I recall the time when I was just starting out exploring my curiosity for photography. True, it was just that â curiosity. It was only later as I was using my point and shoot which had decent manual controls, when I realized that I had mastered the concept of the exposure triangle long before I had learnt that the concept was called âThe Exposure Triangleâ!!! All I did was constantly fiddle with the manual controls and studying the results! So did that make me a natural? Well, maybe. But I was quite self-critical from the very beginning. And the fact that whoever I approached for advice, tried pushing the idea in me that âYou must have a niche in a certain genre carved for yourselfâ, did not make things any easier. Now I realise that they too were like me, who believed whatever was the norm, without really getting into the heart of the matter. It was confusing, to say the least. So here I was, planning my first DSLR, and all I was asking myself was what my niche specialization should be? Thankfully I soon realized I was asking the wrong questions. I allowed myself to stay guided by my instincts. I decided to pursue just one category â photography, throwing away all concern about specialization. Thatâs how it all began. In this article, I write about my experiences and views on how important it is to follow just one genre of photography.
If you wish to get better at photography, you should boldly try every category!
As a beginner, your first concern ought to be how to get better at photography. That includes understanding and enhancing your way to appreciate your subject through photography. The subject could be anything â from landscapes, to people, to streets, to objects, and so on. A good photographer is first great at appreciating his subject, photography comes only later. Just like when you learn art, you are made to draw everything. You are taught the attributes of the subject. It is the same thing for photography. Learn to study and appreciate the characteristics of your subject just as it is. Enhancements can always be learnt eventually. As you study the behavior of light, you will gradually get to know which kind of subject are you drawn towards more, so if you feel, you can devote more time to that category.
You wish to build a career out of your passion, you can do it with one or more categories.
With the advent of stock photography, you can try your luck by selling your best images irrespective of what genre that belongs to. You will get better at anything that you devote more of your heart, your time and effort to, so if you wish to make a career doing what you love, you can become a wedding photographer and a product or a food photographer at the same time, the avenues are many. You will not need to carve a niche for yourself unless you are sure you want to be known as a âwedding photographerâ or a âfood photographerâ and make a career out of only that. But thatâs not mandatory at all.
If you wish to get noticed, then you need to identify your target groups.
If getting noticed is your intention, then identify the right kind of people in alignment with your kind of genre. Follow people of that genre, submit your photographs to groups, indulge in social media networking and build up a circle for learning. This helps you in two ways â one, to guide you towards any specific genre you are attracted to, and two, you start getting noticed by the right people.
Photography is an art after all, why narrow yourself down?
If you ask me, I would never want to constrain myself down to any one particular form of photography â plainly because I am naturally inclined to study the subject and the impact that light has upon it. Yes, there are some genres which I wouldnât be doing until I am absolutely certain that I have the right kind of gear for them. With years of practice and study, I know I am inclined towards travel, street, nature and candid portraits, and I wouldnât give up any one for the other.
To conclude I would say that a photographer doesnât become one because they wish to pursue photography, but because they have already fallen in love with the things they want to click. Photography is only the mode of loving. A photographer is someone who just gets better at the art of loving. Anyone who tells you that you must pursue a certain genre has just not been informed enough or is skeptical about not getting immediate results. Try and do everything, whatever you love, whatâs stopping you? Â