dealing with the demons in my head.

Professionally it can either be highly lucrative, or a complete dead end in the near future. I saw this when I was doing illustration work, in that a certain style got you more work, but eventually that sameness could become dated. Some professional photographers have thrived on a certain look, or approach (style?), in their images. Obviously the camera points both ways, and it is good to be distinctive. When I think that fails is a look that can be somewhat of a fad, or novelty.

Even in advertising photography related work, it is good to move around more with approach, to avoid becoming stale. Some clients will want trends followed, so doing something in the style of another photographer will be the end result. Other clients will want a more open approach, giving you a chance to share your creative input on the problem at hand; then your interpretation can come through. So sometimes it is more appropriate to give the client what they expected, though with more open minded clients it is better to surprise them a bit.

Oddly enough, your approach (style) to imaging might get your foot in the door, but in commercial imaging it is often your personality that will get you the work, and keep clients coming back to you. In many ways, working as a professional photographer is more like performing, and not strictly about the images.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography