Studies in style

Many famous photos are said to belong to the photographers style. Sometimes their style is straight forward and other times it can be many subtle things that combine to an overall style. Sometimes it's lighting, other times it's composition, and sometimes it's the subjects pose.

Ultimately, we as photographers strive to find and develop our own unique styles, but that can lead to a long road of aimless wandering for some, and others find it right away. I like to take some of the classics and study them, then try recreating my own image in the style of.

I find that knowing and understanding some of the classic styles adds to my bag o' tricks for when I come across a situation or subject that I am unsure how to shoot. Often I will start with a classic style and evolve to something on my own.


So, for this thread, I would like to see some shots by others done in the style of a particular artist. Maybe your favorite like Winogrand, or a very familiar like Gowland. Possibly compositional study of Cunningham.

You pick, you study, you shoot!

If you want, feel free to elaborate on what makes the shot in the style of, or just simply list the artist. Hopefully this thread will help some new hobbyists get shots they are happy with and remind veteran shooters of some styles gone out of vouge.

Let's see what you can do!

This shot is fairly obvious due to the subject matter, but this is my version of Edward Weston and his infamous "Pepper, 1923" image. Shooting this was very delicate balance of light and shadow. I spent considerable amount of time tweaking my strobe, gobos, reflector, flags, trying different modifiers as well.

Eventually I settled on the single bare strobe, 6" snoot, slightly behind and aimed slightly over the top of the pepper directly at my reflector, a few gobos to cut the spill across the black fabric. Strobe was maybe 20" away. 1/25s, f/11, iso200, manual mode, hardwired strobe for trigger.

Nice work X

Thanks Sean.

Here is another shot I did in the style of, I was in the middle of a shoot with a model at my house and my son (who was up way past his bedtime) wanted to sit in on the shoot. It was a good chance for the model to take a break and for me to reset a few things for the rest of the shoot.

This is what's known as Rembrandt style lighting. It is a simple method to give professional looks with minimal gear. Often times using only one light and one reflector, but also can use two lights in a full stop ratio. It is named after the Dutch painter, which might seem odd since being a painter he could literally create his own perfect lighting, but rather chose to use logical and natural appearing light. (Probably just copying Johannes Vermeer -Girl with the pearl earring- who was doing this stuff before Rembrandt was even using crayons, but I digress... lol)

It's primary identifier is a small geometric patch of light on the shadow side of the face. It is nearly always a downward pointing triangle directly under the eye. The purists will say that it should never be longer than the nose and no wider than the eye, also the triangle should come to a defined point and not connect with the patch of light coming from under the nose. If you're studying for a M.FA then that's all fine and dandy to keep such tight reins on the definition, but as photographers we can loosen things up a little bit. Light 45° or so to camera right and 30° to 40° above pointed down. Reflector or second light will be about the same but camera left. (Right/left, left/right, it doesn't matter what's left, right?!) If using two lights, the effect can be made very subtle or can be taken quite dramatic and a full stop or more below key light.

In this shot I used a single studio strobe into a silver reflective brolly which I left the optical white lining in to cut a tiny bit of the harshness. Reflector camera left. With children, having smaller facial features and large cheeks, the classical dimensions of the light patch don't quite work out, but is clearly visible.

I never really studied styles, I learned the basics then just started shooting what I thought looked good. I am sure my stuff can be put to some kind of a certain style, but I just am not knowledgeable enough to say what ones.

Nice image. It reminds me a little of Gary Winogrand, but more polished as he was a street photographer.

I, too, shoot in my own style, but here is a shot where I took the two previous lighting techniques I posted and sort of combined them. I started with the Rembrandt lighting geometry but felt it a bit too dark and too defining for a child's face. So I wanted to have more subtle definition of features but still keep the style of one sided lighting. Here I took the light and brought it around closer to the camera and lowered it. Moved it in real close and brought my reflector around more to the front to try and flatten out the shadows while still giving plenty of fall off around the side of his head.

sfeile said:

I never really studied styles, I learned the basics then just started shooting what I thought looked good. I am sure my stuff can be put to some kind of a certain style, but I just am not knowledgeable enough to say what ones.
View attachment 494083

Click to expand...

What a beautifully done picture. all and all its a gem!

Xander and mikeblade, thank you for the compliments.
Xander, I like your second photo better. The way you changed the angles of your lighting brings more attention too the eyes and highlights them. Have you ever played around with a beauty dish? It gives a similar lighting effect, but leaves those cool little donought shaped catchlights in the eyes.

Sfeile, thank you. I do like this one much better as well. The first shot in Rembrandt style was a test shot to check my lighting. I don't typically like it for children or round faces.

I've been meaning to build a beauty dish, I don't have one currently.

Here is one I did with a dish I built.

Those are all great photos guys. Lots of talent and attention to detail is evident. Thanks for posting.

BSAGuy said:

Those are all great photos guys. Lots of talent and attention to detail is evident. Thanks for posting.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much kind sir!

I think something in that sentence is key here, attention to detail. This is one thing that shooting in the style of can train. You have a known outcome you're attempting and are looking for those details that make it so. I've seen many new OCF users just start arbitrarily placing lights and reflectors places, at whatever power, chimp in program mode and then shoot. By trying to achieve a certain style you have to some extent planning taken care of because you know where and how things should be.

I know I used to just play around with lights until I began studying styles.

I appreciate the comments and compliments.

I think next I'm going to try something like Imogen Cunningham, her composition is stunning.

I am actually kind one of those play with lights kinda guys. I know the basics like the rembrandt, but I like to play around to see what I like best for a certain shoot. I tend to go for what I find pleasing and what I feel fits the scene I am shooting at that moment. And I hate photoshop, well hate is a strong word, it is actually an amazing program, but I am very illiterate in it. I can do some basic adjustments, or remove a stray hair, but I prefer to have it right in camera to start with.
I do shoot pretty much exclusively in manual mode, and actually with no light meter. I use hotshoe flashes off camera and played with them enough I could judge pretty close to what I needed for power and can dial it in with only a couple test shots.
I am about 90% self taught through watching and reading tutorials ect... I did have 2 "mentors" when I started, but when I got to their level and beyond, they stopped talking to me. So I just continued playing to see what worked for what I was trying to achive.

Sounds like we are very much alike! I use studio strobes and speedlights. I do like to play around quite a bit but I do try to have a vision planned out. My main mentor I'm very fortunate to have just 500 feet from home and she owns the local lab/studio. I've been a customer of hers for well over 20 years.

You are fortunate indeed. The two gentlemen that were helping me were through a photograpy/modeling site and were both quite a distance from me. They were quite helpful at first, untill I did my first shoot with the flash off camera. I am noot trying to sound cocky, but it waas better than their work. From that point on, neither would talk to me. I was blessed with a friend who was also a model and lived two blocks away. We did a lot of trade work, anytime either of us wanted to try something new or off the wall. It was a gret help for learning.